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magazine / ma02
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March/April 2002 issue |
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The view from space
What does the leatherback turtle have in common with the latest in space technology? The soft-shelled
sea turtle, which has existed for at least 100 million years, is threatened with extinction
on both the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts. But thanks to tiny satellite transmitters attached
to a group of leatherbacks in the Atlantic Ocean, a research scientist at Dalhousie University
in Halifax can now monitor their migration to gain a better understanding of how we can protect
them.
Satellite telemetry is but one example of how space can offer a singular view of the Earth
and the state of its health, says astronaut Marc Garneau, who was appointed president of the
Canadian Space Agency last November. Under his leadership, the planet and its environment will
become the space agency's top priority.
"We are increasingly asked to monitor our natural resources with greater precision," says
Garneau. "Space offers us a perspective from which we can observe changes and threats
to these resources in a more precise and global fashion."
Garneau will highlight the achievements of Canada's space program and how it benefits Canadians
in their daily lives during two lectures sponsored by The Royal Canadian Geographical Society
on April 24 and 25 in Ottawa.
Canada's top astronaut will show how Canadian technology is tracking, for example, the transfer
of greenhouse gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide, around the world. He will also talk
about the use of satellite telemetry in Space
for Species, a web-based educational project geared to students 11 to 14 years old. The
program links students with wildlife biologists to observe from space the migrations and habitats
of several species: the leatherback turtle, the polar bear, the caribou and the common and
king eider ducks.
For more details on these lectures, visit www.rcgs.org. For
more information on the Canadian Space Program, visit www.space.gc.ca.
— Monique Roy-Sole
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Nature’s universe
Michael Chen rides the Toronto subway to school every day, but it just doesn't feel
right now that he's been to one of the most remote places on Earth.
"Life in the city is strange," he says while describing his two-week trip to the
Antarctic in December.
Chen and Alice Adamo of Ottawa won Canadian Geographic's Polar Bound Contest to
join the Students on Ice expedition to the southern continent. (Two students are also selected
for a summer trip to the Arctic.)
The pair visited penguin colonies, watched whales swimming among icebergs and took a dip
in volcanically heated waters.
"Nature is powerful, and it has its own beauty," says Chen. "But it's different
nature down there from when you go camping up North. There's no pop cans or garbage on the
ground. It feels like another world, another universe."
— Erik White
Back to the future
George Back was a 23-year-old midshipman when he joined John Franklin's first expedition
down the Coppermine River to the Arctic Ocean in 1819. A skilled artist, Back filled
two sketchbooks during the journey. One of his watercolours portrays the crewmen
dragging canoes across Point Lake, still frozen in June 1821.
One hundred and eighty years after Back rendered that scene, Paul vanPeenen, a photographer
from Maple Ridge, B.C., retraced Franklin and Back's route, pulling his canoe across the
same lake. VanPeenen's expedition, supported by The Royal Canadian Geographical Society,
aimed to chronicle the extent of change in the landscapes Back painted in the 19th century.
Armed with copies of Back's work, vanPeenen found and photographed a number of the vistas
Back had painted, such as the Rocky Defile Rapids. Despite the growing encroachment of industry
over the fragile northern environment, vanPeenen says, "It was nice to see that part
of the landscape has been left alone."
— Monique Roy-Sole
New on the net
Geography on the internet just got a little better, with the facelift of two old
sites and the launch of a brand-new site for kids.
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) and the Canadian Council for Geographic Education
(CCGE) have both spruced up their virtual homes. The new www.rcgs.org site
features information on RCGS programs, including lecture series, research and expedition
grants and geographic education. Details on The
Great Canadian Geography Challenge, teacher training and lesson plans are but a few of
the resources available at www.ccge.org.
And joining the Canadian Geographic family of websites is www.cgkids.ca,
based on the new TV show for children that debuted in January. Visitors will find information
from each episode, games and trivia. There are even experiments and recipes kids can try
at home.
Erik White
The main event
A thunderous cheer erupts from the capacity crowd as the competitors take their
places. The introduction of each contestant brings yet another chorus of stomping
feet, chanting voices and waving banners.
Sound like a geography contest to you?
This was the scene at The Great Canadian
Geography Challenge at Broxton Park School in Spruce Grove, Alta., in December. The contest
determined which student would qualify to move on to the provincial Challenge.
"You don't get kids cheering like this for academic excellence every day. It was really
extraordinary," says teacher Robert
Twerdoclib. "They were jumping right out of their seats and pounding on the bleachers."
Twerdoclib says each classroom holds a Jeopardy!-style quiz every morning, with the top 10
players heading to the school finals.
"A lot of the kids make sure they're there early that week," he says. "You can
see them in the library, huddled around
atlases."
Provincial and territorial finals will be held April 6.
Erik White
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