Student award captures alumnus’ beliefs and hopes
Like many UBC Forestry alumni, Gary Kenwood firmly believes that “forests are everyone’s heritage”, and that young people are our future. Unlike many others, Gary and his wife Louise have acted on those beliefs with a gift to support undergraduate students.
Gary was raised in Maple Ridge BC, where he camped and hiked in Golden Ears Provincial Park throughout his youth. “I really loved the outdoors, so when it came time to go to university it felt natural to study forestry at UBC,” he says. After graduating in 1961, Gary worked briefly for MacMillan Bloedel, then spent some time traveling in Europe. Upon returning to Vancouver he joined Reid, Collins and Associates, where he eventually became a partner. About the same time, he met Louise, then a nurse at Vancouver General Hospital, and they were married in 1968. (Gary is quick to note that they met through mutual friends, not in the ER.)
Now retired, Gary and Louise are doting grandparents, keen travellers and engaged volunteers. They have remained connected with UBC Forestry over the years, attending the Dean’s annual alumni events and helping coordinate the 50th anniversary reunion of the Class of ‘61. “We’ve donated regularly to Forestry and other UBC Faculties,” Gary says, “but we were looking to make a gift that would be more personal and meaningful to us.” Louise adds, “We were both taught growing up that it’s important to give back in support of your community. “Treaty negotiations and court rulings in BC suggest to us that Aboriginal people will and should be more directly involved in all aspects of resource use and management, and forests are an important part of their heritage,” Gary explains. Louise notes, “When the Faculty suggested there was a need for specific support of Aboriginal students studying forestry, we jumped on it.”
The Gary and Louise Kenwood Forestry Award for undergraduate students will be given first and foremost to Aboriginal students, but if there are none eligible in a given year it will be awarded to students with a demonstrated interest in Aboriginal issues. The first award will be given in September 2012. “It’s not a scholarship; it’s an award for well-rounded students,” Gary stresses. “We want to support students who are doing well academically but who also are involved in all aspects of their community.”
A recent visit to Haida Gwaii reinforced Gary and Louise’s decision to establish the award. “Support needs to go to young people who we believe will impact the future of their forest resources,” Gary says. Louise adds, “We were so impressed with the young Haida people and their understanding of the importance of retaining their cultural heritage that we knew our decision to support students in this area was the right one.”