About this Award
The Tree Canada Award of Distinction recognizes excellence in leadership and significant contributions in Canadian urban forestry over a minimum of fifteen years.
Nominees for this award have considerably influenced and/or changed the direction of urban forestry through their work, insights, and contributions. They have made a substantial and positive impact in the field of urban forestry, and on how we think about and practice urban forestry.
These outstanding contributions can be made locally, regionally, provincially, and nationally. Examples of contributions may include research, operational activities, educational activities, organizational accomplishments, community services and artistic contributions.
Nominations for the Award of Distinction are now closed. All applicants will be notified by email before the end of June. Winners will be announced publicly at the Canadian Urban Forest Conference in October.
Heather Elaine Fraser
Heather Elaine Fraser has spent nearly 40 years championing urban forestry and promoting a deeper connection with nature, both in her home province of New Brunswick and across the country.
For over 25 years with the City of Moncton, she played a key role in developing forest management programs for municipal forests and led water quality research initiatives in collaboration with Maritime universities.
Her passion for environmental stewardship and education shines through her involvement in programs like the Atlantic Teachers’ Tour and her work with the Canadian Forestry Association of New Brunswick and the Canadian Woodlands Forum.
In 2014, Heather founded the Atlantic Urban Forest Collective and hosted the first Atlantic Urban Forest Workshop in Moncton. She went on to help organize the 2017 and 2019 Atlantic Urban Forest Conferences in Fredericton and Halifax, respectively.
From 2008 to 2022, she represented the Atlantic Region on Tree Canada’s Canadian Urban Forest Network Advisory Committee. She also serves on several boards related to forestry, water quality, and maple syrup production in New Brunswick, and even managed the only municipal sugar bush operation in Canada.
Peter N. Duinker
Dr. Peter N. Duinker has been a professor in the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University since 1998. Peter has distinguished himself during the last 15 years as one of Canada’s leading urban-forest scholars and practitioners.
After 25 years of scholarship on hinterland forests, both timber-producing and protection, he turned his attention to urban forests. Since his collaborative work in Halifax on two key urban-forest plans – the Point Pleasant Park Comprehensive Plan (2008) and the Halifax Regional Municipality Urban Forest Master Plan (2013) – he has become the preeminent urban-forest academic in Atlantic Canada.
Owen Croy
Owen Croy was nominated by his peers in 2018 because he influenced the direction of urban forestry through his work, insights and contributions. He was instrumental in creating one of the finest municipal urban forestry programs while he managed the Urban Forestry Program for the City of Surrey, BC and recognized early on the importance of urban forestry practices to create a green and thriving city.
His innovations in urban forestry, environmental stewardship, and natural resource management have been the model for other cities in Canada and the U.S.
He continues to educate the next generation of urban foresters by serving on the faculty at the University of British Columbia as an Adjunct Professor in the Urban Forestry degree program and is a founding member and regular instructor of the innovative Municipal Forestry Institute, an annual, weeklong, intensive professional development program for mid-career urban forestry professionals.