Biodiversity

Monthly Archive: December Biod

The Ultimate Collaboration: Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the ROM and EVC

Posted: December 12, 2016 - 11:09 , by ROM
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A woman crouches in the woods, her camera raised to her face, ready to take a photo.

Guest blog by recent EVC grad Rhi More examining staff & student reactions to wildlife photography and the Environmental Visual Communication program.

An Interview with Deborah Samuel on "The Extraordinary Beauty of Birds"

Posted: December 6, 2016 - 15:01 , by ROM
A Crimson Topaz, one of the thousands of bird skins found at the ROM and feature of photographer Deborah Samuel’s new book. Photo by: Deborah Samuel

Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication graduate David Coulson

Deborah Samuel's latest book, “The Extraordinary Beauty of Birds” is a stunning exposé of the ROM ornithology collection; an attempt, in her words, to bring these birds and feathers back to life. Here, EVC graduate David Coulson interviews Deborah about her photography and experiences working in collaboration with the ROM's Natural History collections.

Your Photo Could Be Put On Display at the ROM!

Posted: December 6, 2016 - 14:50 , by ROM
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A Great blue heron stands in a misty marsh. Photo by Peter Bowers

Guest blog by recent EVC grad Filip Szafirowski on our upcoming ROM Photographer of the Year contest.

Storytelling: Art, Culture, Nature

Posted: November 29, 2016 - 13:35 , by ROM
This year’s overall winner of Wildlife Photographer of Year is Tim Laman and his photo story, “While the forest still stands.” This image from the story is titled “Entwined lives.” It shows an orangutan high in a tree with the rest of the canopy below

Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication graduate Samantha Stephens

Art, Culture, Nature. They may be separate words, but if we consider them separate disciplines, we are doing a disservice to the potential of human wisdom. Without nature, there is no culture. Without culture, there is no art. EVC grad Samantha Stephens gives us some examples of how these themes intertwine in recent ROM research and exhibits, including the 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit, open now!

Farms, Cities, Animals, and the Museum

Posted: November 8, 2016 - 15:05 , by ROM
A goat is milked in front of the ROM for "The Goat, the Honey, and the Museum" project by Bill Burns. Photo by Teghan Dodds

Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication student Teghan Dodds

Goats are not something you’d expect to see within the confines of the city, and especially not on Toronto’s Bloor Street with its upscale shops and prestigious historical buildings. Read this blog written by 2016 Environmental Visual Communication student Teghan Dodds to find out why we had goats out in front of the ROM, and what that has to do with nature, art, and the ROM.

ROMwpy winner Steven Rose - Arctic Photography

Posted: November 8, 2016 - 11:34 , by ROM
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A late summer vista in the Canadian Arctic showing ocean, snow peaked mountains

Photographer Steven Rose shares his photos from an Arctic trip

Not just for show: how and why museum specimens are collected

Posted: October 31, 2016 - 13:42 , by ROM
ROM technician Brad Millen processes a bird specimen that will be added to the ROM's collections. Photo by Samantha Stephens

Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication student Samantha Stephens

The sign on the door seemed quite appropriate. “Abandon all hope ye who enter here.” I imagine that, as this quote from Dante’s Inferno indicates, this might be what hell feels like. As this last barrier swings open and the dim room is revealed, the swarm of hundreds of tiny creatures moving across the concrete floor completes that vision. However, for some of the ROM’s tireless workers, this environment is heaven. Here resides the dermestid beetle colony. These ravenous beetles are eagerly seeking their next meal. Manoeuvring themselves into the crevices of skeletons, they strip the flesh from delicate specimens with more precision and speed than the nimblest of human fingers.

Sebastian Kvist: Leech Hunter

Posted: October 25, 2016 - 13:34 , by ROM
A portrait photo of Sebastian Kvist out in front of a swamp in the field in Minnesota, U.S.A. Photo by Vincent Luk

Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication student Sally McIntyre

When most people think about the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), they think of dinosaurs or mummies. However, it is the invertebrates that live on the ocean floor and crawl through the soil that make up the most diverse collection at the ROM. So who holds the daunting position of keeper of this vast museum collection? Meet Dr. Sebastian Kvist: Leech Hunter. 

Trees for Toronto - Our Urban Forest

Posted: September 22, 2016 - 12:05 , by ROM
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evening sunlight streams through the leaves and branches of the trees in Queen's Park, casting shadows on the green grass. Photo by Rhi More

Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication student Rhi More

Bringing more attention to trees is what the Royal Ontario Museum had in mind when its botanists and Creative Department partnered with the City of Toronto Urban Forester’s Office to create Trees for Toronto in 2004. EVC Student Rhi More decided to check out this ‘urban arboretum’ for herself, and share the findings with our readers.

ROM Collections Contribute to Checklist of Indian Birds

Posted: August 25, 2016 - 11:42 , by royal
Brad Millen examines one of countless drawers full of bird specimens from across the world. Photo by Filip Szafirowski

Museum collections are often undervalued and misunderstood. Regular visitors to the ROM don’t get to see what lies behind the public galleries, and yet less than 1% of the ROM’s collections are on display. These collections do far more than gather dust: they are a reference point in time, and, from a natural history perspective, provide a baseline for our understanding of life. I have received a lot of data requests from inside and outside the ROM. Some I can answer, and some I automatically forward along to collections. A group of recent emails stood out in particular...