The Denman Conservancy Association is inviting you to a very special event!
Friday, May 17th, 7:30 pm at the Community Hall
Renowned explorer and naturalist Brian Keating will join us that evening to regale us with tales of his exciting adventures in the wild and help us launch the Community School’s Natural History Collection.
Brian is a much sought-after keynote speaker and has very generously waived his usual fee to help us raise funds to create the genesis of our Community School’s Natural History Collection.
Brian’s show is an audio/visual delight. For more than three decades Brian has inspired thousands of people to discover and cherish our natural world. Brian and his wife Dee, a physician, start their wilderness journeys where only hiking boots, mountain climbing equipment, canoes, dugouts, kayaks, skis, snowshoes and bushwhacking can take them. You can see videos of his amazing adventures on his website: www.goingwild.org.
Our Community School’s Natural History Collection has a special resonance for Brian. He tells us that he had his own natural history collection as a young student and assembled a complete rat skeleton from a scattering of bones, a treasure he still has.
Brian’s lifelong passion for nature-education and discovery has taken him to some 50 countries on all continents on earth. He’s led groups on wilderness travel for three decades, exploring some of the best wildlife areas on the Planet. He’s a weekly guest on both Calgary and Edmonton’s CBC Radio, and for many years, was a regular on the Discovery Channel, using his own adventures and wildlife filming. He’s in high demand as an international speaker, presenting at some 50 events a year. Brian has participated in the TED Talks, as well. Presently, he’s the Calgary Zoo’s Honourary Conservation Advisor and a part time Adjunct Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the U of C.
His presentation is appropriate for adventurers of all ages. The DCA is sponsoring the event and the project. Admission is by donation. We suggest $10 for adults. We would like to see a lot of young people in the audience. Since Brian has waived his usual fee to help spawn the creation of Natural History Collection for our Community School, net proceeds will go directly toward this exciting project. Bring your chequebooks. Charitable receipts will be sent for all donations over $10. There will be a door prize of an animal sculpture donated by Peter Karsten.
The Staff of the Community School has given their enthusiastic support to the concept of the Natural History Collection. It will grow as time goes on, chiefly through the generosity of the community and mentoring volunteers. The collection will be kept in cabinets, on study boards, on shelves and in binders with laminated sheets of artefacts. Parts of deceased animals and their shedding (feathers, exoskeletons and antlers) will be the source. The Ministry of the Environment will assist us to obtain specimens and provide the required possession permits. There is no substitute for holding, feeling, and smelling (plant material) the real thing something an electronic screen can’t offer.
Thanks to very opportune timing the Community School launched a four-week SPARKS program called “Beach Life”. This spring students will be taken by local biologists to collect animal artefacts in the intertidal zone which are then identified, classified by taxonomy and preserved as permanent “study boards” in time for Brian’s presentation. These study boards will be the first elements of the Natural History Collection and the best part is that they are created with the keen help of the students. The opportunities to expand this genesis are nearly endless. We will have a design plan of the proposed project and the study boards to show you at the May 17th event.
See Events for May 17th, 2013
