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Hello Readers of WINGS,
We are excited to share updates from a very busy summer of field work for the Space for Birds project, the latest stop of the Travelling Exhibition, and of course, our signature program for youth, the Bondar Challenge. Read on to catch up on our current projects and programs.
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Photographing the Piping Plover on the Great Lakes Shoreline | |
In June, Dr. Bondar met with Birds Canada staff at a protected area of shoreline habitat to photograph three-day-old chicks of the endangered Great Lakes Population of Piping Plover. | |
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Trip to Southhampton Island in Nunavut | |
In July, Dr. Bondar and Professor Bonnie Patterson, RBF Board Chair, travelled to Southhampton Island in Nunavut to meet with the Wildlife Research Team of Environment and Climate Change Canada. | |
The team surveyed and photographed the breeding grounds of the endangered rufa Red Knot, a focal species of the Space for Birds Project, The Arctic breeding locations and habitat of this rapidly declining species are not well known, and these surveys are helping to refine this knowledge. | |
Patterns & Parallels at LGIC in Toronto
Patterns & Parallels: The Great Imperative to Survive recently completed its run at the Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre (LGIC) at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario. The exhibit received outstanding reviews from all who visited. Surveys of visitors revealed that 20% of visitors agreed that this exhibition changed their level of satisfaction with local arts & culture, 30% agreed that this exhibition changed their engagement with the natural environment and 50% of visitors agreed to both.
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Photo Above: L-R Kelly Jackson, Vice President, External Affairs & Professional Learning at Humber College, Dr. Roberta Bondar, Nadine Finlay, Curator and Academic Manager of the LGIC | |
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In addition to presenting at the opening event on May 15, Dr. Bondar also spoke to an enthusiastic group of students from Twentieth Street Junior School on May 27.
Over 26,000 people of all ages have now experienced Patterns & Parallels at the three locations visited since its launch in July 2023.
Photo: Dr. Roberta Bondar presents a poster to Jennifer Carey, a teacher at Twentieth Street Junior School
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Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory
Niagara Falls, ON
August 31st, 2024 - December 8th, 2024
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Art Gallery of Peterborough
Peterborough, ON
January 11th, 2025 - March 16, 2025
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The School Bondar Challenge, run through EcoSchools Canada, has wrapped up its 2023/2024 season! 407 photographs were submitted to the competition, and 9 winners have been selected! Congratulations to all the students who participated for their excellent photos. | | |
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The 2024 summer camp season has been a busy one! This summer, we visited some of our camps that ran the Bondar Challenge.
In August, we visited Riverview Park and Zoo, where campers were eager to learn how to use their cameras to take photos of their natural surroundings. From the butterfly garden, to the trails and lake, campers were given many opportunities to put their new photography skills to use and took amazing pictures of the wildlife and plants around them!
After running the program, Camp Tamarack in Ontario held their own exhibition to showcase and celebrate the amazing photos their campers were able to capture.
Stay tuned for the announcement of the Challenge winners in our next edition of WINGS!
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Building on the success of the Bondar Challenge Program, and leveraging the current popularity of videos among youth, the RBF has developed an exciting new program - the Video Bondar Challenge. As in the original Bondar Challenge, the program engages youth in the natural environment through the creation of their own visual frame or story of something special that they experience to share with others. Importantly, getting youth outside to explore the natural world around them through videography contributes to their overall wellness and mental health.
We are delighted that Luc Filion, a teacher in Ottawa, piloted the Video Challenge with his Grade 5 French Immersion Class throughout this past school year. Thanks to his commitment and donation of time, we were able to evaluate the effectiveness of our approach. The pilot of the program with the grade 5 class wrapped up this June, and we received five video submissions from participants. The students did a great job, each showing their creativity that successfully communicated their message. The program shows great promise for the future. Check out the submissions on our website by clicking the link below. We are thrilled that we will be expanding our current partnership with EcoSchools Canada to introduce the video program to schools across Canada throughout this school year.
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On August 14, for the second year in a row, RBF ran a special Lake Association Bondar Challenge with the Halls and Hawk Lakes Property Owners Association. Kids and parents alike learned a lot about photography, while enjoying the outdoors in a beautiful location. | |
A number of excellent and highly creative photos were taken by the young photographers. Thanks to RBF Education Advisors Joan Hamilton and Rayma Hill for the donation of their time to organize and run the Challenge again this summer. | |
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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.
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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. | |
Copyright © 2024 The Roberta Bondar Foundation, All rights reserved. | | | | |
