TheRecord.com = - Life - Retired teacher a man of many causes

Today'= s=20 Paper

My = subscription=20

Order = photos=20

Contact = us=20

About us =

Traffic =

Search The Record Search the Web

<= /A>=20

Advanced = Search | Full Text = Article=20 Archive

Find a Local Business

<= /A>=20

Search=20 Goldbook.ca

HOME=20 NEWS=20 SPORTS=20 BUSINESS=20 LIFE=20 ARTS=20 FAITH=20 OPINION=20 VIDEOS=20 CELEBRATIONS=20 OBITS=20

CONSUMER=20 GUIDES AUTO=20

CLASSIFIED =20

TheRecord.com=20 - Life - Retired teacher a man of many causes

= Retired=20 teacher a man of many causes

=20

RECORD=20 STAFF

=20

RECORD=20 STAFF

=20

RECORD=20 STAFF

Print=20

Choose text=20 size

View newspaper PDF

June 14, 2008

Valerie=20 Hill
RECORD=20 STAFF

At the May meeting of the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists, = veteran=20 member and activist Neil Taylor was presented with the conservation = award as=20 well as a rare honour: a lifetime membership, one of only 10 handed out = in the=20 club's history.

In her nomination for both awards, club member Julie Liptak wrote: = "Neil's=20 presentations, letters, and submissions have always reflected the vast = amount of=20 research he has done on the issues at hand. He has been well informed = and well=20 prepared . . . he has (also) introduced many citizens to the wonders of = nature=20 and the natural areas of the region."

Taylor cares deeply for the environment and is wary of any human = activity=20 impacting the natural world. When it happens the usually affable Taylor = slips on=20 his crusader's mantle and goes after those in power.

On a gloriously sunny day, Taylor is puttering around the Kitchener = property=20 where he has lived with his wife Titia, for 34 years. Located at the = edge of the=20 Grand River, tucked inside an extensive forest, the home is surrounded = by=20 nature, and peppered with bird feeders. At least 20, though likely more. = He=20 admits, he's lost count. Beautiful birds swoop in: rose-breasted = grosbeak, red=20 breasted woodpecker, redwing blackbird and gorgeous little goldfinches.=20 Chipmunks scurry, enjoying fallout from the feeders.

This is Taylor's oasis, where his passion for nature is manifest. He = grins=20 and says some of his naturalist friends criticize the non-native plant = species=20 in his gardens, but he's not concerned. Any creature, any plant created = by=20 nature is welcomed and nurtured here and it's this spirit that motivates = Taylor.=20 There are so many causes the retired teacher's name is linked to: = protecting=20 provincial parks from hunting, protecting species at risk and = environmentally=20 sensitive landscapes, saving outdoor education programs. His name is = associated=20 with trying to save the Oak Ridges moraine from development, Hidden = Valley from=20 a new road and Algonquin and Temagami parks from loggers. Nothing slips = past=20 Taylor's concerned eye. He has lobbied and given presentations to all = levels of=20 government and is a regular at Ontario Municipal Board hearings. Taylor = is the=20 proverbial thorn in the government's side but he is also nature's = protector.

Liptak noted Taylor's considerable expertise has made him a valuable = asset to=20 the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas, bald eagle monitoring, bird banding, = Christmas=20 bird counts in Kitchener, Cambridge, Hamilton and Fisherville plus the = Hamilton=20 fall bird count. If it's connected to nature, Taylor is the calm but = determined=20 leader.

The middle child in a family of three boys growing up on an Uxbridge = farm,=20 Taylor absorbed what his father taught him about land stewardship. As a = young=20 man, he attended teachers college in Toronto, married Titia in 1972 and = moved to=20 Waterloo Region when she took a job teaching at Conestoga College and he = found a=20 job teaching high school. The couple raised two sons.

Taylor developed an interest in birds after spotting cardinals on his = property which led to purchasing bird identification books, field = glasses and=20 hooking up with other birders.

"I became an armchair birder," he admits of the early days.

Today he is considered an expert in many fields and is often looked = to for=20 leadership. Most recently, Taylor has fought to protect the threatened = Jefferson=20 salamander discovered in Hidden Valley, an area slated to be sliced by a = road.=20 "I'll be very disappointed if Hidden Valley goes through, but I'm not = giving up=20 on it," he said.

vhill@therecord.com