Pete Ewins, WWF Dir. of Canada's Endangered Species Program
 

 
Guest Speaker: Pete Ewins, April 17, 2020
Rotary Toronto VIRTUAL Meeting # 2 (Scroll down for Virtual Meeting # 1)
Topic: Nature Works! - Restoring The Things That Run 
Our World, One in The Zone Garden at a Time.
Host:  Kurt Kroesen, and our Environmental Committee
 
 
Pete spent 12 years in Shetland, including a post as Assistant Warden for three years at the world famous Fair Isle Bird Observatory.  His introduction to applied conservation was provided during six years working for the UK government as Nature Conservancy Council officer for Shetland, and then Hertfordshire.  His doctoral work on Black Guillemots in relation to the offshore oil industry, was completed at Oxford University in 1986. 
 
In 1990 he moved to Canada and worked until 1996 on the Great Lakes wildlife toxicology programs of the federal government’s Canadian Wildlife Service, documenting levels and impacts of toxic pollutants on wildlife at the top of aquatic foodwebs.
 
He joined World Wildlife Fund Canada, as Director of Canada’s Endangered Species Program in 1996 and then led WWF’s Arctic conservation work from 2000-2006, focusing heavily on shifting the industrial development paradigm to one that provides adequately for conservation of intact ecosystems, and ecological and cultural diversity, while the opportunity still remains. 
 
Pete is now lead specialist for WWF’s Canadian species conservation work.  His work centres on flagship species conservation in globally significant regions, such as whales and polar bears, accelerating the recovery of Species At Risk, and increasing the connection of urban citizens to wildlife species and their needs.  He has publihsed over 100 scientific papers, book chapters etc. 
 
He is very active in public speaking these days and via the ‘InTheZone’ and Nature-connected-Communities program at WWF, inspiring rapdily increasing numbers of people to get practically involved with wildlife and nature in their neighbourhoods, especially by restoring native plant habitats in gardens and other private and public spaces within and around towns and cities.