The Ian McTaggart-Cowan digital collection officially launched at the University of Victoria. A crowd convened in the universityB次元官网网址檚 new Digital Scholarship Commons to witness the launch of the digital collection showcasing McTaggart-CowanB次元官网网址檚 field notes, photographs, CBC television programs, 3D images and guided tour of the ecologistB次元官网网址檚 impactful life and career. Among the speakers were McTaggart-CowanB次元官网网址檚 daughter Ann Schau and Briony Penn, author of the scientistB次元官网网址檚 biography The Real Thing and creator of the guided online tour.

Archivist and director of special collections Lara Wilson said, B次元官网网址淚t was very rewarding to be able to launch what we would call the fuller digital exhibit B次元官网网址� It highlights the role of universities in disseminating knowledge to the greater public.B次元官网网址�

Interested viewers, researchers and students can download the materials on the site and incorporate them into relevant work.

McTaggart-Cowan, often referred to as the B次元官网网址渇ather of Canadian ecology,B次元官网网址� studied zoology, ecology and natural history during his long and dynamic career. He taught notable students such as C.S. Holling, Charles Krebs and Valerius Geist and, during his time as a television host, influenced young David Suzuki on his own environmental path. After serving as professor and Dean of Graduate Studies at UBC in 1964, McTaggart-Cowan became the University of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Chancellor from 1979 to 1984, and went on to write and publish books such as The Birds of British Columbia well into his nineties. He left behind over 70 years of notes, journals, photographs and correspondence when he passed in 2010.

Journalist Briony Penn interviewed the environmental scientist frequently in the years before his passing. An activist and adjunct professor of environmental studies at the University of Victoria, Penn was interested in McTaggart-CowanB次元官网网址檚 environmental contributions in British Columbia. After his passing, McTaggart-CowanB次元官网网址檚 family offered the responsibility of his biography to Penn, where came the beginnings of The Real Thing: The Natural History of Ian McTaggart-Cowan.

In constructing his biography, Penn studied McTaggart-CowanB次元官网网址檚 work extensively, timelining the course of his life and uncovering along the way what she called B次元官网网址渢he secret society of scientists who, over the century, had an incredible network trying to keep their scientific and conservational lives in government.B次元官网网址� The society was the product of budgetary cuts and muzzling to the scientific community. Working together, the scientists aimed to preserve environmental research, as well as respect for the natural world and for the knowledge of Indigenous peoples. April 2017B次元官网网址檚 March for Science illuminates how longstanding an issue scientific suppression has been.

B次元官网网址淚n a sense, the scientists felt they had to go underground and talk to the public quietly and through other means. ThatB次元官网网址檚 why they went into television and through popular culture,B次元官网网址� Penn said.

She added, B次元官网网址淚n a globalizing world, to love nature, to celebrate local people and to respect local peopleB次元官网网址檚 knowledge was not on the forefront of most academia, or societallyB次元官网网址� [McTaggart-Cowan] really wanted people to have richer lives, and the natural world creates that. A richer, more meaningful life.B次元官网网址�

McTaggart-CowanB次元官网网址檚 important environmental background was published in The Real Thing in 2015. The recent exhibition at UVic marks the release of all his work to the public in digital form B次元官网网址� an accessible collection which, Penn says, will help the next generation of environmental scientists broaden their frame of reference.

B次元官网网址淚 think I see it as foundational building blocks,B次元官网网址� Penn said. B次元官网网址淸Students] can see the political origins of scientific suppression and then they can start putting themselves in context. ThatB次元官网网址檚 where I think the next generation can arm themselves with historical facts.B次元官网网址�

Visit Ian McTaggart-CowanB次元官网网址檚 digital collection online at exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/ian-mctaggart-cowan.