Our Board

Ontario Nature Officer - Directors

President

ANGELA MARTIN and her husband own and operate a resort on Lake Nipissing. Angela’s commitment to protect nature inspired her to set up and lead a local group, to develop the Mashkinonje Provincial Park, which is adjacent to her property. The charitable organization has built 35 kilometres of hiking trails, a 600-metre wheelchair accessible trail, more than a kilometre of hardened trails, two 100-metre boardwalks, three parking lots, interpretive and trailhead signage, a trail map, and much more. Angela was president of the Nipissing Naturalists Club for eight of its most successful years. Her legacy is the field guide, Species at Risk in the Lake Nipissing Watershed.

Past President

DR. BRENDON LARSON is an associate professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo, and has been involved with natural areas inventory and planning across the province. Brendon formerly sat on the board of WWF-Canada. Brendon lives in Guelph with his partner Karolyne and daughter Kyra, and together they enjoy exploring beautiful natural areas. To learn more about Brendon, visit brendonlarson.com .

Secretary /Treasurer

IAIN WILKES has a lifelong passion for birding and nature started in the late fifties as a young lad with the Ingersoll Nature Club, which participated in the early days of bird banding at Long Point Provincial Park. Iain is a member of the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists as well as Bird Studies Canada. He presently organizes the Christmas bird count for the Carleton Place area and is an active BirdingPal participant, an organization which provides birding assistance to people around the world..

Regional Club Directors

Carolinian East - MARK CRANFORD

South Peel Naturalists

Mark holds a degree from the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Toronto. He currently works for Hunter and Associates, an environmental consulting firm, and is a member of the South Peel Naturalists' Club and its past president. Since 2001, Mark has been the club’s representative for the Ontario Eastern Carolinian Region. In addition, Mark is a member of the Toronto Ornithological Club and the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO), where he has assumed the role of coordinator of OFO's Ontbirds (an email list of 2,200 subscribers that reports on birding across the province).

Carolinian West - ANNE McARTHUR

Friends of Rondeau

Anne runs the Friends’ Bookstore at Rondeau. A passionate birdwatcher, Anne joined the Friends of Rondeau in 1998, which promotes educational, restoration, historical and interpretive programs in Rondeau Provincial Park. Anne’s volunteer activities draw on her interest in helping raise awareness about the lack of natural habitat in Southwest Ontario, and her love of the outdoors.

Great Lakes West - JOAN DAYNARD

Stratford Field Naturalists

Joan is a retired Registered Nurse who worked in several hospitals including at the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. She and her husband, Robin Daynard, raised sheep and operated a cash crop farm and an agricultural ventilation business in Staffa, Ontario, where they also raised two children. Joan has participated in the Ontario Tree Atlas, the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas, and Volunteer for Nature projects as well as many Christmas Bird Counts. As a past president of the Stratford Field Naturalists, Joan is involved in organizing speakers, trips and field events.

Huronia - SYLVIA BOWMAN

York Simcoe Naturalists

Sylvia is the conservation director of the York Simcoe Naturalists and longtime member of Ontario Nature. She has been at the forefront of urban sprawl issues including the Big Pipe project, the extension of Highway 404 and the construction of the Peaker plant in King township. Sylvia is a member of the Maskinonge River Recovery Project public committee and is on the board of the York Region Environmental Alliance.

Lake Ontario North - OTTO PETER

Durham Region Field Naturalists, Thickson’s Woods Land Trust

Otto is the past president of the Durham Region Field Naturalists and still serves as its program coordinator. He is currently the president of the Thickson’s Woods Land Trust, which owns almost 12 hectares of woods and meadow on the Lake Ontario shoreline in Whitby. Otto played a key role in preserving the Second Marsh Wildlife Area and, as a former employee with General Motors, GM’s McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Preserve. Otto volunteered for the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario and participates in the Oshawa and Pickering Christmas Bird Counts and in the Oshawa butterfly and summer bird counts. Otto and his wife Diane are enthusiastic world travellers, usually going to places where they can enjoy their favourite hobby, bird watching.

Northern Region - ANGELA MARTIN

Friends of Mashkinonje and Nipissing Naturalists

Northern Region - RYAN LEBLANC

Thunder Bay Field Naturalists

Ryan is a director of the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists and a member of the Native Orchid Conference organization. He is now an independent occupational health and safety consultant in Thunder Bay. Ryan has served on the Ministry of Environment Remedial Action Plan, NW regional director of the Ontario Underwater Council, technical advisor for the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area of Parks Canada, and a member of the former Rossport Island Management Committee.

Ontario East - IAIN WILKES

Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

Directors at large

ROBERT FISHLOCK is an environmental lawyer and a Partner with Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. For nearly 30 years, he has practiced all aspects of environmental law, particularly with respect to the regulation of industrial activities and the protection of air, water and land resources. Robert is the chair of Port Hope’s Environmental Advisory Committee, President of the Northumberland-Quinte West federal Green Party EDA and a member of the Northumberland Community Power Association, which hopes to develop a solar energy project soon. In his spare time, Robert retreats to his Haliburton cottage near Minden or travels to the Canadian Rockies to visit his son and hike or snowshoe in the mountains.

PINKY FRANKLIN is the former president of the Toronto Field Naturalists and is credited with reviving and strengthening this venerable naturalist group. Pinky was co-host of Ontario Nature’s second annual Green Tea fundraiser, which was held at the Granite Club in Toronto. Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson were the guest speakers. Pinky is the former chair of the York Mills Valley Environment Committee, a longtime Ontario Nature member, and a member of the Granite Club’s Nature Series.

PETER MIDDLETON is a lifelong naturalist and retired teacher, and administrator, of outdoor education programs for the Toronto, Bruce County, and Bluewater boards of education. Peter has served as a naturalist guide for more than 40 years with a variety of organizations, including Ontario Nature, QUEST Nature Tours, Arctic Odysseys and Peregrine Polar Expeditions. Peter regularly gives presentations on the natural world, and continues to lead field outings. He is a long-time member of Ontario Nature, serving as a club representative on the Board of Directors for a number of years. He is the past president of the Owen Sound Field Naturalists and currently resides in Owen Sound with his wife Jan.

JOE NETHERY is a land-use planner, and the Zoning By-law Project Manager for the Town of Oakville. His expertise is in land-use policy and regulation, and he has worked across southern and central Ontario advising clients on strategic and long-term planning issues. Joe is an avid kayaker, runner, and traveller. He lives in Mississauga but has previously lived in Guelph, Waterloo, Barrie, London, and New Zealand.

TINA ROSENSTEIN has worked as a marketing consultant for the past 25 years and started her own firm, Rosenstein Marketing, 12 years ago. Tina is extremely interested in issues related to the environment, sustainability and climate change. She is also active in environmental education concerns and engaging more children with their natural surroundings. Tina lives in Toronto with her husband and two children.

KEVIN THOMASON has worked in the technology and marketing fields for Apple Computer, KPMG, Quarry Communications, and most recently as the co-founder of a leading Web 2.0 start-up in the field of information filtering, helping people deal with information overload. In 2004, concerned with rampant growth and the destruction of the Waterloo Moraine, Kevin volunteered full-time for three years to help develop a Greenbelt Plan. Kevin and hundreds of volunteers from throughout the community succeeded in getting the unanimous approval of eight municipal and regional Councils to pioneer a new environmentally sensitive landscape protection concept that protects more than 10,000 acres of the most threatened and critical lands in the Waterloo Region from development.

JASON TSANG has a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo's School of Planning and is a member of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute and Canadian Institute of Planners. He has previously worked at the Ontario Growth Secretariat division of Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure as well as being appointed on the City of Toronto's Committee of Adjustment. He is currently the Committee Head of Event Transportation for the Rogers Cup.