Hello, my name is Frank Giorno. I was born on February 12, 1955 in Montalto Uffugo, in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of Southern Italy. My family immigrated to Canada in April, 1959. We landed in Halifax and passed through Pier 21 on our way to new lives in Toronto, Ontario.
I grew up in Toronto's west end first in the Bloor Street and Ossington Ave area, where I attended St. Anthony's Separate School. My family later moved to the Davenport Rd. and Christie Street area where I finished my primary schooling at St. Raymond's Separate School. During high school I attended Oakwood Collegiate Institue. I have an honours BA from York University and a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Journalism from Ryerson Polytechnical. I also have a certificate in bartending and my Smart Serve Card from the Ontario School of Bartending, although I have yet to serve a drink professionally as a paid bartender.
Since 1980, I have worked primarily with organizations dealing with environmental issues. In the summer of 1980 I worked with Pollution Probe, an environmental interest group. While at Ryerson Polytechnical, my friend Jane Glassco and I did an investigative report on the presence of radioactive waste in a Scarborough, Ontario subdivision. Our research lead to a series of articles being printed in the Globe and Mail in the Fall of 1980.
In 1981, I joined the Brandon Sun. Later that year, I returned to Toronto to work with the Canadian Environmental Law Association (1981-87). After I left CELA, I worked with the Ontario Waste Management Corporation (1987-89), a crown agency given the responsibility for finding a solution for treating the province's hazardous waste. I then worked as the Senior Communications Advisor (primarily on water issues) with the Ministry of the Environment from 1989 and until July 7, 2000.
While working for the MOE, I was the communications advisor primarily for water quality and Great Lakes issues. Some of the issues I provided communications advice for included the Canada Ontario Agreement on the Great Lakes (COA), The Great Lakes Remedial Action Plan (RAP), Management Plans for Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Superior, The Municipal Industrial Strategy for Abatement (MISA), Drinking Water Objectives and Drinking Water Surveillance Program, Urban and Rural Beaches, The Guide for Eating Ontario Sports Fish and Ground Water Quality.
In 1993, I was assigned the added responsibilty of being the MOE's communications advisor on the Niagara Escarpment Commission, which at that time was under the ministry's jurisdiction. It was during this period that I became interested in the waterfalls of the Niagara Escarpment. It was then that I began to photograph some of the falls along the escarpment. Since then I have revisited my favourite falls and still continue to discover new one's to visit and photograph.
Aside from my love of waterfalls I also enjoy a wide variety of activities, such as playing and watching baseball, basketball, soccer, playing the saxophone, paper mache sculpting, stone masonry, nature hikes, cooking, drawing. I love movies and all kinds of music (from the a capella singing right through to zydeco). I enjoy travelling. I'm fascinated by different cultures and languages. I'm trying to improve my French and Italian, although friends tell me I should improve my English first.
I have two wonderful children, a daughter 12 years old and a son 10.
I hope you enjoyed my website. Please contact me if you wish to share your waterfalls experience or if you just want to express your views or offer suggestions.
And remember we all have a role to play in protecting this wonderful environment of ours. Let's all do our part to protect the environment so we can continue to enjoy this beautiful earth and pass it on to our children in a decent shape.