2005 Richard Pharis

Richard Pharis combines a ground-breaking career as a botanist, expanding understanding of plant hormones, with four decades promoting Canadian conservationism, including a leadership role in the AWA’s successful evolution. Indiana-born and with his plant physiology doctorate from Duke University, Carolina, he served the University of Calgary’s botany department for 30 years. Since 1974, he’s maintained close ties with New Zealand as a visiting research scientist and vineyard co-owner. Honours include the Heaslip Award for Environmental Stewardship and a United Nations Commemorative Silver Medal in 1982. A keen hunter and fisherman, he focused many of his efforts on preserving the Eastern Slopes.