About Us

GILLES FORGET

I was born in Montréal, Canada. I Trained as a pharmacologist, and later specialized in environmental Toxicology. I worked for 28 years in the field of international development. Twenty-five of these years were spent at the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC), specifically in the area of Environmental health. My two main interests then were access to safe drinking water and the Ecosystems approach to Human Health. I am a keen nature photographer, and especially enjoy bird photography.

LIVING IN AFRICA AND BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY

Starting in 2001, IDRC posted me in its West and Central African Office in Dakar, Senegal. I was Regional Director for its activities in that part of the continent. While there with my wife Yvette, we paid regular visits to the parks and wildlife reserves seeking to take photographs of the African fauna, especially birds. We developed this passion during our first sojourn in West Africa (Benin – 1977 to 1980). It is also in Senegal that I made the digital transition with our Canon photographic equipment.

PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITIONS

Upon our return from Benin, we held an exhibition of our wildlife photography at the Musée du Séminaire de Sherbrooke entitled “AFRICA, THE WILD LIFE…” from November 28 to December 22, 1982.

Nearing the end of our stay in Senegal, I also held an exhibition of my bird photographs at Senegal’s National Gallery, under the auspices of the Canadian Embassy in Senegal and the Ministère de la Culture, du Patrimoine Historique Classé, des Langues Nationales et de la Francophonie (January 23 to February 6, 2008). I think that this is when I felt like a real bird photographer.

PHOTOGRAPHY TRAVEL

We have been fortunate to visit numerous parks and wildlife reserves in Benin (Pendjari) and Kenya before I was posted to Senegal. From then on, we undertook several photo-trips in Senegal (Djoudj, Sine Saloum, Niokolo Koba, Bandia). Between 2001 and 2007 we also visited Mali, Mauritania (the Adrar desert, and the Banc d’Arguin National park), as well as India and Egypt. Many wonderful opportunities for bird photograpy!

 

Following our retirements and return to Canada, we have photographed birds in Ethiopia (the Historic North and the Ethiopian Rift Valley), and more recently we have gone back to Benin (Pendjari National Park). In the summer of 2016, we visited the Kougibouguac National Park in the Province of New-Brunswick, Canada. We hope to add to this list in the future, and bring back many more photographs.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

I have published two books of bird  photography specifically on the Birds of Senegal, and they are available on the publisher’s website in either softcover version or as eBooks.

Furthermore, using the numerous photographs taken during our world travel, I have presented a number of talks and conferences in the PowerPoint© format to several community groups in both French and English.

• Senegal
• Birds of Senegal
• Mali: Dogon Country, Mopti, Djenne and Timbuktu
• Mauritania: Nouakchott, the Adrar desert and the Banc D’Arguin
• Rajastan: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Ranakpur
• Eight days in the Historic North of Ethiopia
• Two weeks in the Ethiopian Rift Valley: Peoples and animals of the Omo Valley

HONOURS AND DECORATIONS

My spouse Yvette Savard-Forget and I were appointed Ambassadors of the African Renaissance in recognition of our action to train young Africans in science and technology between 1977 and 2008.

Benin has made me knight of the Benin Order of Merit (2001), and later upgraded this distinction to the level of Officer (2008). Senegal has also made me Officer of the Senegal Order of Merit (2008).