On August 8, 1863, American ornithologist and nature writer Florence Merriam Bailey was born into a family steeped in natural history. Her father, a friend of John Muir’s, encouraged her interests, as did her brother who became the first chief of the U.S. Biological…
On August 3, 1915, American zoologist Donald Redfield Griffin was born. As a Harvard undergraduate and early pioneer in animal behaviour studies, he investigated bat echolocation as the animal’s means of navigation, along with fellow student and future neurophysiologist, Robert Galambos. Griffin coined the…
On July 30, 1920, Marie Tharp was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan. A pioneering oceanographic cartographer, she mapped the ocean floor and co-discovered the Mid-Oceanic Ridges, along with her colleague Bruce Heezen, Columbia University’s team leader of ocean ridge mapping. As they worked down the…
On July 28, 1635, microscopist, astronomer, architect, Robert Hooke was born. As a student, Hooke was at ease in his studies of art, languages, music, and mathematics. At Oxford, he met and entered into creative friendships with his professors and peers in various sciences.…
On July 26, 1933, Riding Mountain National Park of Canada was officially dedicated. This 3000 km2 Manitoba park is a meeting place of wetlands with a large prairie-grass-meets-boreal-forest set of ecosystems. As part of one of UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserves, Riding Mountain is committed to…
On July 16, 1981, Yoho National Park’s Burgess Shale became Canada’s fifth World Heritage Site of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Within Yoho National Park of Canada, the Burgess Shale holds the deposit of one of world’s most ancient marine…
On July 14, 1862, geologist Florence Bascom was born. As a youngster, she accompanied her father and his university associates on field trips and was hooked on Geology after an early trip to Mammoth Cave. Advancing through school and into university, Bascom became interested…
July 9 celebrates the passing of two Nunavut acts in Canadian Parliament – the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act and the Nunavut Act, 1993. Nunavut officially split from the Northwest Territories and became a Canadian territory on April 1, 1999. Nunavut…
Yearly, on June 8, World Oceans Day recognizes 71% of our planet as an interconnected entity since all oceans are linked and flow together as one. Marine life moves without regard for ocean label. Unfortunately, so does acid rain and pollution that can move…
On June 5, 2025, World Environment Day celebrates its 52nd anniversary. This year, the focus is on working together to #Beat Plastic Pollution – present in our soils, our air, our water, and enters our bodies through the food we eat, the water we…