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Paul Harpley –
Canadian –
A Short Biography
Paul Harpley, a long-time resident of northern
York Region in the Town of Georgina, Ontario, is
a past chair of the Ontario-Nunavut Region, and
an International Fellow of The Explorers Club.
Over the years he has been the recipient of
numerous awards including the Canada 125
Medal (1992). More recently he has been
awarded the Conservation Award of Honour
(SLSN 1995) and most recently the prestigious
Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for
Lifetime Achievement in 2012 for his work on the
Rouge River and Lake Simcoe. He is retired from
the Toronto Zoo (31 years) has been Manager of Interpretation, Culture & Design at the
Toronto Zoo, and the Zoo’s Project Manager for over 20 years. He was one of the
original members of the “Save the Rouge” organization where he was instrumental as
the key environmentalist in the saving the Rouge River in Toronto in the 1980’s and
early 90’s, leading eventually to the establishment of the Rouge Park.
As a prolific writer he has published many scientific papers in refereed natural history,
planning and related journals, book chapters in North American books and university
text books. He is a leader in breeding bird and landscape ecology research for over
twenty-five years. While an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto in the
late 1970’s he worked in Algonquin Park as an interpretive naturalist at the Park
Museum, and in the Wildlife Research Station in Black bear research with the Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources.
As President of the South Lake Simcoe Naturalists www.slscn.ca (an Ontario Nature
Member organization) he has conducted original Lake Simcoe watershed research and
was one of the earliest scientists to promote the natural heritage value of conservation
of the Oak Ridges Moraine,the Greenbelt and the Lake Simcoe Act and Plan while
serving on government and citizen committees working for this over many years. As a
well-known Ontario Naturalist, Paul founded the Zephyr Society of Lake Simcoe, a
research foundation (www.zephyrsociety.ca) where he is a director. Paul continues to
be active in many research projects in Lake Simcoe with university partners. He leads
wilderness canoe and hiking trips and delivers lectures on natural and cultural heritage,
and an avid birder.