William (Bill ) Lishman M.S.M. a.k.a. Father Goose is an award winning sculptor, film maker, inventor, naturalist and public speaker. He is co-founder of Operation Migration Inc. a non profit organization dedicated to establishing safe migration routes for migratory birds. He is President of William Lishman & Associates Limited, Vice President of Paula Lishman Limited and past Chair of Operation Migration Inc. Bill Pioneered ultralight aviation in Canada and was the first Canadian to foot launch and land a rigid winged aircraft.
In 1988 he was the first person to lead birds in the air with an ultralight aircraft and as documented on ABC’s 20/20 in 1993 the first to lead birds on a successful migration. In his career as a sculptor since 1962 Bill has completed numerous public works of art internationally including an 85 foot high theme sculpture for The Vancouver worlds fair (EXPO 86) and 8 major wildlife pieces featured in the 3D IMAX film the Last Buffalo. (directed by Stephen Low).
Bill has also designed & constructed a unique earth integrated dome home that has been featured numerous times in the media. In 2000 the Canadian Government awarded him the Meritorious Service Medal for his pioneering work with migratory birds. Bill was also a recipient of The National Wildlife Federation 2002 Conservation award, numerous international awards for films, and the Odyssey of the Mind award for Creativity which he shares with the likes of Walt Disney and Neil Armstrong.
The 1996 Oscar nominated Columbia pictures film Fly Away Home was inspired by his autobiography Father Goose and he is also credited with inspiring the Jacques Perrin film The Winged Migration. Bill is the co-founder and past chair of Operation Migration the organization that has made major steps in a project to establish a backup migratory flock of the highly endangered whooping crane. More recently he hosted a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Nature of Things documentary on renewable energy.
FATHER GOOSE
