{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Let's Find Out","title":"71 - About the Whale Society of Edmonton","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":4725,"description":"This episode: About the Whale Society of Edmonton (or Don't Go Anywhere Without a Porpoise)A story about the people who decided to run a save-the-whales group from the prairies, and the splash they made in the media. This episode is a live show recorded on March 3, 2026 at the City of Edmonton Archives.From 1979 – 1984, the Whale Society of Edmonton led public education programs about whales and dolphins and advocated for their protection. Listen to learn what drove these Edmontonians in a time of hope and crisis.Celebrated author and activist Candas Jane Dorsey shared stories about her late sister Jaclyn Dorsey, who helped lead the Whale Society as its secretary.City Archivist Kathryn Ivany introduced listeners to the Whale Society’s files at the City of Edmonton Archives, and showed them how to can explore your own questions at the archives.This is the conclusion to our mini-series about Albertan environmental groups and journalists in the 1970s: You Can Change the World! or Why Would I Talk to You?Head to our website to see pictures from the event and archival images, like the fan art sent to the Whale Society by children like Judith Taylor.The Whale Society of Edmonton was founded by a group of Edmontonians in 1979. They attracted about 200 members all around Canada, but the core volunteers were less than a dozen people, mostly connected to the University of Alberta.Thousands of kilometres from the nearest coastline, they led public education programs about whales and dolphins and advocated for their protection.Their president, Dennis Wighton, told the Edmonton Journal: “A lot of people here haven’t ever seen a whale, but they have a feeling, ‘for God’s sake, leave them alone, I want them to be there’.”Dennis Wighton was an administrator for the genetics department at the U of A. The U of A’s campus paper, The Gateway, did a profile on him in 1979. Dennis really wanted the university to be a leader in reducing pollution – stuff like not putting mercury in the...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/EYW7tTyPgknDk0P7xoriU_kdMVn4yzzHrOw88CGOqlw/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQxMTIzLzE2ODI2/MTg0MTYtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}