Hello Readers of WINGS,



We have already had a great start to 2025 and are looking forward to an eventful year ahead. The beginning of the year is also a time to reflect on 2024, a year of extraordinary impact. Last year included: the first book published from our AMASS research project entitled Space for Birds: Patterns and Parallels of Beauty and Flight written by Dr. Bondar; a new exhibition curated, Patterns & Parallels: The Great Imperative to Survive, had stops in three communities and now has reached over 90,000 attendees; the launch of the Video Bondar Challenge for Youth made available to schools across Canada; and continued fieldwork on at-risk migratory bird populations. We thank you for your continued support that makes the vital work of the Roberta Bondar Foundation possible. We are pleased to share with you some highlights from the past few months and a very exciting beginning to 2025.

On October 10, Dr. Bondar visited the Butterfly Conservatory to deliver her talk entitled Space for Birds: From Invisible to Visible to a sold-out crowd. Afterward, attendees were invited to view the exhibition and a book signing for Dr. Bondar's new book, Space for Birds: Patterns & Parallels of Beauty and Flight.

Patterns & Parallels: The Great Imperative to Survive opened at Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls, Ont. on August 31 and was on exhibit there until December 8, 2024. During its stay, it reached over 63,000 visitors from around the world!

The exhibition then travelled to the Art Gallery of Peterborough in Peterborough, Ont. where it will be on display from January 10 to March 16, 2025. Be sure to stop by to see it!

Dr. Bondar attended an opening reception on January 17 to deliver an inspiring talk to a crowd of over 130 visitors.

This stop includes a display of past Summer Camp Bondar Challenge winners from the local Riverview Park & Zoo. Several campers and their families were able to attend the opening reception to see their winning photo displayed in the gallery and to meet Dr. Bondar.

The winners of the 2024 Summer Camp Bondar Challenge were chosen last fall! Seven camps from New Brunswick, Alberta and Ontario participated this past summer, and our judges have selected 22 winning photographs out of 73 submissions. Visit the link below to view the spectacular winning photos!

Ongoing fieldwork for the Space for Birds project is continuing this year with a focus on the Piping Plover, Red Knot, Sprague's Pipit, and Arctic Tern, as well as the avian species who share the same seasonal habitats. While many birds have yet to arrive in their wintering grounds in Florida, Dr. Bondar and the RBF have begun the search for banded birds in several locations there. Endangered and threatened birds are always difficult to find, however this year is proving even more challenging due to the disturbance and devastation of habitats by Hurricanes Helene and Milton last fall. As these habitats are affected, conservation of remaining habitats becomes even more critical. Stay tuned for more details on fieldwork progress in the next issue of WINGS!

On September 25, 2024, our new book, Space for Birds: Patterns and Parallels of Beauty and Flight was launched to a capacity crowd at the headquarters of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in Ottawa.

This beautiful publication, complete with 30,000 words and over 180 high-resolution images of the endangered Whooping Crane and the near-threatened Lesser Flamingo, is the result of over 10 years of field research. Royalties from sales support the Foundation’s work. 

Selected reviews and kudos for the book are on the RBF website. We are sharing a couple of the most recent ones below:

“Your book is magnificent and the ‘story’ is compelling. The photos, both earth-based and space-based, combine to deliver clear understanding. It’s also beautiful. On the other hand, the prose took my breath away. Your writing is reminiscent of Hemingway and Fitzgerald. A genuine pleasure to read, not a struggle to get through but an engaging delight. Most books are either a good story or an enlightening non-fiction piece, but seldom do I get both a good story and great prose in the same book. Thank you for restoring my faith in the written word.“

Ian Morrison, President, Focus Consulting

“Space for Birds is an attractive book, fit to adorn any collection. Throughout, the text is peppered healthily with interesting, insightful information about the birds’ biology, as well as Bondar’s personal reflections. Meanwhile, the photos help showcase two spectacular birds in novel ways. It’s a title worth getting your hands on.”

Ed Stubbs, Lifelong birder, Author, Deputy Editor for BirdGuides and Birdwatch Magazine



Once you have read Dr. Bondar's Space for Birds book or attended the Patterns & Parallels travelling exhibition, you will have noticed that the spectacular space images provided by NASA and taken aboard the International Space Station and Space Shuttle are accompanied by mini-maps of the globe that highlight what area of the Earth is shown in the images, i.e., the footprint of the space image on the surface of our planet.

These "locator globes" were created using ArcGIS Pro, a mapping software created by Esri. Esri Canada has recently featured us in their "GIS Success Stories" series, where they share stories from organizations that have used GIS to solve problems or transform their organizations. Read the full story of how and why we used these locator globes here!



A "locator globe" map from the Space for Birds book, showing the area covered in the image to the right.

A photograph taken aboard the International Space Station (ISS052-E-63066) showing Killeen, Texas, south to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge/Gulf of Mexico. (© Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center)

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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