The Nature of Museums

Using the Species at Risk exhibition as a springboard for a dialogue event, Chris O’Connor from the Royal BC Museum, as well as other invited guests will explore environmental stewardship and cultural connections. What role do museums play in initiating and facilitating community dialogue around environmental issues, and how can museums connect and reflect communities to better represent an inclusive perspective on potentially difficult issues.

Panel Members

Chris Walker – Panel Discussion Facilitator
Host | Daybreak South
Chris is an award-winning reporter who started his career in the alleyways of Egypt after landing his first job with the Cairo Times, an independent human rights magazine. While in the Middle East, he also reported from Israel and the Palestinian Territories, freelancing for CBC News and writing for the Lebanon Daily Star. Since then, he’s lived in Victoria and Prince George, where for three years he hosted the morning show for Northern BC. Most recently, he worked as a news editor in Kelowna, where he lives with his wife and dog. When he’s not on the radio, Chris can be found in the garden or in the kitchen. He also enjoys running and playing field hockey (no, he doesn’t wear a skirt!). Chris grew up on Galiano Island near Victoria. He holds a degree in American history from the University of Victoria and a graduate degree in journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa.

Alison Campbell Urness – Environmental Educator/Park Interpreter – Regional District of the Central Okanagan
Alison Campbell Urness is an Environmental Educator with the Regional District of Central Okanagan Parks Services Department and is responsible for the planning and implementation of exhibits at the Environmental Education Centre for the Okanagan (EECO) in Mission Creek Regional Park and assists in delivering interpretation programs to the public and schools. Alison has over 15 years of experience in interpretation and environmental education and is passionate about educating all ages about the importance of our natural world. Her enthusiasm and interest in nature stems from a lifelong love of being outdoors recreating and interacting with nature.

Dr. Karen Hodges – Associate professor of conservation biology – UBC Okanagan.
Dr. Hodges studies how habitat change, climate change, and conservation laws affect imperilled species. She and her students have worked in Canada, the US, and South Africa on a range of both threatened and non-threatened species, including Canada lynx, bobcats, caracals, leopards, snowshoe hares, Great Basin gophersnakes, western painted turtles, Great Basin pocket mice, and plant communities of the south Okanagan. For 8 years, she was a member of the Terrestrial Mammals Subcommittee of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. She is an editor of the journal Biodiversity and Conservation.

Chris O’Connor – Family and Schools Program Producer – Royal BC Museum
I feel right at home in museums and occasionally even sleep in the galleries (I run the Night at the Museum program, so it’s all very official). And I think that that comfort in museums started quite young. I grew up in Philadelphia and my parents would take me and my brothers and sister to the Philadelphia Art Museum, the Franklin Institute (the science museum) and the Academy of Natural Sciences (the Natural History museum) a lot…if you haven’t been to Philadelphia, these are grand cultural institutions of that city, housed in grand buildings on a grand boulevard. Very impressionable to a wide eyed little boy. And while I loved museums, it was theatre and dance that captured my imagination. Fast forward to my early twenties…I spent much of this time being in and creating my own theatre, performance art and dance works throughout the US. With one dance company in particular, I was involved and helped develop community outreach projects in various settings such as schools, prisons, retirement homes, etc. It was exciting work, and inspired me to return to school. I went to graduate school at Simon Fraser University in Interdisciplinary Arts, and while teaching there I experimented with a wide array of innovative teaching methodologies. After graduating, I stayed in Vancouver and I worked for an organization that linked artists with classroom teachers. My job was to create lesson plans grounded in curriculum but delivered through creative movement. This interaction with countless teachers and with K-12 students helped me realize the transformative potential of using creative work to address just about any kind of content. Next up for me was the Vancouver Art Gallery. I started working in the newly formed family program, which allowed me to expand beyond just using creative movement for interpretation, and gain new skills creating activities and learning environments that directly focused on art objects. This was thrilling to me, and continues to be so. I love looking closely at an object, and to encourage others to as well. In addition to the family programs, I worked on the school programs team also at the Vancouver Art Gallery. A few years ago I moved from Vancouver to Vancouver Island. I have enjoyed my time in Victoria and at the Royal BC Museum, and live here with my partner Jenny Jaeckel and daughter Asa.

Join us for a thought provoking discussion about the Nature of Museums

To see the full schedule of Species at Risk exhibit locations, click
HERE