Roland Michener Conservation Award

After a 30-year career as an admired teacher, during which time he fostered a love of nature in a great many of his students, Fred Cheverie didn’t retire and dedicate himself to his golf game. He got to work. First, he turned his considerable energy and personal drive to a local conservation effort. That grew into him becoming watershed coordinator of the Souris and area branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation, a fledgling group Cheverie helped transform from two summers-only staff to a thriving and influential organization with major funding and four full-time and many part-time employees planning and carrying out innovative agricultural programs, in-stream and shoreline work and securing land for conservation. What’s more, thanks to the organization’s example and inspiration, watershed groups supported by public funding now lead conservation efforts across the entire province. Not surprisingly, Cheverie served on the board of the movement’s umbrella group, the P.E.I. Watershed Alliance. That was only the beginning. Since then, Cheverie has made a meaningful contribution to wildlife in P.E.I., from Irish moss to Atlantic salmon, from stewarding a local creek to supporting the creation of the Basin Head Marine Protected Area by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Among the important and lasting contributions noted by his nominators, Cheverie, ever the teacher, has through the years brought many conservationists together with scientists and researchers, creating links, advancing projects and even launching several conservation careers. Thanks to his “no-nonsense, ‘let’s get it done’ approach,” one nominator said, Cheverie “has influenced the entire evolution of conservation and stewardship on P.E.I.”

This award was established in 1978 by the Canadian Wildlife Federation as a tribute to former governor general Roland Michener (1900-1991). An outstanding outdoorsperson and role model for a generation, he served as an honorary president of the CWF. The award is given each year to an individual or organization demonstrating a commitment to conservation through responsible activities that promote, enhance and further the conservation of Canada’s natural resources.