Craig Mather
Nominating Agency: Toronto and Region Conservation

Craig’s passion is the building of a cleaner and healthier community for everyone. He has helped advance this lofty goal through a career dedicated to the protection of our natural environment through the design of practical solutions to environmental issues.

Craig graduated from the University of Guelph in 1971 with a degree of Water Resources Engineering and joined the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (MTRCA) (precursor to Toronto and Region Conservation) shortly thereafter. He remained with this organization until his retirement in 2003, having served the last 13 years as Chief Administrative Officer.

Craig’s work at MTRCA initiated a comprehensive Policy for Erosion Control and Bank Stabilization in Toronto which was subsequently used as the blueprint for similar programs in neighbouring municipalities. Later, he carried out hydrology and hydraulic modeling that lead to one of the first Flood Damage Reduction Programs in Ontario. This work ultimately morphed into a storm water management plan that has since been adopted to a significant degree by the conservation authorities and provincial ministries.

Craig has always sought input from various stakeholder groups and has had a gift for generating community engagement with respect to conservation undertakings. This includes having the Humber River designated as a Canadian Heritage River in 1999 and inspiring the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to establish the Terrestrial Natural Heritage System Strategy. The latter of these measures was instrumental in allowing the TR CA to acquire 14,000 acres of land during Craig’s tenure.

Craig has been an inspiration not only for the many young conservationists at the TR CA but, as well as to legions of environmental volunteers through the formation of Environmental Volunteer Network. This organization promotes the opportunity for future environmentalists to gain valuable work experience in their field.

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