Dr. Fred Bunnell is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Forestry. He studied at UBC (forestry),
Switzerland (forestry) and Berkeley (life) in the 1960s. The latter did not leave him unchanged. He
returned to UBC in 1971 to teach in Forestry and Zoology. He was founding Director of the Centre for
Conservation Biology (1991-2001) and Co-director for the Centre for Applied Conservation Research.
In 1996 he assumed the Forest Renewal Chair in Conservation Biology and held it until 2002 when he
retired to be caregiver for his wife. Happily she is now flourishing and he can give a slick injection.
Reviewing his publications (6 books, about 300 journal articles and the same number of publications
for industry and government) reveals the attention span of a gnat. This is affirmed by the 7 provincial,
national and international awards he has received. The first (1989), Canadian Institute of Forestry’s gold
medal for Scientific Achievement, recognized ground-breaking work in decomposition and nutrient flux;
the most recent (2010) Ian McTaggart-Cowan award for excellence in Biology was for surviving this long.
He is not very good at keeping records, but acknowledges service on at least 70 provincial, national and
international committees dealing with resource management, several commissions (including 2 he’s
proud of), elected offices in about 6 professional societies, too many stints as journal editor, consultancies
in 11 countries and invited lectures in 30. He is a native son, happily married parent and has served on
Ministry and Counsel of the Religious Society of Friends.
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