Richard Hebda will be our final presenter. He will give a talk at Forbes Hall at 1:30 pm Sunday July 19, and will be joined by other presenters in a panel discussion at 3-4:30 pm
Richard Hebda
Richard Hebda has a B.Sc. from McMaster University and a Ph.D. (Botany) from the University of British Columbia (1977). He is Curator Emeritus (37 years of service) at the Royal British Columbia Museum and adjunct faculty (42 years) in the School of Environmental Studies (also Biology and Earth Sciences) at the University of Victoria. He was the first faculty coordinator of the Restoration of Natural Systems Program at UVIC in which he taught ca. 70 course sessions) until 2025. With his graduate students and colleagues, Richard Hebda is (co)author of 140+ scientific papers in botany, environmental history, and climate change, 350+ popular articles on native plants, climate change and gardening; (co)author/editor of several books and reports (grasses, ethnobotany, human remains in north BC glacier). He has served as consultant and report writer for governments, private individuals, non-government organizations and First Nations. Most recent contributions include a chapter on climate and the epilogue in the book on the Salish Sea archipelago (ANU Press), a paper on BC interior climate change and vegetation history and one on climate-vegetation-ocean relationships to ice sheets on Vancouver Island.
Richard has given hundreds of technical and popular public lectures in British Columbia and beyond covering topics from growing snowdrops to global climate change. He has also been an authoritative voice on television and radio on topics such as Climate Change and invasive species. Richard played and plays a key role in the conservation, preservation and restoration of natural areas, most prominently Burns Bog in the Lower Mainland of BC. Richard co-organized and participated in a key national gathering about wildfire and restoration. (UVIC, Feb 2025).
Supported by the Weston Family Foundation, Richard Hebda heads the Crop- Climate project. This Citizen Science initiative tests potato and dry bean varieties across Canada as an adaptation to climate change (www.heritagepotato.ca). He received the Queen’s Jubilee medal for his work in palaeontology, and the national Bruce Naylor award for natural history curatorship. In 2025 he was given
the “Above and Beyond” award for service in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Victoria. Richard is also past president of the BC Iris Society and editor of the Society’s Rainbow Goddess.
About Richard's talk:
Sunday July 19 1:30-2:45PM - Forbes Hall
The Past, Present and Future of Gulf Island Forests
Richard's slide presentation will take us on a fascinating journey from the last glaciation through the present state of Gulf Island forests and forward into the future. Richard will offer knowledge and tools that will help the Thetis Island community develop resilience and prepare for the disruptions that climate change is bringing. You are encouraged to download and read Richard's chapter titled Climate of the Salish Islands published in the book Salish Archipelago. Available at: https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/asia-pacific-environment-monographs/salish-archipelago