Canadian artist rants about saving the planet

Albert College students in Belleville attended a presentation by Robert Bateman. Bateman is a Canadian artist and naturalist who spoke to the school about world issues.

By Sherry Tompkins

Robert Bateman, renowned artist and naturalist, regaled the crowd at Albert College Monday night with his wit and concerns for our culture and our planet.

Bateman was this year’s speaker for the Shewfelt Memorial Lecture in the Sciences series.

“I’m the luckiest guy that I’ve ever heard of, ” Bateman told the audience. “I’ve always been an artist and a naturalist.”

He said he’s amazed he is “still getting away with this kids stuff.”

Bateman is all about meaning.  The famous Canadian artist isn’t just an artist; he is a world citizen who uses his craft to communicate the state of the environment.  His works are both beautiful and meaningful, frequently offering a much-needed warning. Change or you may never see this again.

He used a series of what he refers to as rants, which are actually critical world issues about saving our children, our culture, our planet and ourselves.

He began his “rant” with a comment about schools no longer teaching nature study, using statistics about a correlation between time spent in nature and a myriad of markers which include academic achievement, obesity, resilience, risk-taking and character building.

Bateman used a painting of a driftnet, which has caught and killed a dolphin and an albatross, as an example.  He said this was his most important painting although it’s a tragedy.

This led into his next rant about industrial fishing.  He outlined several statistics, that he says illustrates how a variety of species are killed and discarded during the shrimp harvest.  He suggested a more efficient but expensive method, asking the audience: “Is it worth it?”

Bateman said the three greatest enemies of nature are industrial farming, industrial fishing and industrial forestry.  He said all of these have alternatives, which are admittedly more costly, but is a case of: “It’s pay me now or pay me later. What we’re doing is grandchild abuse.”

At Bateman’s request, all proceeds from the lecture were donated to the Quinte Conservation Authority’s ‘Streams of Dreams’ program.