Briony is
best known for her award winning illustrated Wild Side columns in
various regional publications and hosting the TV magazine show
Enviro/Mental for three years with CHUM TV, nominated one of the top
three magazine shows in Canada. A geographer from Saltspring Island, she
has lived most of her life on the shores of the Salish Sea. She has
operated a consulting business for environmental education and museum
design since 1986 in Scotland and BC. She is an adjunct professor and
has lectured in the School of Environmental Studies and Restoration of
Natural Systems Program of the University of Victoria for over 18 years.
An award-winning natural history columnist and feature writer, from Canadian
Geographic to Explore magazine, and a BC Books bestseller
with her book A Year On the Wild Side, she combines punchy media
skills with her research affiliations at UVic. Her children’s book, Kids
Book of Canadian Geography that she wrote and illustrated was
published in the fall of 2009 by Kidscan Press.A pioneer of barefoot mapping, she has created maps and led workshops assisting communities to map their cherished places for over a decade, culminating in several books including Islands in the Salish Sea: A Community Atlas, nominated for two BC Book Awards. As an activist, Briony has worked extensively with both local groups and provincial organizations such as The Land Conservancy of BC (TLC), which she co-founded in 1997, and Raincoast Conservation Foundation. TLC has won many awards for its pioneering work to establish models of land use that integrate cultural and ecological values and Raincoast has established an international reputation for combining research and advocacy for the temperate rainforest.
Briony is the mother of two boys and lives on Saltspring Island where she has built an ecohome that has a covenant protecting the red-legged frogs and a creek on her land. She is currently heading up the start up of Living Carbon, an institute to create value for nature through conservation offsets, for the Land Trust Alliance of BC and publishing For the Love of Nature.
Banquet Presentation
For the Love of Nature: Stories about Conserving and Restoring Biodiversity - International Year of Biodiversity
Over the last two years, writer/naturalist Briony Penn with colleague educator Robin June Hood have been collecting stories from home and around the world about people who have spearheaded the protection of the natural world in their backyards, within their communities, non-profit organizations, indigenous communities, local governments, businesses and faith organizations - that provide models for change. The stories capture the people, their passion, the places, the species and their ideas on how to save nature and humans in a rapidly urbanizing and warming world. They range from restoring endangered wildflowers in an urban backyard to securing grizzly habitat in our last mountain wildernesses. The ideas range from legal tools and financial mechanisms to a spiritual renaissance.
Briony will tell some of these stories in a wonderful illustrated talk at the 'Festival Banquet' on Saturday, May 22nd 2010. Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment!