![]() ![]() However, photography for the sake of scientific achievement was the perfect motivation to avoid judgement. At the time, creating art for art’s sake was understood to be frivolous and unnecessary by the orthodox Quaker community. Pre-dating the acceleration of “climate change” by nearly 80 years, the Vaux’s body of work on the Illecillewaet Glacier proved to be the first thorough record of glacial studies in Canada.įrom the years 1897 to 1912, the Vaux siblings made approximately 2,500 photographs of the “Canadian Alps.” Their early photographs and findings on local peaks and glaciers were published in numerous CPR pamphlets and presented at various artistic and scientific forums. ![]() To put the retreat of ice in perspective, what was once a 30 minute walk to the foot of the glacier is now a four hour trek. Enthralled by the mystery of it, these young Philadelphians realized the importance of documenting the change, and returned summer after summer for decades to come for annual glacier measurements. It would be seven years until the Vaux family returned, whereupon they discovered that the Illecillewaet Glacier had receded considerably in the time they had been away. ![]() They were fascinated by the nearby Illecillewaet Glacier, where Mary and her siblings set out, equipped with an ingrained sense of Quaker rationalism, to understand the landscape and to photograph, sketch, and measure the glacier before continuing east. The family were among the first wave of travellers to ride the newly-constructed CPR which stopped at the now extinct Glacier House Hotel in the Selkirk Mountains. In 1887, at the age of 27, Mary first travelled to the Rocky Mountains with her adventurous family who were returning east after a long trans-continental rail journey. The family’s shared interest in the natural sciences would eventually attract the entire Vaux family to the Rocky Mountains. However, following the early death of their mother, the duties of running the household and family farm fell upon Mary’s shoulders, preventing her from attending university despite her clear talents in math, science and art. The Vaux’s Quaker upbringing afforded Mary and her two brothers, William and George, a high level of education, especially in the sciences. Above all, they valued modesty, devotion to God, and the pursuit of knowledge. Despite the Vaux family’s high social standing and affluence, the family lived a humble Quaker lifestyle. A pioneer in photography, glacial studies, and mountaineering, Mary Vaux Walcott navigated life with an inexhaustible joie de vivre in face of the narrow limitations imposed by that era’s gender roles.īorn to Sarah and George Vaux in 1860, Mary grew up in a prominent Quaker household in Philadelphia, which was just a day’s carriage ride away from active battlegrounds of the American Civil War. Self-discipline is a prerequisite for the development of higher order thinking skills and the potential lifelong learning.If you’ve ever heard of mountaineer Mary Vaux Walcott, you know that it would be a difficult task to find a woman in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries who was more ahead of her time.Public education is an active partnership among the school, the student, the home, and the community.Each person has intrinsic worth, and therefore should be treated with dignity.Every student has the potential to learn, but each at different rates and in different ways.Quality in education must not be compromised because of lack of resources.Students and staff have a right to a safe and secure school environment.Every person has an equal right to educational opportunities which accommodate their physical, social, emotional, and intellectual interests.The Walcott School staff, along with parents and community members, will provide all students with a variety of meaningful and enriching educational opportunities that prepare them to become life-long learners and productive citizens for the 21st century.Īt Walcott Elementary and Intermediate School, we believe: ![]()
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