Dr. Roberta Bondar, first Canadian woman in space, was in Timmins this week to speak to students about her experience in space and to challenge them to love this planet by photographing nature and submitting those photos to the Ontario 150 Challenge at each stop.
The Challenge invites people to take photographs of nature scenery in their community that they like and what to see exist for the next 150 years.
“My view from the spacecraft Discovery, 25 years ago forever changed my view of the Earth, and it was on that flight that I committed to protecting this magnificent planet,” said Dr. Bondar.
Participants should submit their photos, along with a brief description of why their entry is meaningful for them. The photographs submitted can be viewed here
Those who take up the Ontario 150 nature photo challenge will also be able to become a “Bondar Environment Champion by pledging online to commit to adopting Dr. Bondar’s top 10 practices: reduce, reuse, recycle, repair, refuse, restore, replace, remember your shopping bag, respect the earth.
Bondar, who was also the first neurologist in space, began her inspirational seven-stop series in Sault Ste. Marie, Dr. Bondar’s hometown, on Apr. 25. Other stops in the tour included North Bay (May 10) and Timmins (May 11), where she gave two talks, one at Timmins High and Vocational and the other at O’Gorman High School.
Dr. Bondar also made a surprise visit to the Timmins Science Village to lend her support to the valuable science education resource provided by the project developed by Antoine Garwah and Lorraine Cantin.
The next stops will be Sudbury on June 1. Dates for appearances in Manitoulin Island, Kenora and Thunder Bay still must be set.
The tour is sponsored by Science North and the Roberta Bondar Foundation, who have formed a partnership to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Dr. Bondar’s historic space travel with the Earth Matters Challenge.
The multi-city series of guest appearances in major cities in Northern Ontario focuses on the trailblazing astronaut’s love for this planet that was inspired by her view of the earth from space.
Dr. Bondar and her foundation is committed to connecting people with nature through photography to promote good health and protection of the Earth.
Not only is Dr. Bondar, Canada’s first woman in space, and the first neurologist in space, but she is also an award-winning photographer who has photographed each of Canada’s national parks for the book Passionate Vision – Discovering Canada’s National Parks.
At each stop on her seven-city tour, Dr. Bondar will launch the Ontario 150 Challenge in that community.
“It’s my hope that when people connect to nature through photography, they will love and respect the Earth and work together to protect it so that we can enjoy a healthy life on a healthy planet,” said Dr. Bondar.
During her talk to students from schools from Timmins and region, that were held at Timmins High and Vocational, and at O’Gorman High School, Dr. Bondar talked about what it was like to be on board the Discovery space shuttle in 1992.
“The purpose of me being in space on the Discovery, really wasn’t all that glamorous,” recounted Dr. Bondar. “The purpose for me on that flight was to make myself sick to study how astronauts responded to being up there in space.”
But while she was aboard the space shuttle Discovery, the view of the earth was truly life altering for Dr. Bondar.
“The thing about space travel, is that you get to see the earth from a totally new perspective, and when you return you are changed forever,” she said.
When Dr. Bondar returned to earth, she travelled to the remotest parts of Canada and photographed them. Places like Biggar Lake in Nunavut which is the geographical centre of Canada and the Northern most point of Canada on Ellesmere Island.
Dr. Bondar believes continued space exploration is important to the future of the earth, described how space exploration evolved from 1950s, through the 1960s and into the Apollo series that landed on the moon, beginning with Apollo 11 in July 1969.
“I was born in Sault Ste. Marie and, like you, I had access to a view of the universe that is completely free, which can inspire you not just to learn of the stars, but to know that we still have so much to learn about ourselves and this planet,” she added.
“When I was your age, nothing had left this planet, no communications satellite, no unmanned rocket, no dogs, no people,” Dr. Bondar recalled. “So, you can imagine I had all kinds of ideas about space.”
“Later, I remember going to my uncle’s cottage on Lake Superior, looking up at the night sky and seeing things moving in the sky, and these were artificial satellites.”
“Some things never change," said Dr. Bondar. “To want to reach for the star, to learn and to achieve your goal.”
“I hope I have inspired you to protect the environment, and to engage in the world around you,” Dr. Bondar said.