Launch of the Peter deMarsh Memorial Bursary
Ottawa, Ontario —To honour Peter deMarsh’s memory, the Canadian Federation of Forest Owners has established a memorial bursary in his name. One bursary will be awarded annually to a graduate student working on a Master’s or doctoral project related to private forests and private woodlot owners, and the second to the representative of a woodlot owners’ association wishing to attend an international environmental conference.
Two unique bursaries
One $10,000 bursary will be awarded each year to a Canadian or international graduate student in the final stages of his/her doctoral or master’s level research at a Canadian university. The research project must focus on the role of woodlot owners or woodlot owners’ associations in helping to solve social, economic or environmental problems. Very often, students will have completed all the requirements for their master’s degree or doctorate except for their thesis or dissertation. This bursary gives them a few extra months to finish writing the latter before heading back to the job market.
Moreover, Peter deMarsh was particularly concerned about woodlot owners’ lack of representation at major international policy making conferences on forest management and the environment, due to insufficient financial resources. To encourage continuation of Peter’s philosophy, a second bursary of up to $3,000 will be awarded to help representatives of woodlot owners’ associations in Canada or abroad to participate in international conferences dealing with issues involving forest owners.Information on eligibility can be found at forestowners.ca.
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About Peter deMarsh
Throughout his life, Peter deMarsh stroveto convince the tens of millions of woodlot owners around the world to take collective action through their local, regional, national and international organizations, which work so ably to defend and promote woodlot owners’ interests. Peter helped organize the New Brunswick North Shore Forest Products Marketing Boardand served as president of the York Sunbury Charlotte Forest Owners Marketing Board between 1972 and 1988, as well as helping to establish the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners in 1976. In 1989, he co–founded the Canadian Federation of Woodlot Owners. In addition, Peter was a driving force in the creation of the International Family Forestry Alliance in 2002, in order to make woodlot owners’ voices heard in international forums.
As head of these organizations, Peter deMarsh observed that woodlot owners and wood producers across the globe faced remarkably similar problems. His message was simple: woodlot owners themselves are in the best position to sustainably manage our natural resources, since they have an intimate knowledge of the land and pass it down from generation to generation, often within the same family.
About the Canadian Federation of Forest Owners
The Canadian Federation of Forest Owners (CFO) promotes the economic and social interests of forest owners by representing their views through a united national voice.
Sources
Marc–André Côté, Fédération des producteurs forestiers du Québec, macote@upa.qc.ca
Bob Austman, Manitoba Woodlot Association, rmaustman@gmail.com