Edgar T. Jones was a self-taught wildlife photographer and filmmaker based in Edmonton. He was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan on November 22, 1922 and served as a pilot with the Royal Air Force Bomber Command during World War Two, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross twice. After the war, Jones returned to Canada and founded McMurray Air Services, a bush pilot company that operated in northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories. He began shooting 16mm film as a hobby in 1948, quit professional flying in 1950, and founded Western Canada Films Ltd. in 1951 in order to document Canada's natural heritage and raise awareness about conservation.

Jones completed his first documentary in 1955 and continued his career as a conservationist, filmmaker, lecturer, writer, and photographer for the next 50 years. As a lecturer, Jones has spoken for the National Audubon Society across Canada and the United States, often accompanying screenings of his films. In addition to these activities, Jones also maintained bird-banding efforts and had banded over 115,000 birds from 313 species by 2006.

Among other achievements, he was a founding member of the Edmonton Bird Club, founded the Alberta Wildlife Foundation, received the Edmonton Natural History Club Conservation Award, the City of Edmonton Award of Excellence, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, and was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2001.

Edgar T. Jones died in Edmonton on September 28, 2011.

The fonds consists of prints of the 26-program run of Adventure Outdoors and prints of several other documentaries that aired on television. The fonds also includes several projects that may not have been completed, or may have been used to supplement other projects (likely raw footage and outtakes). This material includes raw footage of woodpeckers, raw footage of Arctic landscapes and wildlife, footage of an excavation by Edmonton-based company Lute H. Vieweger, and home movies of a wedding anniversary party and ski trip to Marmot Basin.

The textual files consist of production files for several of Jones’ documentaries and provide evidence of his filmmaking and research processes as well as information directly related to the films, such as shot lists. There is also correspondence with conservationists and naturalists across North America related to Jones’ work. A substantial portion of the textual material consists of records of Jones’ bird-banding, bird watching, species and field journals, and maps that correlate species information with various sites in Alberta.

There are also records related to the formation and administration of the Wagner Natural Area Society, an organization founded in 1982 to create and manage a natural area of bog land in Parkland County, Alberta between Spruce Grove and Edmonton. The Wagner Natural Area was named after the original landowner and contains many species of rare or unusual plant and animal life. These records include newsletters, minutes, correspondence, and documents related to the purchase of the Wagner property and the incorporation of the Wagner Natural Area Society. There are also images of the area.

The photographs and negatives depict various sites around Alberta related to the field and species journals kept by Jones.

The audio reels are mostly commentary or soundtracks for many of the documentaries already in the fonds. These were created to be played with the film projection and consist of music and wildlife recordings created by Jones in the field. The commentary tracks were recorded at live screenings of Jones’ work and consist of Jones providing live narration. The remainder of the audio reels consist of the raw recordings that Jones created in the field of various species and then used for the edited soundtracks. These recordings are accompanied by track lists that identify the specific animals being recorded, as well as the location.