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R.D. Lawrence Place
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 Housed in a straw bale building, R.D.Lawrence Place is a Natural History and Science museum focusing on environmental discussions, concerns, and solutions as well as writing. Displays inform viewers on local floras and faunas, wildlife and wetlands and of course Canadian author R.D. Lawrence. There are also a number of interactive children's discovery programs throughout the year.
R.D. Lawrence
Born at sea during a storm on Sept. 12, 1921, R.D. Lawrence's life was as exciting as his birth. Stories of his wildlife encounters and studies captivated readers around the globe. The majority of his 30 books published in 32 countries, in 16 different languages, are about Canadian wildlife. His writing style was forged by Jesuits hiding from persecution, who were Lawrence's first teachers during his childhood in Spain. Their strict regime prepared him for the strain of fighting as a teen in the Spanish Civil War and World War II. He survived capture and life threatening injuries to proceed to study biology at Cambridge University. Unsatisfied with the dissection of the dead in biology, he pursued a life-long passion to study life in the field when he immigrated to Canada in 1954. HIs boundless curiosity served him well as a journalist, a career he juggled for many years with writing books about experiences in the wilderness and working with wild animals he rehabilitated at private sanctuaries in Uphill and Gooderham. His work earned him professional accolades for proving myths about wolves, beavers, skunks, and other animals to be false. Lawrence was a dedicated mentor to many. He lobbied tirelessly to protect wolves and was instrumental in establishing the Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Preserve's Wolf Centre. He was unable to complete his last seven books as a result of Alzheimer’s Disease. However, his legacy of environmental education and love of writing has been preserved by the donation to the Minden Hills Cultural Centre of his literacy estate and memorabilia by his widow, Sharon Lawrence, following his death on November 27, 2003.
The Sustainable Building
Sharon Lawrence, cultural centre staff, township of Minden Hills and the Friends of R.D. Lawrence Place launched a fundraising campaign in 2006 and succeeded in receiving enough public donations and a Ministry of Infrastructure and Renewal grant to start the Place. In April 2007, 26 students from Fleming College's Sustainable Building Program, arrived and worked for four months to erect a 1,900 square foot straw bale building that features solar thermal heating and over a dozen "green" construction techniques. Tours are now available to explain the building's unique features.
**The photo of R. D. Lawrence and Tundra used on this website's home page was taken by Jim Wuepper at Wolf Hollow, the private wildlife sanctuary operated by R.D. and Sharon Lawrence at their Gooderham home in Haliburton County, Ontario. Special thank-you to Jim for allowing us to use his photograph for the commemorative stamp and at RDLP.
General Inquiries
For general information contact us or call 705-286-3154
*Dates and times are subject to change. Always contact the Place for up-to-date information.
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