Ben Gadd

January 20, 7:00pm, University of Calgary, Info Comms Tech, ICT – 102, 856 Campus Place NW 

Icefield Bunnies, Gullible Bees and Why the Tallest Mountain is Not the Highest: Rockhounds, flower-fanciers, wildlife-watchers and birders: you will love Ben’s light-hearted and stimulating one-hour talk about this remarkable mountain range. From little-known facts about grizzly bears and half-grabens to the amazing relationship between the calypso orchid and the golden northern bumblebee, prepare for an eye-opening presentation. Bring your questions, too.

Ben Gadd is one of Canada’s better-known naturalists and Rockies writers. Author of the ground-breaking Handbook of the Canadian Rockies, Ben has written nine other books and contributed to several more. His novel Raven’s End has become a prize-winning Canadian best-seller. Ben has received three Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival awards for his work, as well as the festival’s prestigious Summit of Excellence.

With a university degree in Earth science, Ben has pursued a career mainly in natural history, including a stint as a Parks Canada naturalist. He has also taught writing at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and Grant MacEwan College. For nearly 30 years he has worked in the summer as a freelance interpretive guide—one of only eleven guides accredited as master interpreters in Canada’s professional Interpretive Guides Association—and in the winter as a writer and sought-after lecturer on Rockies topics.

In 2014 the Geological Association of Canada awarded Ben their E. R. Ward Neale Medal for his many years of sharing Earth science with Canadians.

Location: University of Calgary, Info Comms Tech, ICT – 102

Time: 7:00pm

General Admissions – $5 Suggested Donation – No Pre-Show Ticket Sell