Bill Dickinson is recognized in Muskoka and beyond as one of our best environmental visionaries. Bill is a champion of wilderness, of wetlands, of forests, lakes, and streams with healthy natural shorelines. Bill is a highly knowledgeable field biologist whose personal mission is to share what he knows. Bill Dickinson is an educator whose vision, energy and leadership has impacted countless students of all ages.

Muskoka would be a lesser place, and certainly Muskoka Conservancy would be a lesser organization without Bill, who continues to channel so much of his passion for nature through our fortunate land trust. (excerpt from the nomination of Bill for the OLTA 2020 Angus McLeod Vision Award.)



Here are the inspiring words of Bill Dickinson upon receiving The Angus McLeod Vision Award by the Ontario Land Trust Alliance at its 2020 Annual Gathering:

Awards can be wonderful thing in that they remind people of the good things that are happening around us. But sometimes for the recipient, there is an uneasiness in accepting, since for every project undertaken there are usually dozens of other people involved that make that venture happen. I have been lucky enough to work with tremendous staffs and volunteers over the last twenty-five years. During that time the Muskoka Conservancy team has contributed immensely to the land trust movement in Ontario. It has been a great journey and will continue to be one.

I would like to add that I think the work all of the land trusts is more important now than ever before. Across Canada and around the world the planet is undergoing massive urbanization in which much is gained, but much more is lost. In his book “The Sacred Balance” David Suzuki states “The most destructive aspect of cities is the profound schism created between human beings and nature.

Who would have imagined that one of the side effects of COVID 19 would be perhaps the narrowing of that schism? The pandemic has illustrated the value of all our green spaces: parks, ravines, ponds, nature reserves even corner parkettes etc.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society said in mid-July that “the COVID 19 pandemic has revealed the critical role of protected areas “not just in protecting nature and tackling climate change, but in the health and well-being of citizens.

The recent global pandemic has forced us to consider the link between nature, human health, and economic health and to rethink our future.” Says Sandra Schwartz of CPAWS.

“As governments plan for economic recovery, they can choose to go back to the status quo or rebuild societies and economies that are healthier, more equitable and greener” she goes on to report.

“Governments should put nature conservation at the very heart of our country’s recovery.”

As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, as First Nations have always known, and as Canadians are discovering this year of the pandemic, in nature men and women cast off the years and retain the wonder of a child.

For the last few years, every email that I send out bears the tag lines: “Help keep nature part of our human nature, Please support your local land trust”