magazine / nd01
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November/December 2001 issue |
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A celebration of our rivers
A river…has its own life and its own beauty and the creatures it nourishes are alive
and beautiful also," wrote naturalist Roderick Haig-Brown in 1950. In an effort to preserve
and restore these ecologically valuable waterways, this year's Geography Awareness Week (GAW)
focuses on rivers.
Running from November 11 to 17, GAW will look at the fundamental role of rivers,
which serve as wildlife habitats, transportation routes, recreational venues, food
and freshwater producers and power generators. And leading up to GAW, classrooms
in Canada and the United States will do their part to conserve rivers and their watersheds
through the Geography Action! Rivers 2001 program, sponsored by the National Geographic
Society.
Whether conducting a monitoring project or simply writing about a local waterway,
students and teachers alike will do their part to promote river conservation in their
own communities.
For suggested lesson plans on rivers and more information about Rivers 2001,
visit the website of the Canadian Council for Geographic Education.
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Arctic tripping
If heaven is white, I know not why this hell shares the colour of the house of
angels…. This miserable, frigid land of frost shows no trace of God's existence:
no love, no forgiveness, no hope.
Grade 12 student Meara Crawford of Victoria put herself in the shoes of a member
of the ill-fated Franklin voyage to write these chilling words, which earned her
a spot on the Students on Ice Arctic Expedition in August. Crawford and Kathleen
Aikens of Upper Leitches Creek, N.S., were the winners of the Canadian Geographic Polar
Bound contest that sent them on a trip to retrace the route of the explorers who
were seeking the Northwest Passage. The girls were amazed by the subtle beauty of
the Arctic, the taste of raw whale blubber, the cultural exchanges and the numerous
polar-bear sightings. "I expected the trip to narrow down what I wanted to do
in college," says Aikens, "but instead, I actually felt a broadening. I
was exposed to so many different things." Canadian Geographic will
sponsor two more students on an Antarctic trip this winter.
Urban conversion
False Creek was once a much-maligned eyesore in an otherwise stunningly picturesque Vancouver.
Log-littered and polluted from decades of industrial use, the tidal flat in the middle
of the city underwent a massive facelift in the 1970s and 1980s. Factories, railway marshalling
yards and tar-paper shacks gave way to an innovative mixture of high-density housing, waterfront
parks and the site of Expo 86. Canadian Geographic was there at the beginning, writing
about the evolution of False Creek (Apr/May 1982) and describing the city's Expo efforts
(Dec 1985/Jan 1986, above). And in "Urban village" (this issue, page 72), Shawn
Blore takes a look at new living arrangements in the False Creek area and other downtown
neighbourhoods.
Out of the woodwork
Banff and Jasper national parks are dotted with decaying structures — some of the only
remnants left by the explorers who have roamed the rugged Rockies over the last century.
Last summer, University of Victoria geography student Karen Brelsford searched
for the derelict buildings that once housed and protected them. "They're like
an abandoned treasure in the forest," she says of the log cabins she discovered.
Brelsford, the recipient of a Royal Canadian Geographical Society research grant,
visited about 25 sites, extracting pencil-thin core samples from the wooden remains.
By comparing the pattern of tree-ring widths to an existing master tree-ring chronology,
she will be able to determine when the trees were felled. Armed with her data and
historical information from Parks Canada, Brelsford hopes to piece together part
of the human influence on one of the country's most spectacular landscapes.
(Canadian research projects such as this are supported by your membership fees
and donations to the RCGS.)
Canada for kids
 Geography
is the stuff of great TV for kids. That's the idea behind a new show slated to air in January. CG
Kids, developed and produced by Summerhill Entertainment in partnership with Canadian
Geographic, will introduce young viewers to the splendor of our diverse landscapes.
The weekly 30-minute series is being shot on location, as intrepid hosts Jennifer
Racicot and Jamie Shannon, along with their puppet sidekick, Eldon, meet youngsters
from coast to coast to coast.
We asked the hosts for some thoughts on the show:
CG: What do you hope kids will take away from this show?
JS: An appreciation for the fact that Canada is one big, swell country!
JR: I want kids to be excited and patriotic. We have so much respect for
our audience — we look at them as equals, as friends, and want them to feel as if they
are experiencing Canada with us.
CG: What would you want kids to learn about your own hometown?
JS: In Toronto, Kensington Market is a microcosm of diversity.
JR: I want everyone to look at Sudbury, Ont., as more than just a rock.
It is beautiful and tranquil — and the people are amazing.
CG: What has been your best experience with CG Kids?
JS: Meeting dairy farmers. I have never seen what life on a farm is about,
and let me tell you, that kind of family-working-together lifestyle is something to strive
for.
JR: Body surfing in caves on Îles-de-la-Madeleine — it was so
crazy fun!
CG: What one word would you use to describe Canada?
JS: Big!
JR: Stunning!
CG Kids is slated to run on TV Ontario and the Aboriginal Peoples Television
Network (APTN) beginning in January. Check your
local listings.
(Photo by Andrew Danson)
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