The highest honour that TFN can bestow – a lifetime membership – is occasionally presented to recognize extraordinary contributions to the mission of our organization. The purpose of this award is to recognize volunteers who have made significant and sustained contributions to TFN and its mandate over a period of at least 10 years.
TFN members may submit nominations for this award. The president, in consultation with board members, will review nominated candidates for approval at the February board meeting, and the names of selected candidates will be announced in the newsletter. The board is not bound to select candidates for this award every year if no suitable candidates are nominated.
2023 Winners
Sandy Cappell held the fort at the TFN office for over 30 years, helping out a succession of TFN presidents. He has been a member since 1981. His cheerful presence and reliable attention ensured that members’ queries were always answered.
Alex Wellington is a past president who has served multiple terms on the board and, as chair of Lectures Committee, ensured that we have had a vibrant lectures program. In the turbulent times of 2005, when essential people left the organization and the president had to step down due to health reasons, Alex was crucial in steering TFN through troubled waters, ensuring we are still here to celebrate our centennial. In Pinky Franklin’s president report of Sept, 2005, she says “Alex Wellington has primarily shouldered the enormous burden of responsibility and leadership. With optimism, enthusiasm and tremendous capability Alex has devoted her summer to guiding us through [a] difficult change. A heartfelt thank you to Alex, especially from the board and the newsletter committee.”
Corinne MacDonald provides membership services. Over the years she has helped members navigate their way through a wide variety of issues—how to become a member, renew membership and, most recently, how to access our new Members Only site. She has been a stable, steady hand who ensures our members get the help they need.
2024 Winners
Wendy Rothwell has capably led the editing of TFN’s newsletter since 2016 and was co-editor with Jenny Bull for a prior decade. Our newsletter is among the most treasured benefits of TFN membership, with eight issues a year delivering species spotlights, environmental news, book reviews, photography, art and news about upcoming walks, lectures and other TFN events. In that critical sense, Wendy and her newsletter team have functioned as TFN’s central nervous system, keeping us connected and engaged. Wendy’s board contributions include serving as TFN president 2008-2010. Learn more about Wendy in the November 2019 issue of the newsletter, p. 8.
Bob Kortright excels as a walk leader—he observes what many of us miss, drawing on a deep and encompassing knowledge of natural history. Bob has been leading TFN walks for almost 20 years. Bob also served many years on TFN’s board, including a stint as president from 2010-2012. Bob later served for six years as TFN’s Secretary-Treasurer. Learn more about Bob’s contributions in the September 2020 issue of the newsletter, p. 10.
2025 Winners
Nancy Dengler came relatively late to the TFN. She had recently retired from a busy academic career as a botany professor at the University of Toronto, where she combined a gift for teaching with a researcher’s passion, studying internal structures of plants and their photosynthetic strategies. Nancy recalls, “I knew of the TFN’s work through my colleague, Professor Verna Higgins, and I respected the group’s advocacy work and breadth of interests in the natural world, but I was a bit reluctant to jump in.” She began by leading walks in the Glendon forest, and, in short order, Pinky Franklin recruited her for the Board. Ultimately, Nancy Dengler led the TFN as President, all the while continuing to lead walks, and she also managed the Sunday lecture series for a decade.
Charles Bruce-Thompson discovered the Toronto Field Naturalists through a simple online search over ten years ago. TFN opened his eyes to the city’s extensive network of natural ravines. Bruce’s entry into volunteering was coordinating TFN walks for East Toronto. This helped him to get to know the TFN community. Soon, he found himself leading walks too, initially as a way to fill walk slots. Bruce’s willingness to stretch into new roles also led him onto the TFN Board and then to take on the responsibility of President from 2016-2018. Bruce has been a long standing member of our Stewardship team at Cottonwood Flats and our nature reserves.
2026 Winners
Joanne Doucette has been a member of TFN since the 80’s. She started leading nature walks in 1992 — even some in TFN’s Jim Baillie Nature Reserve up by Uxbridge! Her drawings adorned the pages of the TFN newsletter before using photographs was possible for us. In 2014 Joanne joined the TFN Board and took over leadership of the Nature Arts group and led many Nature Arts outings on Saturday mornings. Joanne became TFN’s first volunteer coordinator in 2015, setting up procedures, volunteer job descriptions and other vital processes needed to keep track of and value our volunteer corps. Joanne continues to lead popular walks for TFN, where she is recognized for her wealth of knowledge on nature and heritage.
Jason Ramsay-Brown began leading walks for TFN in 2015, then joined the Board in April 2016. In 2018 he took over the presidency, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge about Toronto’s ravines, conservation, and stewardship. Jason is responsible for the digitalization of TFN’s archive of 35mm slides, paper newsletters, and other historic documents — plus was part of the team that brought the Then & Now photo exhibition to life for TFN’s 100th anniversary. In 2018 he took over as webmaster and completed a full redesign to bring our site up to modern standards, including being viewable on handheld devices. Then in 2023 he overhauled our membership renewal process, allowing renewals on date of joining (instead of all on one date) among other innovations. His stewardship accomplishments include starting the Cottonwood Flats Monitoring Project, procuring a Management Plan for TFN’s Jim Baillie Nature Reserve, and expanding our citizen science projects. Jason continues to be a leader on our stewardship team, even though he has moved well outside Toronto, and has likely visited our nature reserves more than any other member.