Book shares Ecology & Wonder of world heritage site

Every once in a while a book comes along that quickly proves its value by going beyond the simple act of sharing information and, through its quality and depth, not only helps us understand who we are, but how we fit into this place we call home.

Ben Gadd did that with his Handbook of the Canadian Rockies, as did Bart Robinson and Brian Patton with their Trail Guide to the Canadian Rockies and more recently Graeme Pole and his Canadian Rockies Explorer.

These books are essential reading as they provide the information and, more importantly, the experience and understanding that would otherwise take a lifetime to accumulate.

Their lives’ work allow the rest of us to deepen our understanding and appreciation of the Canadian Rockies and through that, allows us to become more connected to this region, to this place so many of us profess to love.

With the publication of Bob Sandford’s Ecology & Wonder in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site this short, but extremely important, list of books has just grown by one.

Sandford, who will be at the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre, Thursday (Oct. 28), from 7:30-9 p.m. for a presentation and book signing, wrote in the opening pages of this book that Ecology & Wonder was 40 years in the making.

Sandford began his connection to the Rockies in 1970 when he was hired as a park naturalist by Parks Canada, at which time he was informed that he was not their first choice.

Thankfully, he ignored that comment and has gone on to write, edit or publish over 20 books on nature, history and culture of the Rocky Mountain region, chair the United Nations International Year of Mountains in 2002 and the United Nations International Year of Fresh Water and Wonder of Water Initiative in Canada in 2003-2004. He is currently chair of the Canadian Partnership Initiative of the United Nations International Water for Life Decade.

Ecology & Wonder, as a result, is the culmination of all of Sandford’s activities and experiences, built from a lifetime spent helping others understand and appreciate the Rockies. Given that, this book could have been bogged down by the details, but Sandford has done an admirable job of ensuring it remains lively and accessible.

Many of the different aspects covered in his book, such as landscape art and photography, including profiles of each national and provincial park in the world heritage site, are done succinctly and efficiently, providing just enough information to either ignite or re-kindle an interest in this region and re-establish why it is a world heritage site.

What Sandford has done, through his passion and commitment to the ecological and human history of the Canadian Rockies World Heritage Site, is help us to understand.

We cannot protect what we don’t understand, but thankfully, through the work of others such as Sandford, we can build a deeper, more profound connection to the Canadian Rockies World Heritage Site and be better able to love this place and work to ensure it remains worthy of its globally significant title.

Ecology & Wonder in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site, published by Athabasca University Press, retails for $44.95.