DAN CEARNS The Standard
SCUGOG: Local resident and columnist with The Standard, Geoff Carpentier has been recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA).
At their 42nd annual Conservation Awards ceremony, on Tuesday, October 8th, LSRCA awarded Mr. Carpentier with the George R. Richardson Conservation Award of Honour.
“This award is presented to one recipient each year, to honour and recognize lifetime environmental achievement,” the LSRCA states on their website. “The 2024 award is presented to Geoffrey Carpentier for being a dedicated environmental advocate, with over 45 years of experience in conservation, particularly in bird studies. His work includes extensive surveys of bird species, such as loons, shorebirds, waterfowl, and breeding birds, many within the Lake Simcoe watershed.”
In a video played at the awards ceremony, LSRCA Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Rob Baldwin explained, Mr. Carpentier’s “commitment to conservation and profound dedication to the wellbeing of our watershed has made an extraordinary impact on our community, truly capturing the spirit of this award.”
Mr. Carpentier told The Standard, he was surprised when he learned he was nominated for this award.
“Sometime in early summer, I got an email congratulating me, I was going to be awarded. I didn’t know I had been nominated, so it was very much a surprise. So that was my first reaction. The second was, I wanted to learn a bit more about the award. So, I went online and looked it up and kind of absorbed the whole thing. I really appreciated that someone had nominated me.”
He also explained what receiving this award means to him personally. “It’s really nice to be recognized. To know somebody actually looked at what you did, thought about it, saw the value in it, and appreciated it. So, for me, it comes down to the lifetime of giving, because I care, but then also feeling good, somebody actually paid attention to that and somebody was kind enough to nominate me.”
Mr. Carpentier noted, of the awards and achievements he’s received over the years, this one is “actually quite high” on his list.
“To get a lifetime achievement award, it’s huge for me, because it not just recognizes a point in time, it recognizes, for me, decades of volunteering over time.”
On their website, LSRCA states, Mr. Carpentier is “a true environmental champion, leaving a lasting legacy in conservation efforts, throughout the Lake Simcoe watershed.”
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