ANNOUNCEMENT: CBC’s Bob (Quirks & Quarks) McDonald headlines “Flow & Grow Workshop” (Nov 29, 2016)
Bob McDonald, host of Quirks and Quarks on CBC Radio
Bob McDonald is…..
Author, Science Journalist,
Media Personality, Water Champion
The Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC and the Irrigation Industry Association of BC (IIABC) have announced that Keynote Speaker #1 for the Flow and Grow Workshop in November 2016 is CBC’s Bob McDonald.
A fixture in radio and television broadcasting for more than 30 years, Bob McDonald is currently the host of Quirks & Quarks–the award-winning science program that is heard by 500,000 people each week.
Bob McDonald’s Role in “Flow and Grow”
“We are delighted that Bob McDonald is participating in FLOW AND GROW, particularly so as we address the significant challenges facing the Okanagan Valley with regard to water security as a result of climate change impacts. Bob McDonald is a water champion,” stated Eric Bonham, speaking on behalf of the Partnership and IIABC. Eric Bonham is a former Director in two provincial ministries – Environment and Municipal Affairs. He is a founding member of the Partnership’s Leadership Team.
“Bob McDonald is loved by audiences across Canada for making complex scientific issues understandable, meaningful, and fun. Because he is in high demand, we are thrilled that he promptly accepted the Partnership’s invitation to share his water message at FLOW AND GROW. Bob believes that water, not oil, will be the issue of the 21st century.”
“FLOW AND GROW is structured as four modules and is cascading – from high-level visioning to ground-level applications. In Module A, Bob McDonald will speak to this theme: Water From A Global Perspective & Beyond. He will also participate in the closing Module D when he will help provide the springboard to a town-hall sharing and learning session on where we go from here.”
Bob McDonald’s theme in Module A is…
Water From A Global Perspective & Beyond
According to Bob McDonald, “The presence of water in its myriad formations is fundamental to the sustainability of all life on earth. A global perspective reminds us of the limited availability of fresh water on the planet, a vital life sustaining resource that demands a raised level of consciousness and commitment from the global to the local level, regarding the protection and sustainable use of water.”
“Achieving progress on this challenge underscores the call for collaboration and inter-disciplinary cooperation across institutional, national and political boundaries. There is an emerging global sense that protecting fresh water has the potential of being a catalyst for cooperation rather than conflict, a level of cooperation that seeks solutions for the common good and survival.”
More About Bob McDonald
Bob McDonald has been the host of CBC Radio’s Quirks & Quarks since 1992. He is a regular science commentator on CBC News Network and science correspondent for CBC TV’s The National.
Bob McDonald has also hosted Greatest Canadian Invention and the seven part series Water Under Fire.
As a writer, he has authored four bestselling science books, and contributed to numerous textbooks, magazines, and newspapers. He holds eight honorary doctorates from Canadian universities.
His latest book is Canadian Spacewalkers: Hadfield, MacLean and Williams Remember the Ultimate High Adventure, published in 2014. The book was shortlisted for the Canadian Science Writers’ Association’s Science in Society General Book Award.
His book Measuring the Earth with a Stick: Science as I’ve Seen It was shortlisted for the Canadian Science Writers Association Book Award.
He has been honoured with the 2001 Michael Smith Award for Science Promotion from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; the 2002 Sandford Fleming Medal from The Royal Canadian Institute; and the 2005 McNeil Medal for the Public Awareness of Science from the Royal Society of Canada. In November 2011, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
