School Name History

Robert Bateman was born in 1930 in Toronto, Ontario. As a child, he was interested in nature. For example, he drew sketches of the birds he saw near his home. He was also interested in art, although he didn’t expect to make his living as an artist.

He earned a degree in geography from the University of Toronto, before attending the Ontario College of Education to receive his teaching degree. In 1955, he began twenty years of teaching high school art and geography. Most of those years were spent in Ontario but he travelled throughout the world; however, his favourite place is the Serengeti region in Africa because of its natural beauty and abundant wildlife. He has returned to Africa over a dozen times. In the early 1980s, he and his family came to live on Salt Spring Island in B.C., where he works in his painting studio.

In the early years, he tried different art styles, but in the mid-1960s, he developed the style that would make him famous. He had loved nature all his life, and now he painted animals in their natural habitats in a very realistic way.  As his success continued to grow, he became a full-time artist in 1976. Now public art galleries and art collectors from all over the world buy his paintings.

Robert has been part of the environmental movement since the 1960s. He has used his success as a nature artist to raise money for environmental causes. For example, in 2012, he contributed art to a book called Canada’s Raincoast at Risk which highlights the environmental dangers of oil tanker traffic. Also in 2012, he created the Bateman Foundation, which works to preserve the environment. Money for the foundation comes from the Bateman Gallery in Victoria, where people come to see a collection of his paintings. Over the years, he has raised millions of dollars for protecting the environment.

As a former teacher, Robert Bateman is interested in getting children involved with nature. He established the Wild Neighbours Society. It is a charity to encourage, in his words, “all children to play, learn and grow with nature in their everyday lives.” He hopes that enjoying nature will make children aware of how important it is to take care of it. He also established the Birgit and Robert Bateman Bursary. It is awarded to students who show outstanding achievement in nature studies and conservation.

Since the 1960s, Robert Bateman’s reputation as an artist and environmentalist has grown. He is often asked to speak to groups about art, photography and conservation. In recognition of his efforts, he has received many awards from governments, universities, art societies and environmental organizations. Schools have been named after him in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Ottawa, Ontario, and Burlington, Ontario, although this school closed in 2020.