Member of the Year

John Carley 2010

Kevin Seymour made the following remarks in presenting John with the TOC 2010 Member of the Year Award:

It is my pleasure to give the TOC Member of the Year award to John Carley. John has been a member of the TOC for 25 years, and in that time has served the club in a variety of roles, including Conservation Councillor from 1994 to 1999 and Member of the Rarities Committee from 2007 to present. John has been a model of the citizen scientist for the TOC, annually participating in the Christmas Bird Count, the mid-winter waterfowl inventory, Fall Field Day and occasionally leading Baillie bird walks. He also participated in both Ontario Breeding Bird Atlases.

The non-TOC role for which he is best known is as co-chair of the Friends of the Spit (again for the last 25 years!), and since he regularly attends TOC meetings, he has been the voice informing us about the latest happenings at the Spit. For the Ontario Field Ornithologists he leads an annual walk to the Spit, and he and his wife Victoria were the OFO celebrity birders for the Baillie Bird-a-thon fundraising effort in 2009. Their hosting skills are well known, as they have hosted many an after-count CBC party at their home.

John has been a volunteer member of the Bird-Friendly Development Working Group, which received the City Initiatives Urban Leadership Award, 2008, from the Canadian Urban Institute for the creation of the Bird-Friendly Development Guidelines, which were legislated as mandatory by the City of Toronto in January 2010. In addition he was co-editor with Verna Higgins and Herb Elliot (both also long-time TOC members) of the Checklist of Birds of the Leslie Street Spit, first edition, and co-editor of the second and third editions as well.

Last but certainly not least (and maybe foremost), he has many a time been a voice of wise council for me in my role as President; I have relied on his long memory and balanced approach whenever a contentious issue has arisen. Ever selfless, he even refused to receive this award last year, but I am pleased to say he gave in this year.

The certificate presented to John reads:

The Toronto Ornithological Club is pleased to award John Carley
MEMBER OF THE YEAR FOR 2010
Thank you for your many years of contributions in countless different roles and for being one of the Club's most visible advocates for citizen science.