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May/June 2000 issue	In this issue Table of Contents Editor’s Notebook Inside Story Reverberations Feature: Water Curious by nature

MOIRA DUNBAR was an actress, a glaciologist, an arctic researcher, an author and, finally, a hobby farmer — all in an era when women’s roles were defined by marriage and motherhood. She was also a linguist, speaking Russian, German and French, and she could play the piano and the guitar.

By the time she passed away last November at the age of 81, Dunbar had added Officer of the Order of Canada and The Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Massey Medal for outstanding achievement in geography to her long list of credentials.

Dunbar was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1918 and graduated from Oxford University in 1939 with a geography degree. She spent the next seven years as a London stage actress and performed for the armed forces during the Second World War.

In 1947, Dunbar emigrated to Canada in search of work and joined the Joint Intelligence Bureau of Canada, gathering ice movement data in the North after the onset of the Cold War.

Transferred to the Defence Research Board, she began lobbying to join crews studying arctic ice from military aircraft and icebreakers.The reaction was incredulity, according to Dunbar’s autobiographical notes: "What? Fly to the Arctic? In an RCAF plane? A woman? Impossible!" Told there were no proper accommodations at air force stations, Dunbar persisted, gnashing teeth and chewing nails, she said, as others flew North. She got a break when a staff change put a man without "the standard hang-ups" in charge.

Dunbar became a renowned expert on sea ice. In 1956, she and air force navigator Keith Greenaway co-authored Arctic Canada from the Air, a reference book filled with aerial photographs they had taken from military aircraft.

"She was a woman in a man’s world, but she always stuck to her guns and did things her way," says Archie Pennie, who worked at the Research Board with Dunbar on arctic expeditions in the 1970s.

He marvelled at her versatility. "I would watch her on stage acting for a local theatre company in Ottawa and the next time I saw her she was in a parka and heavy boots up on Ellesmere Island."

Dunbar sat on the RCGS Board of Directors and several committees during the 1970s and 1980s and would regale everyone, says RCGS president Arthur Collin, with stories of life on her hobby farm near Ottawa, where she retired in 1978.

"We were grateful to have her support and honoured to have her as a Fellow of the Society," he says.

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SHE HAS LOOKED at our big blue planet through a space shuttle window and through a microscope. Now, astronaut and scientist Roberta Bondar is seeing things from a whole new perspective — through a camera lens.

In June, Bondar’s photographic exploration of Canada’s national parks will be launched at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. The exhibit, Passionate Vision, sponsored in part by Canadian Geographic, explores each of Canada’s 39 national parks. It took Bondar more than two years travelling by foot, helicopter and komatik (Inuit sled) to capture images to add to those taken from the space shuttle.

The astronaut has been interested in photography since she was a child (her father and uncle were amateur shutterbugs). But it was her 1992 Discovery shuttle mission that reignited her passion for the art.

After taking thousands of photos of the planet during her nine-day space flight, the self-confessed technical perfectionist studied photography in California, then began criss-crossing Canada with her camera.

Inspired by American photographer Ansel Adams’ dramatic depiction of the parks system in the United States, Bondar sought the aesthetic beauty and scientific wonder of the rugged, yet fragile Canadian system. "I wanted to create a body of work that would show the diversity and beauty of the natural heritage we have in Canada," says the Sault Ste. Marie native.

Bondar hopes the 115 photographs on display will "give Canadians a chance to see parts of this country they may never visit in their lifetime."

After October, the exhibit will tour across Canada for three years.

IF YOU MISSED the popular Canadian Geographic documentary series on the Discovery Channel last season, relax. Seven videos, exploring everything from rare Kermode bears in British Columbia to the mysteries of glaciers have been released as part of our new merchandise line, which includes new products and deeper member discounts. Call 1-800-267-0824 for a catalogue, or visit our new online store at www.canadiangeographic.ca.

VISITORS TO EXPO 2000 in Hannover, Germany, this summer, will find respite from the crowds in this eight-metre-high "virtual forest" in the Canadian Pavilion, supported by Canadian Geographic. The Canadian Ecology Centre (CEC) uses nature sounds and images of Canadian landscapes inside the multi-layered canvas (resembling leaves) to explore the need for balance between minerals, plants, animals and humans.

"This ties into the theme of Expo 2000 — sustain-ability and becoming one with nature," says Don Curry, CEC vice-president. The exhibit will tour Canadian schools, museums and other venues after October 31.

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