FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Unceded Algonquin Territory – Ottawa, ON January 27, 2021

Nature Canada is pleased to announce Bob Peart as the winner of the 2022 Douglas H. Pimlott Award, our highest honour for outstanding work in conservation. Bob is an exceptional biologist, environmental leader, educator, and volunteer who has spent decades working for nature in Canada. 

“On behalf of all of Nature Canada, we’d like to thank Bob from the bottom of our hearts for his years of dedication helping people connect with and protect nature,” says Graham Saul, Executive Director of Nature Canada. “Bob is one of those people who seem to embody everything we’re trying to achieve in the conservation movement. He’s spent his life helping defend, discover, and restore nature and we’re proud to honour him today.”

The Douglas H. Pimlott Award is Nature Canada’s highest honour.  Pimlott was a renowned conservationist, wildlife biologist, ecologist and environmentalist and is fondly regarded as a founder of the modern environmental movement in Canada.  This Award commemorates individuals whose brilliance, dedication and outstanding contributions have been a driving force within the conservation sector.  Past recipients include: Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson, Her Honour Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Senator Diane Griffin, Dr. George Archibald, Robert Bateman, Michael Bélanger, Monte Hummel, Anne Murray, Dr. David Schindler, and Cliff Wallis.

Bob Peart has previously been awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and the J.B. Harkin Conservation Medal, and we believe his incredible life’s work and legacy deserve to be honoured with Nature Canada’s most prestigious conservation award, the Douglas H. Pimlott Award.

For fifty years, Bob has been dedicating his time and passion to Canadian nature. His professional career covered a variety of roles with the federal and provincial governments.  He served as the Executive Director of the Outdoor Recreation Council of B.C., the B.C. Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, and Sierra Club of B.C.  As well, Bob has done private consulting with his two companies I.L.E. Consulting and the Nexus Learning Group. 

Bob was Chair of Nature Canada from 2017 to 2020. Including Nature Canada, over the years he has volunteered with many ENGOs including the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, the Grasslands Conservation Council of B.C., the Friends of Shoal Harbour Society, the Elders Council for Parks in B.C., the Fraser Basin Council and The Land Conservancy of British Columbia.

He has been an enthusiastic proponent for reconnecting children and families to nature. He founded and chaired the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada, served on the board of NatureKids B.C., and was a strategic advisor to the Cheakamus Centre – North Vancouver Outdoor School. Bob was also a Senior Associate with the Children and Nature Network in the U.S.A..

Bob has tirelessly advocated for and upheld the values we hold dear: parks and protected areas, Indigenous rights and conservation, environmental education, wilderness protection, bird conservation, and connecting all Canadians to nature. We are proud to count him among our most honoured award winners.

Nature Canada also presented the South Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Network (SOSNPN) with its Conservation Partner Award which was previously announced. The SOSNPN’s persistence for over 15 years has paid off as the group moves into the final stages to establish the national park reserve. The SOSNPN has served as a constant, positive, determined regional voice – not just speaking for the value of conservation but also ensuring that strong science and Indigenous voices were represented in the long process.

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For more information contact: 

Scott Mullenix 
media@naturecanada.ca