Myrna was not risk averse. If she was, Ostrander Point, an ecological gem along the south shore of Prince Edward County, on Lake Ontario, would likely be an industrial wind energy project by now. Maybe the Blandings Turtle population there would be extirpated. Threatened alvar habitat would be lost forever and likely hundreds, or even thousands of birds including Purple Martins and Golden Eagles and threatened species of bats would have died. Myrna deserves so much credit for saving Ostrander Point and that is how I got to know this incredible woman.

THANK YOU MYRNA.

Myrna was beloved, principled, determined, very clever and one of the most humble people I’ve known. She was awarded the Governor General’s Diamond Jubilee medal in 2012, Nature Canada’s volunteer of the Year award in 2011, and was a founder of the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists and the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory. She worked in the background, never seeking attention. If you read her obituary, you will understand that she was not afraid of challenging authority on questions of civil rights and justice. As a resident of Picton, in Prince Edward County, a lover of nature and birds, and someone who leads from behind, she was trusted to lead the fight to save Ostrander Point, a provincially owned natural area of great ecological significance on the south shore of Prince Edward County, in the centre of the globally significant Prince Edward County South Shore Important Bird Area.

Some of us spent many days strategizing with her and her dear friend Cheryl Anderson, and how to challenge the Ontario government’s desire to permit industrial wind turbines on Ostrander Point and elsewhere in the IBA. Events were held with the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists. People were mobilized. Funds were raised to pay the legal fees, which is enough to deter 99% of us and most organizations from engaging in a legal fight in which the cards are stacked in the favour of the Proponent. That didn’t deter Myrna and company. 

The Prince Edward County Field Naturalists boldly challenged the Province, first through the Ontario Environmental Review Tribunal and for the first time in this type of case, won in a ground-breaking decision. The proponent and developer challenged the Tribunal’s decision at the Ontario Divisional Court. The Court reversed the tribunal decision in favour of the Proponent. However, Myrna and company through the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists, and with the support of Nature Canada, Ontario Nature, and the Alliance to Protect Prince Edward County, appealed to the Appeal Court of Ontario. The Appeal Court overturned the Divisional Court Decision. Thanks to Myrna and her trusted friends and supporters, the south shore of Prince Edward County is largely protected from industrial activity and it’s biodiversity is safe from harmful activities.

We are forever grateful to you Myrna.