Ted Lea
We are pleased to present Ted Lea with an Acorn Award upon his retirement from the BC Ministry of Environment. Ted is well-known in Garry oak circles for his 2002 mapping of present and historic Garry oak ecosystems of Greater Victoria and the Saanich Peninsula, as well as parts north of Victoria (Cowichan Valley and Salt Spring Island; Nanaimo and Parksville; Comox and Hornby Island). See Davidsonia (Volume 17, Number 2, April 2006) published by the UBC Botanical Garden for a synopsis, and the GOERT website for links to the maps.
These maps continue to be among GOERT’s most effective and compelling tools for educating people about the losses of Garry oak ecosystems and mobilizing them to action. The many citations of Ted’s work on Garry oak ecosystems are additional testimony to the value of such work.
A truly humble person, Ted has been involved in terrestrial ecosystem mapping of British Columbia for more than 30 years. Working with GOERT from 2002–2008, Ted represented the Inventory, Mapping, and Plant Communities Recovery Implementation Group (RIG), and chaired the Plants at Risk RIG for a number of years. As a member of GOERT as well as in his other endeavours, Ted always promoted the ecosystems approach to the management of biodiversity within the province. As well, his gentle approach often served as the voice of reason, helping to bring consensus to potentially contentious issues, in many GOERT meetings and processes.
Although he has recently retired, we would welcome Ted’s continued involvement in the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team.
Ask Ted if he’s a millionaire yet: he has written a book to teach children about investing for their future, titled When I Grow Up I’m Going to Be a Millionaire: A Children’s Guide to Mutual Funds, illustrated by his wife Lora (Trafford Publishing).