GOERT: Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team

Mike Meagher at play with his three grandsons

Acorn Award May 2010: Congratulations to GOERT member Mike Meagher on the receipt of his Acorn Award. He has been with us since day one and has been one of the most active members in the organization, taking on a diversity of tasks over the years. He’s cheerful and welcoming, and probably the most consistent attendee at Team and RIG meetings. If he’s not out of town or playing golf or tennis he’s present. And because he is involved in so many working groups, he functions as a bridge among them.

He has chaired the Research RIG since 2002 and is the organizing force behind the annual Research Colloquium. He is also a member of the Restoration and Management RIG and two of its steering committees. GOERT’s founding Chair Marilyn Fuchs says, “When Mike first proposed a research colloquium, I thought it sounded like an awfully big task. Well, not only did he pull it off, but he has organized it every year but one since 2003 and has consistently improved the quality of the event and drawn a diverse crowd. What I particularly love is the way he encourages students to present their research, makes them feel welcome, and makes it a priority to pay for their lunch and transportation. He often organizes associated social events that are particularly valuable for the students.”

Mike accepts his Acorn Award from GOERT Chair Brian Reader at the Research Colloquium

Biologist James Miskelly puts it this way: “Mike goes out of his way to greet and acknowledge people. He is great at finding out who is new and introducing them to everyone.” The crowd at the colloquium enjoys his wry sense of humour. There have been many moments of hilarity with Mike’s good friend George Edwards trying to moderate the colloquia while fending off banter from Mike. We’ve heard rumours that Mike will soon be retiring as Chair, but we don’t want to believe it.

Mike has enjoyed a long career in forestry, and his interest in trees led him to his volunteer work as Secretary of the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society (GOMPS) and then to his involvement in the formation of GOERT. He is also President of the Thetis Lake Park Nature Sanctuary Association.

A Career in Forestry
Since finishing his undergrad at UBC in 1957, Mike has worked for the BC Forest Service in regeneration surveys, planting and seed harvesting; done his Masters degree in soils in Toronto; lectured in Forestry; completed his PhD on the genetics of hemlock trees at UBC; worked on tree improvement for the BC Forest Service in Duncan (establishing seed orchards where trees are grown and their cones are collected); done hemlock breeding for the Research Branch of the provincial government in Victoria; he also worked on white pine and blister rust for the federal government at Pacific Forestry Centre (PFC).

GOMPS and GOERT
Mike became a member of GOERT’s partner organization, the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society (GOMPS) in February 1997. Colleague Tom Gillespie says, “Mike had become familiar with us at PFC as we had been involved with growing thousands of oak seedlings there for several years, and had many consultations with Bob Duncan about the insects associated with oak meadows. We attended workshops there concerning gypsy moths and the overhead spraying of them.”

Fred Hook, Environmental Technician with City of Victoria Parks, GOERT and GOMPS member adds, “As Secretary, Mike provides the continuity in GOMPS. He knows what tasks need to get done and keeps things moving. He has a marvellous knowledge of every oak on every golf course on Vancouver Island. He is an avid golfer, and it’s remarkable how many of the samples for his extensive research on the genetics of oaks all the way from Comox to California came from golf courses. Read the research paper here.

A Love Story
Mike met his wife Birgitte in Toronto on the day she arrived in Canada from Denmark. Mike likes to joke that “she hit on the first Canadian she met.” Birgitte’s retort: “Well, he fell for it”. Birgitte says that she is very outspoken and direct. She is confident that Mike is strong enough to cope with it and illustrates it with this story:

“On our first dinner out together, my boss allowed me leave for a while and told me to hurry back. Have you ever seen Mike eat? He is the slowest eater in the world and I come from a fast-eating family. The food came and I ate it. I looked up and saw that Mike’s plate was totally full. Had my plate come before his? Had I rudely dived into my meal before his had come? As I watched I realized that the difference was that he was eating very slowly. I watched as he chewed and chewed, and it made no impression on his plate. I sat for what seemed like an eternity and watched him chew. I pulled out a cigarette and lit a match, then thought to ask him, ‘Do you mind if I smoke?’ He looked up and answered ‘Yes’. Oh no, I am going to have to sit here forever and watch this man chewing, I thought. I looked at him in desperation and asked, ‘Are you kidding?’ But he wasn’t, so I put out my match and put my cigarette away. Mike said, ‘If you don’t want my honest opinion, don’t ask for it’. Well, we survived that moment at our first dinner, and we haven’t had a problem since then. I think that having this honest exchange, we don’t run into some of the difficulties that other couples do. It was a great way of starting a relationship, setting the stage that you’re not going to be pretentious.” Mike and Birgitte have a daughter, a son and three grandsons.

Garry oak trunks with moss (photo by Todd Carnahan)

The forest for the trees
Birgitte tells another story: “At a big party for Mike’s 60th birthday our daughter told this story: When she was about 16, she and her father were sharing a chairlift at Forbidden Plateau on a gloriously beautiful clear day. The coast mountains were standing like statues. Our daughter said, ‘Wow, look at that! Isn’t it gorgeous?’ and Mike answered, ‘Yes, look at all the cone buds on that tree!’ At the party there was a loud burst of laughter from a family friend. She is also the daughter of a forester and she could relate to the comical reply from Mike. What the foresters have in common is the love of their jobs. He was lucky to find a profession that really grabs him.”

We appreciate Mike’s dedication to the cause over many years, his energy and thoroughness, his sense of humour and his efforts to modernize in this computer age. Mike was presented with his Acorn Award by GOERT Chair Brian Reader at our 7th Annual Research Colloquium in March 2010. Thank you Mike!

See more about Mike Meagher in his GOERT bio.

Dave receives his acorn award from Garry Oakley at GOERT’s AGM (photo by Neil Boyle)

Acorn Award October 2009: It’s high time we presented an Acorn Award to GOERT member Dave Polster. Dave volunteers on the Restoration and Management RIG as well on as both of its committees: he is a member of the Native Plant Propagation Steering Committee and co-chairs the Invasive Species Steering Committee. He also volunteers on our board of directors. Dave has an amazing ability to be in several places at once, working to restore Garry oak habitat while simultaneously directing mine reclamation in far-flung places and dropping by to give advice on small-scale restoration projects.

“You never know where you’re going to run into Dave. One day I stopped in at Rathtrevor Park and there was Dave with his tiger torch”, says GOERT staff member Chris Junck. “He’s like a terrier the way he latches onto something and sticks with it.” Besides being hot on the trail of new invasive plants, Dave is a lead author for our upcoming restoration compendium, coordinates the restoration and research at Somenos Garry Oak Protected Area and has been involved in restoration projects at many other locations, including Mt. Tzuhalem Ecological Reserve as a consultant and pro bono. (read more…)

Acorn Award July 2009: It is our pleasure to present an Acorn Award to volunteer Patricia Boyle. In addition to serving as a GOERT member, she lends her considerable expertise and enthusiasm to two of our restoration working groups: the Native Plant Propagation Steering Committee and the Invasive Species Steering Committee.

Pat Boyle, Acorn Award recipient July 2009 (photo by Neil Boyle)

Pat brings a wealth of experience and unflagging enthusiasm for Garry oak ecosystem conservation to our team. Her positive energy is a catalyst for action, and her wisdom helps us develop effective solutions. She has contributed to GOERT in innumerable ways over the years and helped us work through many challenges. She has served on the GOERT executive, contributed to, reviewed and edited countless published materials, and been one of the most stalwart, long-standing members of GOERT.

Although Pat has been a keen gardener for twenty years, her interest in native plant gardening began when she and husband Neil built their house on Gonzales Bay in 2000. Pat researched, consulted resources, and poured her energy into creating a native plant garden of astounding beauty and variety. The garden has been toured by hundreds of people and was featured in the April 2007 issue of House and Home magazine. It features Saskatoon, Indian-plum, Oregon-grape, Garry oak trees, western crabapple, red-osier dogwood, woolly sunflower, coastal strawberry, snowbush, oceanspray, mock-orange, kinnikinnick, snowberry, sedum, western hawthorn, hairy manzanita, common juniper, native grasses and bulbs. She has also created a small Garry oak restoration area on the east side of the property, beside the walkway to Gonzales Beach, which can be viewed from the sidewalk along Crescent Road (see Gonzales Bay Native Plant Garden). (read more…)

Acorn Award September 2008: If you go for a walk on Christmas Hill in spring, you’ll see a dazzling variety of native wildflowers in bloom – purple, pink, yellow and white – in the beautiful open landscape of a Garry oak savannah. You could be forgiven for assuming that it had always been like this. But go for a walk with Willie MacGillivray, and you’ll begin to understand how much effort has gone into restoring the landscape before you.

Christmas Hill in spring (photo courtesy of Swan Lake)

In the beginning
When Willie first began his work as Site Manager at Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary in 1981, the invasive Scotch broom on Christmas Hill was taller than he was. At first he and his staff tackled the broom head-on, but were dismayed to see it coming back full-force in the ensuing years: “I had a bunch of paid staff (this was a time when there was grant money). There were ten people working every day with me. Over one season, we made a huge effort and removed all the big broom plants, and I thought, ‘Okay, we’ve got it all under control. Now all I have to do is pull out the flowering ones every year.’ The next couple of years looked pretty good. Then year three came. I was all by myself. All the staff were gone. The hill was a sea of yellow broom flowers. I went up there with a pair of loppers, trying to make my way up the hill, working hard and sweating and I thought, ‘This is ridiculous; I can’t do this.’ I turned around and left, and came up with a new approach.” (read more…)

Acorn Award September 2008: We are pleased to present Marilyn Fuchs with an Acorn Award for her outstanding contribution to the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team. Marilyn is one of the founders of GOERT, and was the founding Chair, and subsequently Program Coordinator and Vice Chair, from the Recovery Team’s inception in 1999 until January 2005.

Marilyn Fuchs

Chair Brian Reader says, “Marilyn played a pivotal role in the establishment and evolution of GOERT, and dedicated herself tirelessly to develop the organization and keep its pursuits true to the well-crafted recovery strategy. We overcame a lot of obstacles in our first six years (such as securing funding, hiring staff and overseeing multiple projects) in large part due to her hard work and dedication.” (read more…)

July 2008: We are pleased to present Ted Lea with an Acorn Award upon his retirement from the B.C. Ministry of Environment. Ted is well-known in Garry oak circles for his 2002 mapping of present and historic Garry oak ecosystems of Greater Victoria and the Saanich Peninsula, as well as parts north of Victoria (Cowichan Valley and Salt Spring Island; Nanaimo and Parksville; Comox and Hornby Island).

Acorn Award recipient Ted Lea

See Davidsonia (Volume 17, Number 2, April 2006) published by the UBC Botanical Garden for a synopsis, and the GOERT website for links to the maps.

These maps continue to be among GOERT’s most effective and compelling tools for educating people about the losses of Garry oak ecosystems and mobilizing them to action. The many citations of Ted’s work on Garry oak ecosystems are additional testimony to the value of such work. (read more…)

January 2008: GOERT is pleased to present an Acorn Award to volunteer Moralea Milne. While juggling numerous volunteer projects in her home community of Metchosin, Moralea takes the time to lend her considerable expertise and enthusiasm to two of our working groups: the Native Plant Propagation Steering Committee and the Invasive Species Steering Committee.

Moralea Milne (in red) and friends rest after working hard at Devonian Regional Park

Moralea has recently placed a conservation covenant on about 7 hectares (16.75 acres) of Garry oak habitat on Camas Hill in Metchosin, where endangered sharp-tailed snakes and blue-listed branded skipper butterflies have been found, among other rare species. (read more…)

June 2007: Frances Hedges wins an Acorn Award for her excellent work as GOERT’s Financial Administrator for three years. As she prepares to head back to her native England with her husband Joe and son Jack, we’d like to thank her and wish her well.

After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in Geography, Frances worked as a Financial Officer for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (U.K.). (read more…)

May 2007: Kudos to our first Acorn Award recipient, GOERT’s former Project Assistant Dave McPhie. Dave was with us courtesy of the University of Victoria’s Co-operative Education Program (Biology), and our partners at the Mt. Matheson Conservation Society.

Dave McPhie photographing camas flowers (Woodlands at Government House)

Dave’s a hard-working biology student, and in his spare time, he used to show up at the GOERT office to work in the hallway, with only a computer and a small desk at his disposal. He was subject to hallway noise and constant distraction by the office dog and her ball, and yet he managed to keep ahead of his co-workers, always demanding more work to keep him going at his customary top speed. (read more…)