The more we learn about the environment in which we live, the better prepared we are to protect it. Few people in this province have done more to promote environmental understanding and education than Kate MacQuarrie.
MacQuarrie, director for 20 years of Forests, Fish, and Wildlife, a division of the Provincial Department of Environment, Water and Climate Change, also has a long history of working with the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project, providing workshops on native plants. She has also offered a historical perspective on P.E.I.’s forests for a UPEI course on ecological forestry.
She spends a great deal of time in the woods and fields of this Island, learning about native plants, and then sharing the knowledge she has gained with others. Her most recent activities include a series of public workshops on native plants and ecology, as well as weekly Facebook posts on a variety of natural history topics. These posts are drawing an ever-increasing audience—as are the workshops.
MacQuarrie writes clearly and concisely, making sometimes complex subjects understandable to those without degrees in biology. She is always willing to share her knowledge, despite a busy schedule.
Her articles in The Island Magazine and her posts on social media draw from a wide range of personal experience and research to present a solid background on topics from botany to geology.
For her willingness to consistently develop a better understanding of nature and sharing her knowledge with others, Kate MacQuarrie is receiving a Heritage Recognition Award.