UBC Reads Sustainability is an exciting program that brings well-known sustainability authors to our campus to engage in a campus-wide discussion. It’s part book club, part lecture series, and part opportunity to learn beyond the classroom. Above all, it’s a forum for students across disciplines to discuss sustainability issues. The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre is proud to sponsor the webcast recording of this talk.
In a rugged knot of mountains in northern British Columbia lies a spectacular valley known to the First Nations as the Sacred Headwaters. There, three of Canada’s most important salmon rivers—the Stikine, the Skeena, and the Nass—are born in close proximity. Now, against the wishes of First Nations, the British Columbia government has opened the Sacred Headwaters to industrial development. Professor Wade Davis describes the beauty of the Sacred Headwaters, the threats to it, and the response of native groups and concerned citizens as part of UBC Reads Sustainability. Davis’ message: no amount of gold, copper or methane gas can compensate for the sacrifice of a place that could be the Sacred Headwaters of all Canadians, and indeed, of all peoples of the world. Part book club, part lecture, Davis’ presentation goes beyond the visually stunning text, The Sacred Headwaters, a collection of images by an array of photographers portraying the splendour of the region.
Speaker Bio
Pioneering Canadian ethnographer Wade Davis joined the University of British Columbia in 2014 to advance global awareness of cultures and ecosystems at risk. Davis, best known for his work among indigenous societies worldwide, has served as National Geographic Society’s Explorer-in-Residence since 1999. He is the author of several best-selling books, including The Serpent and the Rainbow, which was made into a major Hollywood motion picture, and Into the Silence, which won the 2012 Samuel Johnson Prize, one of the world’s top non-fiction prizes. Davis’ research and teaching activities is broadly interdisciplinary, encompassing public education, advocacy and policy impact. His teaching duties will be for half of each academic year to permit extensive research and outreach in the field. Davis holds degrees in anthropology, biology and ethnobotany from Harvard University and has received numerous honorary degrees.
Resources at UBC Library
Davis, Wade. Light at the edge of the world : a journey through the realm of vanishing cultures. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 2007. [Link]
Davis, Wade. Into the silence: the Great War, Mallory and the conquest of Everest. London : Bodley Head, 2011. [Link]
Davis, Wade. Shadows in the sun : travels to landscapes of spirit and desire. Washington, Island Press, 1998. [Link]
February 12, 2015; 12.00-2.00pm at the Old Auditorium.