Due to COVID-19, the annual Awards Night ceremony was cancelled this year and awards were presented individually.Awards are given to members or non-members who have distinguished themselves by accomplishments in the field of natural history and conservation or by extraordinary activity within the Club.Five Club

Due to COVID-19, the annual Awards Night ceremony was cancelled this year and awards were presented individually. Awards are given to members or non-members who have distinguished themselves by accomplishments in the field of natural history and conservation or by extraordinary activity within the Club. Five Club awards were conferred for 2020, for: (1) fostering the development of amateur mycology in the Club, (2) efforts to preserve the Champlain oaks, (3) outstanding contributions to Canada’s mollusc fauna, (4) making the Fletcher Wildlife Garden (FWG) happen and service to the Club, and (5) a lifetime of natural history and conservation efforts in eastern Ontario and Canada.

On April 26 th , 2014 members and friends of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club gathered for the Club's Awards Night at St. Basil's Church in Ottawa to celebrate the presentation of awards for achievements in the previous year.Awards are given to members or non-members who have distinguished themselves by accomplishments in the field of natural history and conservation or by extraordinary activity within the Club.Three awards were presented for 2013, recognizing achievement in enhancing the profile of the Club, long time service as editor for one of the Club's publications, and success in raising awareness of environmental stewardship and respect for nature in the primary school program.

The Anne Hanes Natural History Award recognizes outstanding contributions of an amateur naturalist to our understanding and knowledge of the natural history of the National Capital Region. This year, the worthy recipient is Colin Freebury. Colin is known to many Club members because of his outstanding photographic skills. In fact, he was practicing those skills on a lichen-hunting field trip a few years ago and became fascinated with the lichens themselves. Anyone who knows Colin wouldn’t be at all surprised at this, because Colin has a passion for knowledge coupled with a keen intellect. Once started on his journey to learn more about lichens, there was no looking back. Early on, he decided that he would explore Gatineau Park for its lichens, to contribute whatever he could to what we already knew about the flora. Armed with a collecting permit, knife, hammer, chisel and hand lens, he began to sample the lichens he found throughout the park, photographing many, thereby creating an image library that can be (and has been) used in lectures about the lichens of the park. Each trip brought new discoveries and new names for the list of Gatineau Park lichens. With patience and a keen eye, he found many rarities, a few of them new to the Ottawa Region as a whole. He created an Excel file with information on all the lichens he collected and the ones already deposited in the lichen herbarium at the Canadian Museum of Nature. Each new record was carefully documented. When the list reached 300 and kept on growing (it is now at 324), he thought it was time to share the information, especially since he knew that a new checklist of Quebec lichens was being finalized. The result was an excellent article in Trail & Landscape (April – June 2011) on the Lichens of Gatineau Park based on a careful study of herbarium specimens, new field work and the literature. Colin now regularly attends the annual Gatineau Park research seminars run by the NCC to give updates of his findings. Although the publication of the Gatineau Park lichens is the main reason for the award, it is pertinent to mention other lichenological activities occupying Colin’s time. He volunteers at the Canadian Museum of Nature Research and Collections Division, mounting lichen specimens, entering label data into the data processing program, preparing exchanges and loans, and helping out retired lichenologist, Irwin Brodo, in countless other ways. Colin’s superb skill in communicating to the public (in both official languages) has not gone unnoticed by the Museum, and they have enlisted his help at Mu seum “Open Houses” and “Meet the Scientist” events. Colin has recently deepened and broadened his interest in lichen research. A few summers ago, he travelled to Maine to take a course on crustose lichen identification at Eagle Hill taught by Irwin Brodo. He and Dr. Brodo are now collaborating on a study of the frosted rosette lichen, Physcia aipolia, and its newly discovered sister species, Physcia alnophila, and the manuscript should be submitted soon. His main lichenological project, however, is outside the Ottawa Region. Colin has been visiting and collecting lichens in Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan for several years, and he is well on his way towards the completion of this mammoth treatment. It seems that Gatineau Park was just the beginning. All these activities, interests and accomplishments make Colin Freebury a fitting recipient of the Anne Hanes Award for 2011. The Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club Awards for 2011, Presented April 2012