Letters of Support

Content — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 13:33:38 -0800

Dr. Tony Knowles President British Columbia Institute of Technology	Mark Angelo Program Head Fish, Wildlife and Recreation Program
Barry Penner Minister of Environment Province of British Columbia	Alton Harestad Director, Environmental Science Program Simon Fraser University
Andy Sundahl Vice Principal Ebus Academy	Marianne Meadahl Assistant Director, Public Affairs and Media Relations Simon Fraser University
Denis A. St-Onge, O.C. Emeritus Scientist, Geological Survey of Canada	Bill Freedman Ecologist and Environmental Scientist Professor and Chair of Biology
Krista Bogen Teacher Gleneagle Secondary School	Victoria Pearson President and CEO Routes to Learning Canada
John Geiger Author: Frozen in Time – The Fate of the Franklin Expedition Senior Resident, Massey College	Debra Gwartney & Barry Lopez Eugene, Oregon, USA

Our much traveled faculty member, Danny Catt, is embarking on yet another fantastic journey. Like Catt-Trax1: A Journey for Sustainability that took him through Asia and Africa in 2001, Danny's upcoming adventure, Catt-Trax 2: Antarctica to the Amazon, will enable the world to again follow him, thanks to new and exciting interactive technologies.

This adventure benefits not only BCIT students, but high school and even elementary school students as well.

Good luck Danny!!! We look forward to following along with you electronically.

Dr. Tony Knowles
President
British Columbia Institute of Technology
Canada's Premier Polytechnic
Burnaby, BC, Canada

Danny Catt is embarking on a new Catt-Trax adventure, the much
anticipated sequel to his highly successful African 2001 tour, Catt-Trax1: A
Journey for Sustainability.

This time, Danny heads south with Catt-Trax 2 – Making Global Connections: Antarctica to the Amazon. Through his rich website and the use of state-of-the-art technology, we will all be able to follow Danny's adventures, from beginning to end.

Danny is an incredible teacher and a very dedicated individual. He has a strong interest and extensive knowledge of global sustainability issues, which is the main theme of his journey.

Just as importantly, Danny has a great passion for travel. For all those who know him, his enthusiasm is readily apparent (and contagious!). Along with our students and staff, I wish Danny the very best as he starts another wonderful journey. I look forward to following his progress on a regular basis.

Mark Angelo
Program Head
Fish, Wildlife and Recreation Program
British Columbia Institute of Technology
Recipient of the 2001 Order of Canada
Founder of B.C. Rivers Day

British Columbia is the most ecologically-diverse region of North America. From rainforests to Canada's only desert, and from ocean coastlines to alpine tundra, we are truly blessed to live in such a beautiful province.

One of the goals of the British Columbia government is to lead the world in sustainable management. Environmental sustainability requires leadership from government, but also entails commitment and appropriate actions on the part of industry, education and individual British Columbians.

It is important to remember that we do not live in isolation. British Columbia is a key part of the global landscape, but it is only one part. We are interconnected to other ecosystems. For example, some of our wildlife species spend only a portion of the year here. During our winters, many
birds migrate thousands of miles south to Central or South America. At least one species travels as far as Antarctica.

Soon, another species – a 'Catt' -- will also make this journey. With Catt-Trax 2 – Making Global Connections: Antarctica to the Amazon, Danny Catt will explore these global connections and make global comparisons, with a special focus on where British Columbia fits into the picture. I extend my best wishes to Danny and his adventure, and hope to watch his progress, courtesy of the internet.

Bon Voyage!

Barry Penner
Minister of Environment
Province of British Columbia

Our perceptions about South America, and other places south, come packaged as information in sound bites and general statements about some general place. These quick, lateral glimpses of the surface do little to feed our learning, because there are no vitamins and no calories.

In Catt-Trax 2 – Making Global Connections: Antarctica to the Amazon, Danny Catt will visit many places within the matrix of southern countries. As both ecologist and traveler, he can provide enriched insights into these ecosystems, cultures and values. He will be able to "drill down" and capture a real time understanding of environmental and social issues. I am eager to hear and see Danny's personal observations from right there and right now.

We cannot appreciate the social and environmental quality that we have in Canada when that is all that we know. Danny's "global connections" will provide students of all ages with in-depth contrasts and similarities. This will help each of us to assess our environment, our personal impacts, and individual responses to environmental problems. With this context, we can better see what is good, what is bad, and what needs preserving.

Alton Harestad, Professor
Director, Environmental Science Program
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, BC, Canada

Ebus Academy is an online community of learners and the largest distributed learning K-Adult public school in British Columbia. We serve over 1000 students from all regions of British Columbia and have been doing so successfully since 1993.

We are very excited to support and collaborate with British Columbia Institute of Technology's Fish, Wildlife and Recreation Center of Excellence on the upcoming Catt-Trax 2 project. We welcome this opportunity for our students, who are both at home and in classrooms across BC, to share and benefit from the expert experience and authentic content provided in the Catt-Trax 2 project.

With great success, we've interviewed Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield from the Johnson Space Center in Texas, Mount Everest climber Dr. Denis Brown, and authors from as far away as Ireland,

Last year we also connected students from across B.C., in classrooms and at home, to participate in a live interactive presentation about Danny's 2001 Sustainability Tour through Africa, with tremendous success. The educational benefits of these projects are significant because the curriculum takes on an authenticity, immediacy and relevance that is difficult to replicate in regular classroom settings.

I can say without hesitation that we enthusiastically support the Catt-Trax 2 – Making Global Connections: Antarctica to the Amazon project and hope it to serve as a high quality standard and model for future collaborative projects.

Andy Sundahl
Vice Principal
Ebus Academy
BC Ministry of Education

Whether sitting in a canoe, re-enacting Simon Fraser's voyage down the Fraser River (as part of Simon Fraser University's 25th anniversary celebration in 1990), or high on a mountaintop in Ethiopia discussing sustainability in Africa with the CBC via satellite phone (during his initial Catt-Trax1 trip), Danny Catt thrives on an inherent appetite for experiencing the natural world around him and sharing those experiences as widely as he can. It is his passion, and his many years of making the world his classroom, that have shaped him into a first-class story-teller and photographer.

Now embarking on another incredible journey with Catt-Trax 2, Danny's innovative use of technology will allow audiences anywhere – including SFU's globally-spread alumni – to go along for the ride, experiencing in real-time the social, cultural and environmental issues of two continents, South America and Antarctica.

Spurred on by his own curiosity and compassion for people and places, Danny's success with Catt-Trax projects lies not only in his intrepidness, but in ensuring that others can follow those "trax."

At SFU we value life-long learning, something Danny emulates. We also value alumni like Danny who push boundaries – such as taking learning and teaching to new levels. With bold plans such as those being developed with Catt-Trax 2, technology will enable him to fulfill his goals – while the heart continues to drive him there.

Marianne Meadahl
Assistant Director, Public Affairs and Media Relations
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, BC, Canada

In his book "Le Petit Prince," Antoine de Saint-Exupéry writes:

"Goodbye, said the fox. Here is my secret.
It is very simple: We only see well with our heart.
What is essential is invisible to our eyes."

This is the level of sensitivity that Danny Catt brings to his work, his photography, his teaching and, most importantly, for sharing his concerns for the varied and magnificent environments of our planet. Those young (and not so young) who follow Catt-Trax 2 – Making Global
Connections: Antarctica to the Amazon will not only learn, but will also be inspired.

Denis A. St-Onge, O.C.
Emeritus Scientist, Geological Survey of Canada
Past President, Royal Canadian Geographical Society
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Danny Catt is a great naturalist and an enthusiastic and wide-ranging peregrinator.

A wonderful and admirable aspect of his wanderings is that, using high-technology connections, we can easily share in Danny's adventure and learn along with him about far-flung nature and environmental issues.

I look forward to this opportunity to better understand the species and ecosystems of these southern realms, including their ecological connections. I totally support Danny's foreign initiatives, and truly wish I was with him.

Bill Freedman
Ecologist and Environmental Scientist
Professor and Chair of Biology
Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

An essential element in today's society is to open our eyes, ears, and heart to the world. Catt-Trax2 is designed to help us see a part of the southern hemisphere through a unique international perspective – the "Catt eyes" of Danny Catt.

As Danny traverses his way from Antarctica to the Amazon, my grade 10 students and I will be tucked in his back pocket! We are poised and excited to be using technology and to be linked with BCIT as we learn along with him. Through Catt-Trax2, I hope to inspire my students to expand their definition of success to include the effect they have on others and the environment globally.

It is critical for young people today to be well-equipped to understand interrelatedness and social responsibility on a level far greater than previous generations. Danny's odyssey aims to connect us with people, places, critters, and issues in South America, and to remind us of our humanity.

Inspiring people, educating people, and encouraging people to take action is both challenging and noble. Danny has committed a large portion of his life to creating images of distant landscapes and to creating spaces in our hearts for the unfamiliar, making them familiar. I warmly accept an invitation to travel "virtually" with Danny, and I hope that you do too!

Krista Bogen
Teacher
Gleneagle Secondary School
Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada

Routes to Learning Canada, an organization committed to lifelong learning, welcomes new and innovative learning opportunities that broaden horizons and expand our understanding of the world. Discussing new ideas and concepts, and learning about places and people, lie at the heart of our need to explore and to consider our standing in the natural world.

Routes to Learning Canada is proud to support Danny's educational journey Catt-Trax 2 – Making Global Connections: Antarctica to the Amazon. It is with great excitement that we partner with Danny and the British Columbia Institute of Technology to help highlight and promote this new and interactive way to learn about and share the wonders of some of the richest landscapes on the planet.

We will all benefit from this opportunity to share this unique experience, albeit virtually.

Victoria Pearson
President and CEO
Routes to Learning Canada
Ontario, Canada

For some people, "globalization" can be a dirty word, but certainly not the kind of globalization that Danny Catt practices: the globalization of ideas. We need more people like Danny, an educator and scholar who foresakes the ivory tower to travel to the educational front lines, making global connections in the cause of conservation.

John Geiger
Author: Frozen in Time – The Fate of the Franklin Expedition
Senior Resident, Massey College
University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

When my partner, Barry Lopez, and I had the pleasure of traveling through Nunavut and Greenland in 1999, we soon realized that our understanding and enjoyment of the landscape and animals of that region were greatly enhanced by Danny Catt's presence on the trip.

Danny has a keen insight in the value of visiting distant lands, an intelligence that is gently applied at just the right times, and a deep respect for the people and animals who make their homes in the area.

We wish Danny the best in his new educational venture, Catt-Trax 2 – Making Global Connections: Antarctica to the Amazon.

Debra Gwartney & Barry Lopez
Eugene, Oregon, USA

Catt-Trax 2 - Letters of Support - Comments

Letters of Support