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Achievement award

UNBC forestry professor earns achievement award

Oct 13, 2021 | 7:32 AM

PRINCE GEORGE — A UNBC professor has received some special recognition.

Dr.Kathy Lewis has been granted the Canadian Forestry Scientific Achievement Award by the Canadian Institute of Forestry.

Lewis is a registered professional forester, acclaimed researcher, and a founding faculty member at the university. She also serves as UNBC’s acting vice-president for the Office of Research and Innovation.

The award recognizes those who have made “innovative and outstanding achievements in forestry research in Canada. According to a UNBC news release, recognition can be for developing new practices, process or techniques, or for demonstrating the practical applications of research in forestry.

Lewis was nominated by Ed Morrice, who recently retired as an instructor and chair in the Natural Resources and Forestry Technology program at the College of New Caledonia. UNBC supported the nomination.

He says he nominated Lewis for various reasons, including her quiet contributions to forestry in Prince George as a member of the Association of BC Forest Professionals.

“She is respected by students and forest practitioners locally but across B.C. because of her love of teaching and connecting with undergraduate and graduate students, but also with her contribution to the practice of professional forestry,” Morrice says.

“She quietly leads, is always humble (she is Kathy Lewis, not Dr. Lewis) but is a major influencer. Because she doesn’t ‘toot her own horn’ is all the more reason she should be recognized.”

Dr. Lewis championed UNBC’s Forestry program since 1993 when it was first offered as a major under the Bachelor of Science Natural Resources Management program.