January 2020 - Manitoba Museum

Winnipeg, MB (January 23, 2020): Update: the Tribute Gala will now take place virtually on April 15, 2021. The Manitoba Museum will honour the leaders of tomorrow at its annual Tribute Gala on April 23, 2020. This year, for it’s 50th anniversary, the Museum has taken a new approach to its annual Tribute Gala.

“Traditionally, the gala evening has celebrated the contributions of well-established individuals and organizations whose leadership and philanthropy have shaped our city and our province,” says James Cohen, Chair of the Museum’s Board of Governors. “This year, as we celebrate our last 50 years and consider our future, the Museum asked past Tribute honourees to identify leaders of tomorrow. These people have the vision and drive to propel Manitoba’s future for the next 10, 20, or even 50 years.”

To determine these leaders, past honourees and the Museum Board of Governors considered who might be community champions that reflect the makeup of Manitoba – the next generation of visionaries, philanthropists and community leaders. The following five dedicated and influential individuals were selected.

ABDIKHEIR AHMED has extensive experience working with immigrant and refugee communities in Winnipeg’s inner city and is a passionate advocate for immigrants and refugees in Canada. He is the Director of the Immigration Partnership Winnipeg (IPW) and previously served as the Executive Director of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM) Inc.

Abdi has received numerous awards for his work creating life-changing opportunities for new Canadians. He was a CBC Manitoba Future 40 Finalist in 2014 and is the recipient of the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, one of the Province of Manitoba’s highest honors, for his work advocating for refugees and building bridges with Canadian communities.

HILARY DRUXMAN dedicates her unwavering passion, artistry and expertise to jewelry design and handcrafted production. She channeled this drive to create the Good Works initiative, designing unique jewelry for local and national charities, with more than $500,000 in profits from sales donated back to them.

Passion and perseverance, talent and skill, strong leadership and an unfailing sense of humor are the cornerstones of Hilary’s success. She established Hilary Druxman Design in 1994 and her work has been showcased in Toronto, New York and global markets; and featured in fashion and industry magazines, retail stores and advertising in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia.

JAIMIE ISAAC is a Winnipeg-based curator and interdisciplinary artist, and a member of Sagkeeng First Nation. She holds a degree in Art History and a Masters of Arts, with research focus on Indigenous Curatorial Praxis, and methodologies in decolonizing and Indigenizing.

At the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Jaimie has curated and co-curated many shows featuring Indigenous artists exploring their current and past experiences through art. She has also independently curated and worked on national collaboration projects.

An advocate for Indigenous representation, Jaimie is an advisor for many organizations. She was one of the Canada Council’s Indigenous delegation at the 2017 Venice Biennale, the International Curatorial Exchange in Finland, and EXPO Chicago. Jaimie has contributed content related to Indigenous creative expression to various art publications and projects. She has also presented her research at symposiums and conferences in North America and Europe.

NIIGAAN SINCLAIR commented in and wrote for international and national print media for years before joining the Winnipeg Free Press as a columnist in 2018. In May of 2019, his work at the Free Press was recognized with the top columnist award by the prestigious National Newspaper Awards.

Niigaan, who is Anishinaabe-born and grew up in Treaty One territory, is also an associate professor at the University of Manitoba. He is also a recovering high school teacher.

HANNAH TAYLOR began raising funds and awareness for Canada’s homeless at age 7. She founded The Ladybug Foundation and raised millions of dollars for more than 65 shelters, food banks, missions, and other organizations across Canada that support people who are hungry, homeless, and living on the street.

The Ladybug Foundation Education Program developed and distributed a multimedia classroom resource to empower young people to make a difference in their world. That project evolved into a free website to access video, music, lessons, and other elements for use in schools.

Hannah had January 31 declared National Red Scarf Day in Canada to raise awareness of homelessness issues, together with her annual Walk a Mile in Their Shoes fundraisers.

She has spoken at more than 350 conferences and events in around the world and her simple message of caring and sharing has been spread to millions of people. Hannah has been recognized for her influence with service and humanitarian awards and received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

The Manitoba Museum is thrilled to have James Richardson & Sons, Limited as the Presenting Sponsor of the 2020 Tribute Gala.

“Honouring the leaders of tomorrow at the Tribute 2020 Gala is an excellent example of how the Manitoba Museum has devoted 50 years to connecting our past to our future,” says Hartley Richardson, President & Chief Executive Officer of James Richardson & Sons, Limited, noting that his late father, George T. Richardson, was honoured at the first Tribute Gala in 2005. “JRSL is proud to continue our long-standing support of the Manitoba Museum as it educates and enriches our community.”

Proceeds from the Tribute Gala support the Manitoba Museum’s Access for All community initiative, which provides complimentary Museum visits for more than 35,000 individuals living with special circumstances each year. Contributions to the 2020 Tribute Gala will make an impact by helping the Museum create memorable learning experiences that build pride in Manitoba and tell the province’s essential stories, bridging language, culture, ethnicity, and age.

2020 Tribute Gala Honourary Committee
Honourary Chair: James E. Cohen
Emcee: Raif Richardson

Members:

Gail Asper
Doneta Brotchie
Bob Cox
Albert El Tassi
Susan Glass
Diane Gray
Gregg Hanson
Mary Hanson
Don Leitch
Nick Logan
Susan Millican
Hartley Richardson
H. Sanford Riley
Paul Samyn
Murray Taylor
Arni Thorsteinson

The 16th annual Tribute Gala will take place in Alloway Hall on April 23, 2020. For information about reserving tables, buying tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and/or to make a donation to the Access for All community initiative, please contact Lynne Stefanchuk 204-988-0629 or email lstefanchuk@manitobamuseum.ca.

Past Tribute Honourees – Winnipeg Free Press (2019); Abdo (Albert) El Tassi & Samira El Tassi (2018); Gregg & Mary Hanson (Ambassadors for Canada 150 Celebration in (2017); Sanford H. Riley (2016); The Winnipeg Foundation (2015); Doug Harvey (2014); Susan Lewis & United Way Winnipeg (2013); Kerry Hawkins (2012); Ambassador Gary Doer (2011); The Chipman Family (2010); Babs & Gail Asper (2009); Kevin & Els Kavanagh (2008); Lawrie Pollard (2007); Murray Taylor & Investors Group Inc. (2006); and George T. Richardson (2005).

– 30 –

For interviews or more information, contact:
Jody Tresoor
Communications Specialist, Manitoba Museum
w: 204-988-0614 c: 204-228-2374
jtresoor@manitobamuseum.ca

Posted on: Monday January 20, 2020

Bristley brown seed pods on branches emerging from grassy ground.

Many plants use the wind to disperse their seeds. But what if a plant lives somewhere that isn’t very windy? How do they encourage their children to “launch”? Many plants decided to take advantage of animals’ mobility. One way plants do this is by growing little hooks or stiff hairs on the fruits that readily catch onto the fur or feathers of an animal when they are ripe. The fruits are carried for possibly hundreds of kilometers before getting rubbed off. The fruits of many North American prairie plants are adapted for transport on bison fur.

Image: The seeds of wild licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota) have hooked bristles that catch readily on the fur of passing animals, like bison.

But what if you live somewhere where there aren’t a lot of big, hairy animals. As it turns out there are ways to get smaller creatures to transport your seeds as well. You do it by producing a substance that the animals find irresistible: fleshy fruits.

Plants that live on the forest floor have it pretty tough because there is very little wind and there usually aren’t big herds of animals hanging around. So some early flowering plants, including violets, bloodroot and Dutchman’s breeches, adapted to use insects to disperse their seeds instead. The seeds of these plants have fatty structures attached to them called eliosomes. After the seeds fall off the parent plant, ants carry them to their nests, remove the eliosomes and then abandon the seeds. The plant seeds sprout readily in the disturbed habitat.

The seeds of violets (Viola) are dispersed by ants, which eat the fatty structures attached to them.

Some fruits, like bittersweet (Celastrus scandens), contain toxins to discourage mammals from eating them.

Plants with fruits that ripen late in the year often rely on flocks of migratory birds for dispersal. Birds are particularly good seed dispersers because they lack teeth, typically swallowing fruits whole. In bird stomachs, the fleshy part of the fruit is digested but the tough seeds usually excreted intact. In fact, the seeds of many plants need to pass through the guts of animals before they will even germinate. However, some fruits are toxic to mammals (like rodents) but not birds. This is because mammals tend to chew the seeds as well as the fleshy parts, killing the baby plant. For that reason, berries that birds can eat are not always safe for people! Therefore, make sure you have correctly identified and researched the toxicity of any fruit before you eat it.

There’s one more creature that plays a huge role in the dispersal of seeds: people. Humans are by far the best seed dispersers ever. We don’t just move seeds a few kilometers; we move them to entirely new continents, creating the exact kinds of conditions the plants like to grow in. Humans like to think that we domesticated plants and forced them to do our bidding, but it is entirely possible that it was the other way around; perhaps it was the plants that domesticated us.

Wheat (Triticum) plants hookwinked a certain group of mammals into dispersing their seeds all across the planet: humans.

Dr. Diana Bizecki Robson

Curator of Botany

Dr. Bizecki Robson obtained a Master’s Degree in Plant Ecology at the University of Saskatchewan studying rare plants of the mixed grass prairies. After working as an environmental consultant and sessional lecturer…

Meet Dr. Bizecki Robson

Museum Stories: Botany

Botany

Monday December 4, 2023

Posted on: Monday January 6, 2020

Just like all creatures, plants want to reproduce themselves. But they typically don’t want their offspring hanging around for too long, eating all the food in the fridge and drinking all the beer. But plant babies living on the land can’t move on their own, so how is an exasperated plant parent going to get their children to leave the nest?

Instead of producing swimming babies like algae do, the very first land plants produced special structures called spores. These spores, which grow into tiny plants, are small enough to be carried away easily by the wind, just like dust. For about 80 million years or so, the only plants on land were species that produced spores: club mosses, horsetails, ferns and mosses.

About 390 million years ago in the mid-Devonian, a new group of plants evolved that were capable of growing very quickly. They are known as the seed plants, and they have dominated life on land for many millions of years. But what exactly is a seed anyway and how is it different from a spore? A spore consists of only one cell; it’s basically a naked baby. For that reason, spore-producing plants aren’t very good parents; they just boot out their kids with nothing to eat and no clothes on. A seed on the other hand consists of three things: a baby, a bottle to feed the baby and clothes to protect the baby.

A green cone with brown tips on a conifer tree branch.

The first seed-producing plants were the gymnosperms (which means “naked seed” in Latin). They produced multiple babies in structures called cones. But the seeds of these cone-bearing plants are quite heavy compared to the spores of ferns, and initially they may have fallen right under their parent. Plants will obviously not grow very well in the shade of their parent, so any kind of structure that would help the seed move a little further away was advantageous. That’s why many cone-bearing plant seeds evolved a thin wing that increases wind resistance and helps the seed glide further away.

The development of seeds was a real game changer because plant babies were way more likely to survive with a food source. There was just one problem: animals. Seeds represented a new source of food for them and they eagerly indulged.

The seeds of Jack pine (Pinus banksiana) cones have tiny wings to help them float away from the parent tree.

A plant head covered in a ball of white, fluffs.

Around the same time mammals evolved, in the Jurassic period about 160 million years ago, yet another group of plants evolved that had an advantage over the cone-bearing plants: they protected their young by enclosing them in fruits. In many species, the fruit also functions as a mode of transportation, essentially a kind of baby carriage. In habitats that are open and windy, like grasslands, many plants continue to use wind to disperse their babies. The elaborate shapes of the fruits (many functioning like parachutes), enables the seeds to fly for much longer distances than the simple gliding seeds of the cone-bearing plants.

Image: The seeds of many aster plants, like goat’s-beard (Tragopogon dubius), have fruits shaped like parachutes, which help them fly.

What if a plant lives somewhere that isn’t very windy though? What do they do? Stay tuned for part 2 of “The Perils of Plant Parenthood” to find out.