The great outdoors in Yorkton and area has benefitted from the work of the Yellowhead Flyway Birding Trail Association, and one of the central figures has been Rob Wilson. The retired teacher from Saltcoats was recently recognized with the Fellow’s Award from Nature Saskatchewan, reflecting both his work as a board member for eight years as well as his work with the YFBTA, currently serving as the editor of their newsletter.
In an article in Nature Saskatchewan’s Bluebird newsletter, Wilson was recognized for his work developing and expanding the Leflay Trail in Saltcoats, his work on awareness and conservation of loons on Madge Lake, his service as a founding member of the YFBTA as well as his work getting youth interested in nature in the province.
For Wilson, it means a great deal to be recognized. He describes his volunteer work as a “labour of love” and he wants to see more people become interested in nature and take care of it as he does.
“To be recognized by a group of like-minded people, many of whom I admire greatly, is very special to me.”
Wilson says he has loved nature for as long as he can remember, and that love developed into a need to conserve and protect it as he grew.
“You find ways to speak up on behalf of nature because nature can’t speak for itself directly.”
Currently, Wilson’s main concern is developing an interest in nature among young people. He notes that he believes that youth are “hard-wired” to care about nature but don’t have enough opportunities now to get out and experience it. Since the young people are the ones who will grow into people like Wilson and work to advocate for nature in the future, Wilson wants to give them the opportunity to “have their hearts captured.”
That plays into the YFBTA’s plans, one of which Wilson is especially proud of. The group is has been hiring a summer student each year in order to prepare and deliver programming for young people and educate about nature. The group spends $20,000 on the program, something which is a big cash outlay for such a small organization.
“I think it’s a really, really powerful program because we are able to reach hundreds of people every year.”
