Approved Biography
for Media Use

Gary and Joanie McGuffin are Canadian wilderness ambassadors, explorers, photojournalists and conservationists.  They have shared their experiences of their long-distance wilderness voyages through national radio serials, television documentaries, national newspaper and magazine features, multimedia presentations, photographic exhibitions, and their eight photographic and instructional books.  They have paddled across Canada and circumnavigated Lake Superior. They are recipients of the Premier’s Award and The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for their lifetime achievements in exploration, wilderness preservation and environmental education. They are founders of the Lake Superior Watershed Conservancy(LSWC), an international non-profit dedicated to preserving the Lake Superior watershed.  Under LSWC, they have registered a 1000-km (600 mile) section of the Trans Canada Trail on the Canadian North Shore. This TCT Lake Superior Water Trail between Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay is part of the larger Total Lake Superior Water Trail linking Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota water trails on Lake Superior. The goal is to see the trail operational by July, 1^st 2017.  The McGuffins are also involved in an important research project with their partner, art historian Michael Burtch to research, identify, locate, and photograph the painting landscapes of the Group of Seven.  Their company Solemn Land Productions co-produced a documentary film with White Pine Pictures called “Painted Land, In Search of the Group of Seven” which will air on TVO in October 2015.