Gala Celebration with Keynote
Speaker Adam Shoalts Ph.D.
Wings over the Rockies Nature Festival Gala Celebration & Keynote Speaker Event
Now in its 29th year, the Wings over the Rockies Nature Festival is thrilled to once again bring the community together for an unforgettable evening at the Gala Celebration and Keynote Speaker event. This year’s keynote features Adam Shoalts Ph.D. — a professional explorer, historian, archeologist and one of Canada’s bestselling authors. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society for “extraordinary contributions to geography” and completed a nearly 4,000 km solo journey across Canada’s Arctic.
Canadian Geographic included him on their list of the 90 most influential explorers in Canadian history. .
Experience a captivating presentation as Adam Shoalts brings to life our theme, “Adventures in Nature”.
Named one of the “greatest living explorers” by Canadian Geographic, and declared “Canada’s Indiana Jones” by the Toronto Star, Adam Shoalts is one of Canada’s bestselling authors with 8 books to his name.
His career has included mapping rivers, leading expeditions for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Mountain Equipment Co-op, tracking endangered species, archaeological digs, and completing a nearly 4,000 km solo journey across Canada’s Arctic. On his expeditions he sometimes goes months without seeing another person. In 2022, he set off by canoe 3,400 km from his doorstep to the Arctic.
Shoalts grew up with forest surrounding his childhood home, where his father taught him about trees. Together, they built birch bark canoes and anything else that could be crafted from the woods.
Shoalts has written about edible mushrooms, deforestation, and watershed pollution in northern Canada. His writing career began with articles on wild animals and conservation, which later led to his #1 national bestselling and award-winning books, including Where the Falcon Flies.
Shoalts graduated from Brock University, where he was named top student in the Humanities, and then completed a Master’s degree and PhD at McMaster University, where his research combined history, archaeology, nature, and geography. He has since done archaeology in four countries.
Shoalts’s work has been featured in media around the world, including the BBC, CNN, CTV, CBC, Reader’s Digest, the Washington Post, The Guardian and many others. In 2016, Shoalts was named a national champion of the Trans-Canada Trail and in 2018 Explorer-in-Residence of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. In 2021, the Writers’ Trust of Canada asked him to serve as a judge for the Weston Prize, Canada’s largest nonfiction book award. In 2022, he was presented with the Louie Kamookak Medal for “making Canada better known to Canadians and the world” by Chief Perry Bellegarde, former National Chief of Assembly of First Nations. In 2024, Outward Bound named him their national Ambassador.
Shoalts has a particular concern for preserving wild places and has been involved with many conservation organizations. In 2008, he received the Niagara Region’s environmental award for his work preserving local watersheds. When not on expeditions, Dr. Shoalts is one of Canada’s most popular public speakers.
