Hello Readers of WINGS,

It's been an action-packed year so far, and we have many exciting initiatives ahead.

Our latest TELE (Travelling Exhibition and Learning Experience) Patterns & Parallels: The Great Imperative to Survive, continues its tour this year to new and exciting venues in Ontario before it will head westward in Canada. Dr. Bondar's ongoing fieldwork for the Space for Birds project has produced inspiring images and stories that we are anxious to share in the months to come. We are excited to announce Dr. Bondar's latest book which will officially launch on September 25th, 2024 at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society's headquarters at 50 Sussex Drive in Ottawa. Space for Birds: Patterns and Parallels of Beauty and Flight is currently available for pre-order before its release date of September 17th, 2024.

This is the first book arising from the Space for Birds project and is the culmination of over 10 years of field research. The book shares the lives of two majestic bird species through spectacular new space, aerial, and surface photographs. Over 180 of Dr. Bondar's high-resolution aerial and surface photographs offer intimate insights into habitat relationships and the daily lives of the Eastern Hemisphere’s near-threatened Lesser Flamingo and the Western Hemisphere’s endangered Whooping Crane, while targeted and carefully selected images from thousands taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station convey the vast scale of their migratory journeys.

After its launch at the Art Gallery of Algoma (July to October 2023), Patterns & Parallels: The Great Imperative to Survive completed its two-month exhibition run at Science North in Sudbury, Ontario. A capacity crowd of over 200 people attended the opening event that included Dr. Bondar’s presentation delivered in the IMAX auditorium, and 20,716 visitors to Science North saw the exhibition.

We are excited to announce that Patterns & Parallels: The Great Imperative to Survive is now open at the Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre at Humber College in Toronto, where it will remain on exhibit until July 26, 2024. Niagara Falls is the next location, where it will open at the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory on August 31, 2024 and run to December 8, 2024.

Patterns & Parallels: The Great Imperative to Survive, and the Space for Birds project are made possible through the contributions of donors, foundations, corporations and partnering organizations. We are deeply grateful for their generosity and offer our

thanks to:

Donors

Circle 129, an RBF Community of

Leadership Supporters

RBF Individual Donors

Air Canada

Canada Summer Jobs (Government of Canada)

The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation

ECO Canada Employment Program

Fleming College

Gordon & Patricia Gray Animal Welfare Foundation

Power Corporation of Canada

RBC Tech for Nature (RBC Foundation)

Royal Canadian Geographical Society

Takla Foundation

Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre

Humber College

In-Kind Supporters

Birds Canada

Canadian Space Agency

Canadian Wildlife Service

Convention on Biodiversity-United Nations Environment Program

NASA

Parks Canada

Saskatchewan Ministry of the Environment (Fish, Wildlife and Lands Branch)

U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife Service

The winners of the 2023 Summer Camp Bondar Challenge are announced! In 2023, five summer camps continued to pioneer the post-COVID return to the field, entering their photos into the Summer Camp Bondar Challenge Canada-wide competition. Check out the link below to view the winning submissions!

If you or someone you know might be interested in participating in the Bondar Challenge, check out the Bondar Challenge page on our website to learn more about the program and how to implement it in an interested camp or school. We are developing novel expansions to the Bondar Challenge photography program, all of which we hope will inspire both art, engagement in nature, and conservation action as we move forward in 2024.

Two members of the last wild, self-sustaining population of Whooping Cranes, an adult (left) and a juvenile (right), hunt for crabs in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas. © Roberta L. Bondar, 2019

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's annual update of the number of wintering Whooping Cranes in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas estimated 536 Whooping Cranes (88 juveniles and 203 mating pairs) currently in the Aransas-Wood Buffalo wild population. This estimate is based on aerial surveys conducted in January 2023. The 2022 winter report estimated 543 Whooping Cranes, which means the population has remained stable over the past couple of years—great news for their conservation!

The next aerial survey was planned for January 2024, so more updates on the status of the wild population should be coming soon.

Meanwhile, Whooping Crane conservation efforts continue at Canada's only Whooping Crane breeding program, run by the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. Two young cranes, Reed and Harp, were hatched and raised at the Calgary Zoo and transported over 2000 km to the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin, where they were then released into the wetlands of Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. The Wilder Institutes' ultimate goal is to establish a second self-sustaining, wild population of Whooping Cranes.

Circle 129 is a community of the Roberta Bondar Foundation that was launched on January 22, 2022, at the 30th Anniversary event of Dr. Bondar's historic spaceflight. Supporters include people from various parts of the world who share Dr. Bondar’s belief in the importance of inquiry, creativity, and the conservation of our natural world.

The significant and ongoing commitment of these individuals ensures that the organization can undertake long-term programming, and seize opportunities that make a positive impact. Join Circle 129 and enjoy unique opportunities to connect and learn with the RBF community.

Donations to RBF are put into action to decrease the growing nature deficit in society and inspire conservation of our natural world. Together we can make great strides in addressing the growing challenges of declining biodiversity, habitat loss, and a changing climate. Please take a moment and make your gift today using the secure form below.

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