About the Event
Enjoy a guided bird walk through Waterloo Park with bird expert David Gascoigne, followed by a visit to the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery to explore Nestcraft—a unique exhibition about swallows and human collaboration in nest-building—along with several other thought-provoking shows on display. Along the way, discover the remarkable lives of birds and the many ways we can observe, support, and learn from them.
Participants will meet at the Main Library to begin the walk before heading to Waterloo Park and then ending at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery.
Presented in partnership with the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery.
For teens and adults.
Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Nestcraft
Presented in two parts at both the Gallery and the Library, Nestcraft explores the relationship between humans and swallows through handcrafted clay nests, museum specimens, and more. Curated by Marcel O’Gorman and Jennifer Clary-Lemon of Critical Meda Lab (CML), and featuring clay nests from Mara Silver, the exhibition features study skins of swallows from the Royal Ontario Museum, barn timbers from the Waterloo Region, and a time-lapse video of human/swallow nestcraft.
About David Gascoigne
David has had a lifelong interest in birds beginning at the age of eight. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree and has studied ornithology at Trent University in Peterborough, ON, and has completed the Seminars in Bird Biology at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, in addition to having a huge ornithological library and studying birds all his life. David spends time in the field most days.
David is a two-time past president of Waterloo Region Nature, past Chairman of the Friends of Kawartha Conservation, and did bird monitoring for the rare Charitable Research Reserve in Cambridge, ON; also doing a weekly survey for the University of Waterloo and sessional undergraduate lectures and practical field ecology. David volunteered his time and expertise to the City of Waterloo in the development of the Waterloo Sports Complex and Environmental Reserve, and his voice may be heard on the interactive sign at the park. David was on the management committee of, and delivered presentations at, the Wonders of Nature event held annually in Kitchener. David regularly makes presentations in the Kitchener Public Library’s Nature in the City series and to a whole host of other organizations and schools, having travelled as far away as Kansas, USA.
David has been a judge at the Envirofair held at the University of Waterloo and was a judge at the 2018, 2019 and 2024 Canadian National Wildfowl Carving Championships.
David is a member of the committee which recently was successful in having Kitchener declared a bird-friendly city.
Currently, David is volunteering with a private landowner in St. Agatha to transform a 119 acre farm into an environmental preserve. Numerous significant initiatives have already been implemented and more are planned. In this connection endangered Barn Swallows have been radio-tracked after they leave Waterloo on their journey to South America, and much other scientific work has been undertaken in cooperation with the Ecology Lab at the University of Waterloo. Forty acres of the property have now been converted to a tall grass prairie with all its attendant biodiversity. We have confirmed Vesper Sparrows breeding there, and Bobolinks have made exploratory visits.
In 1990 received an award for Outstanding Civic Contribution from the Town of Markham. David is the 2018 recipient of the Waterloo Region Nature Conservation award.
David was a member of the Ecological and Environmental Advisory Committee for the Region of Waterloo, and is a Canadian reviewer for Princeton University Press’ natural history books.
David has travelled the world to discover new birds and study their ecology, having visited every continent except Antarctica.
Photography Notice: Please note that photographs and videos may be taken at this event and may be broadcast, reproduced, and/or made available in print or online. For individual or small group photos, staff will make attendees aware of their presence and will ask permission before taking photos.
For larger public events, please note that by attending, you are consenting to the use of your appearance, image, and voice in print or digital productions created by the Waterloo Public Library for promotional use only. Please speak to library staff at the event if you’d like to be excluded from any photo/video.
Programmer: Cathleen
