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March/April 1998 issue	In this issue Table of Contents Editor's Notebook Feature: Ice storm Feature: Sandbanks Provincial Park Our home and native tongue Write to know À la carte

January's ice storm is the third weather disaster in the past year that we have chronicled. Exactly one year ago we reported on the July 1996 storm that flooded much of Quebec's Saguenay region; last summer it was the spring floods in Manitoba's Red River Valley. The ice storm that froze to a standstill eastern Ontario, most of southern and western Quebec, and parts of the Maritimes and New England was the most costly disaster of the three. Canadian Geographic is based in Ottawa and, like everyone else in the area, we were taken by surprise. For the first couple of days the freezing rain made walking perilous and crystal-coated trees, buildings and streets. Then the electrical grid began to fail. More than a third of our staff endured power outages that lasted anywhere from a few hours to more than two weeks. Nobody had to start chopping up the furniture, though. The spirit of community that emerged throughout was reaffirming. And once again, those two much-maligned national institutions, the CBC and the Canadian Armed Forces, demonstrated their professionalism. Local CBC Radio turned itself into crisis central, dispensing advice on how to keep your pipes from freezing and advising on what supplies were needed where. Most of the private broadcasters devoted large blocks of air time to the storm as well. But with CBC, you had the feeling that local information was being passed on to the whole nation. As for the soldiers, they were impressively organized, competent, disciplined and equipped for whatever the weather might throw at them.

Shortly after the lights winked out across the region we began assembling a portrait of the storm and its aftermath. Our report covers the big picture -- what areas were affected, the extent of the damage, what triggered the storm and why it lingered. The maps show where, the stories explain why and how, and the photos reveal both the extent of the damage as well as the beauty of the crystalline cloak the storm draped across the landscape.

This month, in collaboration with the Discovery Channel, we launch the first one-hour documentary of a television series called Canadian Geographic Presents. Working with Discovery seems a natural fit for us; its programming addresses curious minds and broaches many of the same topics we cover in the magazine. Details of that first episode -- on icebergs -- appear in this issue. The goal of the series is to seek out accomplished filmmakers and engage them to tell intriguing stories about nature, science and technology. Look for details of the second program of the series in an upcoming issue of the magazine.

Our new annual special edition, Through the lens, appears on newsstands and in the homes of our members in early April. In it, we showcase both vision and voice -- the best of Canadian photography and writing. For his book about rural Canada, photographer William DeKay spent 18 months on the road listening to and recording on film the people he met across the country. In Through the lens, DeKay offers evocative juxtapositions of faces and places. Author Allen Abel, a student of physics and astronomy before journalism beckoned, offers wry commentary on science and photography in a feature based on arresting images taken by scientists. Poet and Montreal Gazette writer Mark Abley introduces a remarkable series of photos by Gabor Szilasi, who has documented over a 20-year period the changing face of Montréal's central artery, Sainte-Catherine Street. Another intriguing feature illuminates the colours and patterns found in the natural world. Candace Savage, author of nine wildlife books, explores the purpose of colour in the wild. New Brunswick photographer André Gallant travelled Canada's three coastlines capturing images of ocean-sculpted landforms. His photos appear with a mixture of prose and poetry from writers who live along our salty edges. Through the lens also features new departments, a fresh look and an oversized format that gives our photographers and writers plenty of room for show and tell. It will make you want to walk right out of your house and see the country this summer. While the weather is good.

— Rick Boychuk

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