The Sydenham Field Naturalists held their annual banquet at the Everest Convention Centre on April 9, 2022.
They were honoured to present Robert and Nancy Lozon the Sydenham Field Naturalists’ 2022 Friend of Nature Award.
The group said in 2018, Robert (Grizz) and Nancy Lozon retired a small field at the front of their property to create a wetland and the native prairie that surrounds it.
“They enjoy it a great deal, but that is a small part of why they are this year’s Friends of Nature,” Sydenham Field Naturalist officials said in a media release.
“They also own and operate a duck hunt guide business at Mitchell’s Bay. This year will be the 60th year for Grizz as a guide. He has spent much of his life in the marshes, hunting, trapping, and doing the variety of work required to keep the marshes functioning for waterfowl and for other wildlife.”
Sydenham Field Naturalist officials added: “All of this provided the basis for a unique set of skills that has made him the wetland construction supervisor for many conservation groups and individuals that wanted to enhance nature on their lands.”
For more than 20 years he has been in demand to help landowners make the most of the land they are setting aside for nature, Sydenham Field Naturalist officials say.
“He is not just a contractor, but a wetland specialist who works with existing conditions and landowner’s desires to establish projects which will quickly evolve into high quality wetland habitats,” Sydenham Field Naturalists added.
“Many members of the Sydenham Field Naturalists have had the wetland projects constructed by Grizz. He has lost track of the number of projects he has completed and has a conservative estimate of between 600 and 700 wetlands in south west Ontario.”
Follow the Sydenham Field Naturalists on Facebook, here.
