Graeme Gibson’s legacy as a celebrated author and champion of bird conservation will live on through a $1-million gift to Western University from his partner, literary icon Margaret Atwood.
The donation will create the Graeme Gibson Chair in Avian Biology, with the goal of better understanding the fundamental processes that shape how birds move, behave and adapt in a changing environment.
“In addition to their extraordinary leadership in Canadian writing and the arts, Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson have been lifelong champions for birds and nature conservation efforts across Canada and around the world,” said Western President Alan Shepard. “Western is deeply honoured to receive this gift in Graeme’s memory to advance world-leading bird and migration research.”
Atwood, one of Canada’s most acclaimed and internationally renowned authors, made the gift to recognize Gibson’s legacy and passion for conservation. A Western arts alum (BA’58), he passed away in 2019 at the age of 85.
Once appointed, the Graeme Gibson Chair in Avian Biology will join the Faculty of Science’s biology department and become a member of Western’s Centre for Animals on the Move. The chairholder will have the opportunity to conduct research in the university’s world-class Advanced Facility for Avian Research (AFAR), which Atwood called “one of the pre-eminent bird biology programs in the country.”
Western is a global leader in the study of avian migration, with AFAR housing the world’s only hypobaric climatic wind tunnel designed for bird flight. AFAR supports cutting-edge research on how birds navigate and respond to the challenging conditions they encounter in flight, while serving as a core facility for the Centre for Animals on the Move, an interdisciplinary research hub investigating the movement of birds, bats, fish and insects.
The new chair is a natural fit to advance research at Western, Atwood said, given the existing connection between AFAR and the Pelee Island Bird Observatory (PIBO), which she co-founded with Gibson in 2003.
“Graeme would be very pleased. He was devoted to birds, evidenced by his best-selling The Bedside Book of Birds,” Atwood said.
“Birds are the canaries in the coal mine. They indicate the health of an ecosystem. Also, imagine a world without birds or birdsong, as author Rachel Carson did in her book Silent Spring. Birds have long been a symbol of hope, and hope is what we need more of right now.”
Atwood said the gift also reflects Gibson’s connection to Western, where his experiences as a student inspired his debut novel, Five Legs, which follows a professor and student on a winter journey to a fellow student’s funeral.
“Graeme would have gotten a kick out of a chair in his name at Western because he went there, with mixed and hilarious though ultimately beneficial results,” Atwood said.
Gibson passionate about bird protection, preservation
A writer and lifelong naturalist who became a champion of birds, Gibson was named to the Order of Canada in 1992 and awarded the 2015 Gold Medal from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, alongside Atwood.
In addition to his popular The Bedside Book of Birds and its follow up, The Bedside Book of Beasts, he wrote four novels and published Eleven Canadian Novelists, a collection of interviews with the country’s great fiction writers.
Graeme Gibson (Penguin Random House)
On top of his own success as an author, Gibson also co-founded the Writers’ Trust of Canada, Writer’s Union of Canada and advocated for generations of writers during his tenure as president of PEN Canada, the writers’ human rights organization.
He was deeply invested in birding and conservation work, holding leadership roles with the World Wildlife Fund Canada and serving as president of BirdLife International’s Rare Bird Club with Atwood.
The couple helped establish PIBO, which is focused on the study and protection of birds that use the island as a key migration stop, and the Gibson family remains closely involved. The Atwood-Gibson Bird Centre, a new facility for research, education and conservation on Pelee Island, opened earlier this month.
Atwood said Gibson’s commitment to birds was defined by perseverance.
“When he first offered The Bedside Book of Birds to publishers, none of them ‘got’ it. He stuck to it, and 10 years later, in 2005, it was published to great success,” Atwood said. “Graeme was always ahead of the curve, sometimes a lonely place to be.”
She said he would be pleased to know birding is now immensely popular among young people today.
“But many birds are under threat, which is what makes the work of Western and Pelee so important,” Atwood said.
Western researchers have long collaborated with Birds Canada and other research programs across the country, including PIBO and the Long Point Bird Observatory. Both are important regional conservation and research hubs situated along major migration routes travelled by roughly 10 million birds each year, making them perfect training sites for Western students.
“The Graeme Gibson Chair in Avian Biology will bring new ideas, vitality and student researchers to ensure Western remains a leader in bird research, from basic biology to ecology to advanced tracking and conservation. It offers an important opportunity to continue our critical research into the future,” said Chris Guglielmo, biology professor and director of Western’s Centre for Animals on the Move.
Migration, movement research offer insights on changing climate
For Guglielmo and his colleagues, bird research is more than a job – it’s a calling.
“We are scientists, so we work to push the limits of knowledge and train the next generation to do the same. This gift from Margaret Atwood is an investment in the fundamental importance of science.” – Chris Guglielmo, biology professor and director of Western’s Centre for Animals on the Move
Using field studies and advanced tracking technology, researchers at Western’s Centre for Animals on the Move investigate how small animals, including birds, bats and insects, find warmer or cooler weather, more food and safe places to breed – everything they need to survive. Motus, a global network of more than 2,400 automated radio-telemetry towers spanning 34 countries, is one of the key tools supporting this work.
Migration research is increasingly important as habitat destruction and a changing climate create significant challenges for many species of Canadian wildlife, Guglielmo said.
“Our birds, whales, salmon, caribou and insects are migratory, they have to be able to move to perform their ecosystem functions. Sometimes even small habitat improvements – changes you can make around your home – can have a positive impact on birds that are flying and refuelling.”
The centre’s research is helping scientists identify emerging patterns in animal movement, understand the challenges species face, and develop solutions to protect wildlife in a changing environment.
“Because these animals are so mobile, they can often adapt to changing conditions by altering when and where they migrate. Studying those changes helps us understand how species are responding to habitat loss and climate change, and provides insights to help us with protection efforts,” Guglielmo said.
He and his Western colleagues are looking beyond the next generation of research, working to ensure the Centre for Animals on the Move has the people, technology and resources to remain at the forefront of animal migration science for decades to come.
For Guglielmo, the gift from Atwood is about building that lasting legacy – strengthening the ability to answer vital questions about migration while encouraging others to invest in the research and conservation of migratory species.
“We have a wonderful, vast country with a lot of amazing places,” he added. “Collectively, we have a special responsibility to protect those areas and our migrating species.
Learn how you can support bird migration and conservation research at Western.
