April 28, 2026
The Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) held their annual Spring Gathering and welcomed a presentation by well-known canoeist, explorer and writer Hap Wilson. He described the exhilarating adventure of his travels in the Canadian Shield; his stories accompanied by photographs, sketches and videos.
The evening was emceed by Brian Gillespie, Chair of the Nature Talks Committee. It began with a video presentation, “Algonquin Wild”, by Almonte photographer-extraordinaire, Bill Pratt. He shared breath-taking scenes of Algonquin Park through the seasons, set to the soothing music of “Algonquin Wild” written by Almonte resident Ian Douglas, and performed by the local Raintree Earth Ensemble.
A tribute to the iconic Cliff Bennett followed, entertainingly presented by Ron Williamson, with added comments by Lise Balthazar and Joachim Moenig. Cliff is well known to MVFN members, having co-founded the club in 1988 “to increase public interest, knowledge, understanding, appreciation, and respect for the natural world”. An avid naturalist, birder and canoeist, Cliff truly embodies the goals of the organization. Cliff has served in many MVFN roles over the years. Ron joked that many people who have joined the MVFN board or its committees did so at Cliff’s urging. It is well understood that Cliff saying “Do you want to get together for a coffee” is code for “I have a job for you”.
Following a light lunch prepared by the Almonte Civitan Club, MVFN information stations, and socializing, Rob Longair introduced the keynote speaker.
Hap Wilson is a noted self-taught author, artist and photographer. He has published numerous Canadian canoe-route guides and books about wilderness life, and written for publications such as Canadian Geographic, Explore, and Outdoor Canada. Hap has paddled more than 60,000 km throughout Canada, taught wilderness skills for Outward Bound, and is an International Fellow of the Explorer’s Club and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. He also received the Bill Mason Award for lifetime achievement in river conservation. He emphasized that the most important part of travel on the trails is the people you meet along the way and noted that Canada is one of only four countries left with an appreciable amount of wilderness.
Hap observed that while the Canadian Shield is vast, most canoeing takes place in its southern sections, especially in parks which can become overcrowded and suffer environmental strain. Hap makes his home in The Temagami Wilderness, a premier back-country destination larger than Algonquin Park and home to significant old growth forests now under pressure from logging. He showed photographs of pictographs – some over 1,000 years old – while remarking that some have unfortunately been damaged.
The environmental movement was kicked off in 1972. At that time canoeing pressure on The Lady Evelyn River in Temagami became significant. Hap’s goal became distributing canoeists across lesser-known routes to reduce impact. He therefore began searching for alternate canoe routes, in some cases clearing trail along portage routes. He mapped out the various routes and published a guide to share with other canoeists. This endeavor expanded into multiple regions, including the popular and well-used Muskoka area.
He described the case of the Missinaibi River in Northern Ontario, where inaccurate topographic maps had led to fatalities. Hap was hired to remap the river and provide a reliable guide. Hap also contributed to mapping sections of the Trans Canada Trail – specifically the “Path of the Paddle”, a 1,250 km route from Thunder Bay to Whiteshell Provincial Park on the Manitoba border trail – a project that took four years. Hap also worked with Canada Parks for 4 years to map out Manitoba Rivers and mapped the North Seal River for a lodge in Northern Manitoba.
Hap is a passionate environmental steward who stressed the importance of protecting Canada’s 8,508 rivers. He highlighted the role of eco-tourism in fostering stewardship, noting that human presence can help monitor and protect remote waterways. He also acknowledged that long before European exploration, Indigenous peoples were frequent users of Canada’s rivers. They were the original stewards of these rivers, maintaining deep cultural, spiritual, and sustenance connections to them.
In addition to those noted above, we would also like to thank Louise Beckinsale, Sylvia Miller and Brian Gillespie for organizing another exceptional Spring Gathering.
Submitted by Chris Baburek
