(L-R): Khalil Guliwala, Sheefra Brisbin, Bob Peart

By Graham Saul, Executive Director

I have not known a Nature Canada without the three people who are leaving the Board of Directors this year and I will miss them greatly.

Firstly, my thanks to Khalil Guliwala. Khalil was always so helpful in terms of his knowledge of governance but also his expertise of fundraising and communications. I truly appreciated all of his advice and guidance.

Sheefra Brisbin is a force of nature in every sense of the word. She was a founding member of Women for Nature which continues to grow and prosper. She was a key organizer of our 2016 Gala which the Hill Times rated as one of the top three national events held in Canada that year. Sheefra really knows how to bring people together and has been an important part of building our network. Her knowledge of environmental policy is extensive, having worked as an advisor with various Ministers of the federal government as well as the Deputy Prime Minister. She consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty. We will be forever in her debt.

Lastly and definitely not least, Bob Peart, biologist, educator, activist, civil servant, has been part of the environmental movement in Canada for more than 40 years in so many different capacities. He has made and continues to make an amazing contribution to the protection of nature. The environmental community as a whole is indebted to Bob but especially Nature Canada which Bob has been chairing since 2013. During his time as Chair, Bob has done an extremely effective job at managing the Board in all kinds of circumstances and paid an incredible amount of careful attention to ensure the organization and the board functioned smoothly and effectively. The amount of time, guidance, and devotion he has been willing to invest in Nature Canada is incredible. Personally, I’ve considered Bob a key advisor and mentor and I’ve really enjoyed and valued our conversations over the years. Thank you so much Bob.

I strongly suspect this will not be the last time we all work together and I’ll look forward to staying in touch. My sincere thanks to all three.