Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson, two of Canada’s most acclaimed writers and lifelong conservationists will be in Saskatchewan from June 24 to 28, 2013 for the Prairie Passages Tour. The two writers are Joint Honorary Presidents of BirdLife International’s Rare Bird Club. During the tour, Atwood and Gibson will visit PFRA community pastures and Grasslands National Park.
Margaret Atwood
Graeme Gibson (photo by Dennis Minty)
The purpose of this tour is to raise public awareness of the national and international significance of the PFRA heritage rangelands for plant and animals that live on them – natural prairie and the 32 species at risk – and the need to conserve these lands for future generations. This is also an educational tour; several prominent members of BirdLife International, a worldwide partnership of conservation organizations, are joining the group. The tour will include a lot of bird watching and meetings with conservationists and livestock producers who depend on the PFRA pastures for their livelihood.
Following the the tour, Atwood and Gibson will share their experiences during the Atwood and Gibson Prairie Passages Dinner, co-emceed by CBC Radio One’s Sheila Coles, host of the CBC Morning Edition and Candace Savage, one of Canada’s most celebrated nature writers. The event is sponsored by Nature Canada, Public Pastures-Public Interest and CBC Saskatchewan. After the dinner, Atwood and Gibson will speak, reflecting on their visit to our grasslands and pastures, the birdlife and species at risk, and their own passion for conservation. There will be great images from the tour, music, and a chance to meet the international guests.
The tickets are $100 or $950 for a table of 10.
Available through the Globe Theatre Box Office or:
Phone: 306.525.6400
Out of town: 1.866.954.5623
Fax: 306.352.4194
Email: boxoffice@globetheatrelive.com
I was fortunate to spend two days on the Prairie Passages Tour in southern Saskatchewan, and photographed the activities. On Tuesday evening I gave a short audio-visual presentation to the group, with images from the Grasslands National Park. If you are able to attend the gala dinner on Thursday, you will see a show of grassland images that I prepared as part of the program.
Here are two images from the tour.
Wes Olson, retired Parks Canada bison ecology expert talks about the bison in Grasslands NP
Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson visit the Grasslands NP on Wednesday, June 26th