Ben Gadd

*** ******* ********, *******, *******, Canada T1W 1C1

403-***-**** abqgqt@r.postjobfree.com

R sum to August 2012

Education

BA.Sc. (Earth Science) University of Lethbridge, 1972

Experience

2004 on: President, Verdant Pass Ltd.

2000: Sessional Instructor, Environmental Science, Lakeland College

(at Yellowhead Region Educational Consortium, Hinton, Alberta)

1988 2003: Sessional Instructor, Grant MacEwan College

(at Yellowhead Region Educational Consortium, Hinton, Alberta)

1987 1994: Resource Instructor, Blue Lake Centre, Hinton, Alberta

1986 2004: cave guide, Cadomin Cave, Whitehorse Wildland Park

1986 2004: co-owner/co-manager, Corax Press and Ben Gadd Interpretive Services

1985 on: federally licensed interpretive guide, Jasper National Park and other Rockies parks

1981 1985: Seasonal Park Interpreter (naturalist), Jasper National Park

1977 1979: Sessional Instructor, Journalism Dept., Mount Royal College, Calgary

1976 1980: Instructor, Communication Arts Dept., Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary

1969 on: freelance writer, editorial consultant, graphic designer

Awards

Interpretation Canada Award of Merit (national award), 1991

Andy Russell Nature Writing Award (national award), 1995

Three awards, Banff Mountain Book Festival (international), 1995, 2001 and 2003

Alberta Teachers' Association GEOEC Award of Merit (outdoor-education award), 2000

Lauran L. Goulden Memorial Award (provincial natural-history award), 2000

Ben Gadd r sum 2012, page 1 of 6

Affiliations

Master Interpreter life designation, Interpretive Guides Association, 2006

Board Member, Friends of Jasper National Park, 1989 2005

Member of various conservation and natural-history organizations

Main area of expertise

Authority on the natural history of the Canadian Rockies. Geology a special interest.

Guiding and natural-history interpretation

Evening programs, guided walks, bus tours, slide shows, prop talks, literature, exhibits,

interpretive-trail design and signage. Favorite topics: natural history of the Canadian Rockies and

mountain recreation.

Public speaking

Talks on conservation issues and the value of wilderness.

Teaching

Natural-history courses and field trips. Post-secondary instruction in writing (especially technical and

business writing), graphics and speech, park interpretation. Course design, preparation of teaching

materials, presentation of lectures and workshops.

Writing, editing, radio and television, film

Writing and media work for the public on technical subjects (especially natural history of the Canadian

Rockies), recreation and conservation. Books, magazine articles, commentaries, speeches, essays, book

reviews, fiction. Interpretive writing, public-relations writing. Technical editing, copy editing. Working

with printers. Author readings and literary presentations. Interviews and appearances in radio and

television documentaries.

Graphics and design

Literature and interpretive-sign design. Museum exhibits. Electronic layout. Maps, graphs, diagrams.

Interpretive signs, museum panels, brochures, posters, advertisements, books. Photography.

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Business

Interpretive consulting and guiding. Publishing. Operation of non-profit organizations. Familiar with

operating in national parks.

Personal

Born 1946. Canadian citizen. Married to Cia since 1965, with two adult sons and three grandchildren.

References

Theresa Agnew, Manager, Grant MacEwan College Writing Works, Edmonton 780- 497-5366 (teaching)

Sue Cesco, General Manager, Friends of Jasper National Park 780-***-**** (non-profit operations)

Jackie Flanagan, Publisher, AlbertaViews magazine, Calgary 403-***-**** (journalism)

Rick Green, President, Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre, 403-***-**** (museum exhibits)

Roger Macqueen, Senior Research Scientist, Geological Survey of Canada 403-***-**** (geology)

Sherrill Meropoulis, Heritage Program Officer, Jasper National Park 780-***-**** (national parks)

Ken Mezerecky, Alberta Community Development 403-***-**** (interpretive panels)

Andy Van Imschoot, Manager, William A. Switzer Provincial Park 780-***-**** (interpretive panels)

Representative publications and projects

Since 1970 I have written, edited, designed, published or otherwise helped to produce many books,

periodical articles, technical reports, contract proposals, consultant s studies, government submissions,

briefs, brochures, graphics, teaching materials and interpretive signs. Here are some selected examples.

1975 The Century Calgary Historical Series. A major municipal/provincial publishing project that

produced 40 simultaneously released titles on Calgary s history. My job: editorial and production

coordination.

1977 The Geological History of Yoho Valley. A Parks Canada exhibit near Field, British Columbia.

Conceptual design, writing and maquettes for three accompanying geological models.

1978 Mountains and Valleys: a Guide to the Landscape of Waterton Lakes National Park. Twenty-

two-page booklet for park visitors. Writing, design and layout of this Parks Canada publication.

1978 The Columbia Mountains (Interior Ranges) of British Columbia: a Summary of Geology and

Geography. Lengthy technical report for Parks Canada, for use by planners and park naturalists at

Glacier and Mt. Revelstoke national parks.

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1980 Lake Louise Exhibit Texts. Writing and suggested graphics for 22 Parks Canada exhibit panels in

Banff National Park.

1980 Climbing at Wasootch Slabs. Thirty-six-page climber s guidebook published by Rocky Mountain

Books, Calgary.

1981 The Maligne Lake Factsheet. Poster-size information sheet and map for Parks Canada.

1981 Uphill from Jasper, article in Today magazine, Victoria Day issue. First publication in a

national magazine. Light account of a father-and-son bicycle trip between Jasper and Banff. With photo.

1982 Jasper National Park. Parks Canada map tailored to supply often-requested visitor information.

Design, layout.

1982 Rivers on Borrowed Time, by J. Eisenhauer and B. Kolar. Editing, design and layout of this

Alberta Wilderness Association publication.

1983 Bird s-eye View of Jasper National Park. Cartoon-style map for kids, showing park highlights.

Design, artwork

1983 Mount Edith Cavell Exhibit Texts. Writing for 18 interpretive signs along the Cavell Road in

Jasper National Park.

1986 Handbook of the Canadian Rockies, Corax Press. A comprehensive (831-page) multidisciplinary

guide to the region for naturalists and recreationists. Winner of national and international awards.

Writing, design, graphics, production and marketing. A Canadian 50,000 best-seller, now in its second

edition (1995, reprinted 1999 and 2003).

1989 Bankhead: a Story of Coal-mining in Banff National Park. Text for this Parks Canada book,

originally co-published by the Canadian Coal Association and now reprinted by the Friends of Banff

National Park.

1989 Nature s Wonderlands: National Parks of the World. Technical editing of the chapter on

Canadian Rockies parks in this National Geographic Society book. (After guiding the Geographer s

authors and photographers, I was surprised to find myself written up and pictured in the text.) I have

done other guiding and editing work for the society.

1990 The Blue Lake Centre Nature Trail. Design and guide booklet for an interpretive trail at Blue

Lake Centre, an outdoor-education facility run at that time by the Alberta government. I have done

similar work, including the design and placement of interpretive signs, for other self-guiding trails and

roadside interpretive stops throughout the Canadian Rockies.

1992 The Rockies: Canada s Magnificent Wilderness. Text for this 128-page pictorial book on the

Rockies between Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and Mount Robson, co-published by Firefly

and Beautiful America. Photographs by Paul Lally and John Winnie. A best-seller.

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1993 Glaciers. Script-editing and technical consulting on this educational film by the National

Geographic Society. I have worked on three other films for the society: The Rocky Mountains (1991),

The Northlands (1992), and Signs of Nature (1995).

1994 The Gathering Place, short story read on CBC Radio s Alberta Anthology program two years

in a row at Christmas.

1995 Of Rocks, Mountains and Jasper: a Visitor s Guide to the Geology of Jasper National Park. Co-

author with Chris Yorath (Where Terranes Collide) of this 150-page book, co-published by the

Geological Survey of Canada and University of Toronto Press.

1998 Day-hiker s Guide to Jasper National Park and Summer Trails. Writing, design, maps, electronic

layout and printing coordination of this brochure, published by Parks Canada and updated annually. Was

also responsible for the major trail-signage project that preceded it.

1999 Dad does the Dolomites, feature in Explore magazine, September 1999. One of several articles

and items appearing in this periodical over the years. Photos.

2000 Untamed Canadian Rockies: going wild in Jasper National Park, article in National Geographic

Explorer magazine, May/June 2000. I have done other writing and editing for the magazine, and I have

edited articles for National Geographic Traveler.

2001 Raven s End, my first novel, published by McClelland & Stewart, Toronto. A national best-seller

in its first year. Winner of the Canadian Rockies Award, Banff Mountain Book Festival 2001.

Translations thus far: German, Italian, Dutch, Danish and Japanese.

2003 The Yam. Co-author with Chic Scott and David Dornian of this book on Yamnuska, a favorite

peak in the Rockies west of Calgary. Contributed natural history, human history and trail-guide sections.

Published by Rocky Mountain Books. Winner, Canadian Rockies Award, Banff Mountain Book Festival

2003.

2004 The Meatmaker, feature on twinning the Trans-Canada Highway through Banff National Park

for AlbertaViews magazine, March 2005 issue. I have written a regular column for this magazine and

have done other features.

2005 Series of geological interpretive signs for provincial parks in west-central Alberta.

2008 The Canadian Hiker s and Backpacker s Handbook, a how-to book for hikers and backpackers,

published by Whitecap Books, Vancouver.

2008 Canadian Rockies Geology Road Tours, roadside geology of the Canadian Rockies for lay

readers and geologists alike. Published by Corax Press. Should see a lot of use in field courses.

2009 Eric Mountjoy, Pioneer Geologist of Jasper National Park, exhibit at the Jasper-Yellowhead

Museum. This exhibit has since travelled to other venues.

2009 Quick Guide to the Geology of Lake O Hara, pamphlet for visitors to Yoho National Park s

most beautiful place. Published by Lake O'Hara Trails Club. Photo annotated with geology, plus

accompanying summary of geological history.

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2011 Canmore Rocks! Exhibit for the lay public about the geology of the Canmore-Banff area,

mounted at the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre in Canmore, Alberta.

2011 In National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of Canada, individual write-ups on

Waterton Lakes, Elk Island, Kootenay, Yoho, Glacier and Mount Revelstoke national parks.

2012 Operation Bow-Athabasca: The Geological Survey of Canada Takes on the Rockies, historical

and geological exhibit for the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre in Canmore, Alberta. Funded

mainly by Natural Resources Canada, this bilingual exhibit will travel across the country. Includes a

booklet that functions as exhibit catalogue and historical summary of Operation Bow-Athabasca.

Photographs appearing in exhibitions

1994 Climbers on Mt. Robson, shown in The Rainbow Range, exhibit at Whyte Museum Gallery,

Banff.

1995 Mountaineer in storm on Mt. Athabasca, shown in Images of Hope, a travelling Hope

Foundation exhibit shown at the Laverty Gallery, Edmonton, and elsewhere.

2006 A number of images shown by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., at the Alberta at

the Smithsonian event.

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