An Evening with Dr. David Suzuki

Environmental Stewardship: Forging the Future for the Frost Centre


Presented by the Friends of the Frost Centre

Is it possible that the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resource Centre will re-open? The Friends of the Frost Centre think so. They are making a bid to re-open and operate the popular outdoor learning centre, located near Dorset, Ontario that was closed by the provincial government 18 months ago.

Join the Friends of the Frost Centre for an impassioned presentation by Dr. David Suzuki on the environment, awareness and the importance of (places like) the Frost Centre for our survival. Musical friends David Archibald and Lani Billard will also be performing. The Friends of the Frost Centre are very grateful for Dr. Suzuki’s support for this initiative.

Here are the details:

When: Thursday, February 9 2006, 7:00 pm. Come early and mingle with the Friends of the Frost Centre

Where: The Macleod Auditorium, Medical Sciences Building, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto.

What: Presentation by Dr. David Suzuki on Environmental Education, with musical performances by David Archibald and Lani Billard

Tickets: $35/person; $25/student
For more information and to order tickets go to http://www.uofttix.ca/. Tickets can be mailed to you or picked up at door on night of event. Ticket cost is tax deductible for income tax purposes - retain ticket stub as your receipt

Can’t attend? Sponsor a student attendee! Or make a donation! For more information contact Ann at 416-593-0915 x244 or obiesowner@yahoo.com.

100% of the proceeds shall go towards the Friends of the Frost and their efforts to reopen the Frost Centre for environmental and outdoor education. The Friends of the Frost Centre is an incorporated, charitable organization. Charitable # - 869531343 rr0001. Suzuki’s books, music CD’s of the performers, and memberships may be purchased at the Friends display in the lobby.

About Dr. David Suzuki

Dr. David T. Suzuki PhD, Chair of the David Suzuki Foundation, is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster. He was born in Vancouver, BC in 1936. During World War II, at the age of six, he was interned with his family in a camp in BC. After the war, he went to high school in London, Ontario. He graduated with Honours from Amherst College in 1958 and went on to earn his PhD in Zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961. The author of more than 30 books, Dr. David Suzuki is recognized as a world leader in sustainable ecology. He lives with his wife, Dr. Tara Cullis, and two children in Vancouver.

Dr. Suzuki has received consistently high acclaim for his thirty years of award-winning work in broadcasting, explaining the complexities of science in a compelling, easily understood way. He is well known to millions as the host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's popular science television series, The Nature of Things. His eight part series, A Planet for the Taking won an award from the United Nations. His eight-part PBS series The Secret of Life was praised internationally, as was his five-part series The Brain for the Discovery Channel. For CBC Radio he founded the long running radio series, Quirks and Quarks and has presented two influential documentary series on the environment, From Naked Ape to Superspecies and It's a Matter of Survival.

An internationally respected geneticist, Dr. Suzuki was a full Professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver from 1969 until his retirement in 2001. He is professor emeritus with UBC's Sustainable Development Research Institute. From 1969 to 1972 he was the recipient of the prestigious E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship Award for the "Outstanding Canadian Research Scientist Under the Age of 35".

Dr. Suzuki has received numerous awards for his work, including a UNESCO prize for science, a United Nations Environment Program medal and the Order of Canada. He has 15 honorary doctorates from universities in Canada, the US and Australia. For his work in support of Canada's First Nations people, Dr. Suzuki has received many tributes and has been honoured with five names and formal adoption by two tribes.

About the Frost Centre

For almost 60 years the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resource Centre, located near Dorset, provided a quality learning environment dedicated to training and educating people in sustaining ecosystems and outdoor education. With its 24,000 hectares of lakes and scenic landscapes the Centre also provided day programs and hiking, skiing, and canoeing opportunities for many thousands of other users. It served both youth and adult clients - students, educators; government staff, family groups, interest groups; non-government organizations and the private sector It provided a unique residential learning experience to approximately 250,000 people until its abrupt closure in 2004.

Over the years the Frost Centre gained a reputation as a leader and innovator in environmental and outdoor education. It hosted many conferences and events including ones that resulted in the formation of the Council of Outdoor Education of Ontario, Interpretation Canada and the Canadian Network of Environmental Education and Communications (EECOM). Beyond serving its clients it contributed to environmental education at a provincial and national level in the areas of curriculum development and strategic planning for environmental education. Frost Centre won several awards including the Amethyst Award, the highest award within the Ontario Public Service, for excellence in environmental and natural resource management education.

For many people there is a strong “sense of place” - the Frost Centre being a special and beautiful setting to gather, share and learn. Many people have been touched in some way by the Frost Centre experience.

In July 2004, the provincial government abruptly closed the Centre. The citizens of Ontario were outraged and a protest campaign ensued. The Liberal government responded to the public outcry by setting up a working committee to explore options for re-opening the residential facility. The working committee, through a consultative and thorough process, released its report in June 2005. The committee recommended that the facility be kept in public ownership, leased and operated as an environmental and outdoor learning centre.

In December 2005 the government honoured those recommendations by launching a process to re-open the Frost Centre. They are currently soliciting “expressions of interest and submissions of qualifications (RFQ) from parties who would be interested in leasing the main campus of the Frost Centre for the primary purpose of investing in and operating environmental and outdoor educational programs”. Full details of the RFQ can be viewed at www.orc.on.ca by clicking “Business w/ORC” tab.

About the Friends

The Friends of the Frost Centre was established in 1999 as a non-profit, charitable, cooperating organization dedicated to supporting the Frost Centre’s efforts to foster appreciation and understanding of natural ecosystems, their management and their use. This was accomplished through supporting and enhancing education and recreation programs; undertaking special projects and events; and participating in research and community development.

The closing of the Frost Centre left the Friends in limbo. Fortunately the Board of Directors voted to keep the organization in tact, sensing that there could be a future role for Friends. Members of the Friends participated in the protest campaign, and attended the regular and consultation meetings of the working committee that was established to look at options for the Frost Centre. As the efforts of working committee started to show promise, the Friends took steps to position themselves to play a role in the re-opening of the Centre. By the time the government issued the call for “parties who would be interested in leasing the main campus of the Frost Centre for the primary purpose of investing in and operating environmental and outdoor educational program”, in December 2005, the Friends had decided to make a bid to re-open and operate the Centre.

Buoyed by a clear vision, strong community support, a competent Board of Directors, and the services of a business consultant, the Friends of the Frost Centre are busy crunching the numbers and seeking partners, sponsors and potential bookings to re-establish the Frost Centre as Ontario’s premier environmental and outdoor education. Key goals of the Friends’ proposal are a viable business model, and a significant and strategic role in environmental and ecosystem education, in this United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

The Friends of the Frost Centre are grateful that the government is honouring the recommendations of the working committee. The Friends recognize the outstanding efforts of the working committee for an open and effective process and a well written report with recommendations for the Centre’s future. The Friends also wish to acknowledge the efforts of Perma Frost, a dedicated group of citizens, for their leadership and hard work in protesting the closing of the centre and prompting the government to set up a working committee. Thank you also to the Haliburton County Community Futures Development Corporation for a grant to help the Friends prepare a business proposal.

The Friends of the Frost Centre are committed to forging a future for the Centre and environmental education in Ontario. Individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in supporting or being part of the Friend’s bid may contact the Friends at friendsofthefrostcentre@gmail.com, or call 1-877-892-9955 or 705-792-9955 (local Barrie area calls) or any of the Directors listed below.

Ann Barnes, obiesowner@yahoo.com
Bob Briehl, (905) 690 4364, robertbriehl@yahoo.ca
Mary Lou Eaton, 416-413-0641, eatonflp@aol.com
George Hamilton, 705-489-3225
Barrie Martin, 705-754-3436, barrie.martin@sympatico.ca
Luba Mycio-Mommers, 1 –800- 563-9453 ext. 22, lubamm@cwf-fcf.org
Penny Obee, 705-489-3333, pennystravel@sympatico.ca
Ross Rabjohn, 705-766-2207, rrabjohn@vianet.ca
Max Radiff, 705-488-2801, maxradiff@hotmail.com
Napier Simpson, 519-524-4180, napiersimpson@sympatico.ca
Doug Smith, 705-286-4924, djsmith@interhop.net

About David Archibald

David Archibald, an accomplished songwriter/performer, has written and recorded ten original songs celebrating the life, lore, and landscapes of the Frost Centre. The songs on St Nora’s Tower, ranging from the poignant to the humorous, take you to a special place. Discover the majestic white pines and ancient hemlocks of the Haliburton Highlands in “Before Champlain” “Ranger School Days” will put you in a 1950's classroom at the Forest Ranger School. Smell the smoke from “St. Nora’s Tower”. Take a walk through hardwood forest in “Shelter Wood”. Meet “Dr. Sludge,” a local hero who knows his sewage.

An engaging and energetic performer, David Archibald has recorded on RCA and written for and performed on Sesame Street and Mr. Dressup. His new musical Love and Larceny (co-written by Douglas Bowie) is on the playbill at the Thousand Islands Playhouse this summer. Archibald's other recent musical The Perilous Pirate's Daughter (co-written by Anne Chislett) was performed at the Blyth Festival, the Thousand Islands Playhouse in 2003 and the Haliburton Highlands Summer festival in 2005. David was the producer on pop-star Avril Lavigne's first recording session. He is also a familiar voice on CBC radio. His multi-media shows include: Spirit of the Inland Sea (Great Lakes marine heritage), Farmsteads to Frontlines (rural Ontario's involvement in global conflicts), Legends and Lore of the Charleston Shore (cultural heritage of Charleston Lake Provincial Park) and On the Shores of St. Nora (a celebration of the Frost Centre). He has had his compositions performed by the Kingston Symphony and has written and performed a one-person show entitled Schubert: The Man and His Music with the Genesee Symphony in New York. His discography also includes Titanic – Pride of the White Star Line and Savanna, Sand & Butterflies. David recently helped students of Superior’s North Shore write, perform and record songs (Gulo gulo - a Superior Learning Experience) about Pukaskwa National park.

About Lani Billard

Lani Billard, best known for her role as Bizzy Ramone on Global TV’s Ready or Not has pursued a career in music and has released a CD. She is a dynamic and wonderfully gifted performer.