RCGS News & Events

This is Geography
Ever relied on a GPS unit or Google Maps for directions? In our modern, globally interconnected world, with a range of gadgets at our disposal, many people are becoming increasingly separated from understanding and appreciating the physical world around them — our basic geography. So how do geographers get the concept back on the map? Canadian Geographic Education and the Canadian Association of Geographers have teamed up to launch a geographic ... Full story »

Geo geniuses
With everything from lines of longitude to facts about the lithosphere filed away in their heads, top students from across the country competed in Canadian Geographic Education’s 19th annual Great Canadian Geography Challenge national finals, held live online on April 18. Michael Hao, Anzo Nguyen and Spencer Zhao took first, second and third places, respectively, and received the corresponding $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 scholarships. They beat out ... Full story »

Classroom Energy Diet Challenge Winners
This spring, nearly 1,500 kindergarten to Grade 12 classes across Canada worked to complete a gamut of energysaving challenges — and to earn a chance to win prizes — in the annual Classroom Energy Diet Challenge run by Canadian Geographic Education in partnership with Shell Canada. Congratulations to this year’s winners! Grand Prize: $5,000 for educational technology Elementary (grades K to 6) Teacher: Ms. Cheryl Kopp; Class name: “Energetic ... Full story »

Canada’s Coolest School Trip Winners
The Grade 8 students of Caronport Elementary School in Caronport, Sask., looked a little puzzled when they watched Environment Minister Peter Kent’s video announcement projected on a wall in their gymnasium this past April. But then it clicked. They’d won Canada’s Coolest School Trip, an all-expenses- paid vacation to Nova Scotia from June 3 to 7 to visit the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site and to explore Cape Breton Highlands National ... Full story »

Fellows in print
Explorer, writer, photographer and filmmaker Frank Wolf writes about his 2012 Royal Canadian Geographical Societyfunded expedition, a 21-day, 620-kilometre trip from Nain, N.L. to Kangiqsualujjuaq, Que., in the Spring 2013 issue of Canoeroots magazine. Read more about Wolf’s expedition. Photographer Michelle Valberg’s book, Arctic Kaleidoscope: The People, Wildlife and Ever-Changing Landscape, was released this past spring. It boasts a compilation ... Full story »

Exploring the earth's extremes
Join storm chaser and global adventurer George Kourounis as he showcases his most harrowing adventures, and misadventures, from his travels to the most remote and dangerous places on Earth to document extreme forces of nature such as tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, avalanches and deadly caves. Full story »

Titanic talk
A group of key supporters and volunteers of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) were guests at an exclusive luncheon held recently in honour of Robert Ballard, the American underwater explorer best known for his 1985 discovery of the wreck of the Titanic. Also in attendance as a special guest was Sven Lindblad, the president and founder of Lindblad Expeditions, which sponsored Ballard’s visit to Canada. RCGS president John Geiger hosted ... Full story »

Bernard Voyer
Standing on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Rimouski, Que., Bernard Voyer stared at the horizon, wondering what lay at the seam where the sky and the murky green water met. Frigid winter headwinds frosted his face and hands, but Voyer held fast, determined to beat the cold. The seven-year-old eventually gave up, beaten by the elements. But rather than try to combat winter again, he decided to make its acquaintance. This “friendship with ... Full story »

Canadian soldiers to be honoured in Sicily
On July 10, 1943, Allied forces arrived on the shores near Pachino, Sicily, to begin their invasion of Italy. The 1st Canadian Infantry Division and 1st Canadian Army Tank Brigade moved alongside British and American troops to carry out two main objectives: break the German line of defence and free Italy from Fascism. On that day nearly 70 years ago, Operation Husky began — the first independent Canadian role in the Second World War. For 28 days, ... Full story »

Meeting the Challenge!
The Classroom Energy Diet Challenge (CEDC) is saving kilowatts one school at a time, and the class that trims the most could end up being Janice Shelden’s grade threes, from Prince Charles Elementary in Surrey, B.C. This year, Canadian Geographic Education and Shell Canada have teamed up with Global TV to follow one classroom as it works its way through the 25 energy-saving challenges. Already busy advocates for environmental conservation, Shelden ... Full story »