Special Events

GUEST SPEAKER

Polar Possibilities: Adventures in Paradise

A special presentation by:
Brian Keating, Head of Conservation Outreach, Calgary Zoological Society

Nearly 30 years ago, Brian spent four months living in the high Arctic, hiking hundreds of kilometers, often encountering wolfs, fox, musk ox, caribou and hares. He dreamed then of hiking through the only glacier-free pass amongst a dramatic mountain range that stood shimmering to the east. In July of 2002, that dream came true.

Brian will present this adventure during his own unique method of live-narrating his video edit of that epic experience, hiking through a breathtaking landscape of icy cold rivers, glaciers bulging from nearly every side valley, amongst carpets of brilliant Arctic-alpine flowers. Keating intends to cap off the presentation with a series of other short video clips, including his two week kayaking trip on the eastern edge of Ellesmere within sight of Greenland; swimming with beluga whales in the gin-clear waters off Sommerset Island, and sailing on a ship through our own wildlife-rich waters of Lancaster Sound.

This is an Arctic celebration of wildlife and adventure, a celebration of one of the planets last great wilderness areas.

Biography

Brian has travelled extensively on a half dozen excursions into the Canadian Arctic, experiencing it all by kayak, ship, on foot, and lodge based. But his polar interest began at age 21, where he worked at a remote Arctic weather station for 4 months. In 2002, he returned to the Arctic and managed a successful crossing of the central mountain range of Ellesmere Island, and more recently, has served as a ships naturalist on two expeditions to Greenland. In addition, he has traveled on eight expeditions to the Antarctic, including three via the South Georgia Island archipelago.

In his real life, Brian heads up the Conservation Outreach Department at the Calgary Zoo, where he raises money and spends it on habitat protection and conservation projects around the world.

He started the Zoo's eco tour program over 20 years ago, allowing both he and his wife, Dee, the opportunity to feed their global natural history desires. He's travelled on all seven continents, including some 30 excursions into 17 African countries. Brian also teaches at the Calgary University as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of anthropology. His first book, "Going Wild: Amazing Animal Adventures Around the World" was published in the fall of 2004 and was nominated for the 2005 Ontario Library Association Silver Birch Award. And since then, he has published four more titles in the series that celebrates nature for children, including one specifically on the "Poles".

In addition to his full time job at the Zoo, he's in his 2nd decade of conducting a weekly nature column on CBC radio; for seven years hosted a bi weekly TV segment for the Canadian Discovery Channel; and recently completing an hour-long documentary entitled "Planet Zoo". He's a pilot of over 20 years, a keen naturalist, scuba diver, and mountaineer.