By Elizabeth Holmes
Deeply proud of his roots in rural eastern Ontario, Brian’s love for the forest and its people is unmistakable. He has contributed an enormous wealth of knowledge to the field of forestry and to communities worldwide, and has done so with an intensity and devotion non-pareil.
Sharing his knowledge of forests and forestry has been his life’s work – a pursuit supported wholly by his incredible wife Trisha and by their equally incredible children, Andrew, Sarah and Erica. The farm woodlot being a quintessential in the dairy country surrounding Elma, Ontario, it is not surprising that Brian and his young family grew up with a passion for the forest; reflected, for instance, in the lovingly produced maple syrup bearing the Barkleyvale Farms trademark.
Brian graduated in the 70s with a Bachelors of Science in Forestry degree from the University of Toronto. As a Registered Professional Forester, he began his career as a Regional Forester with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Even at this early stage of his career, his passion, his willingness to explore and test new concepts, and his strong sense of community shone luminously. Whether experimenting with hybrid poplar clones or leading a tour of eminent foresters from abroad, Brian had a remarkable gift of connecting others to the forest.
In more recent times, Brian’s name has come to be synonymous with the term ‘model forest’. Brian has been so much more than a general manager; he truly has been the lifeblood of the Eastern Ontario Model Forest. His ability to draw people into the fold in an equitable and respectful way has resulted in so many fruitful and long-lasting partnerships in support of our forests and our communities.
By way of a few examples, we quite possibly wouldn’t have had a Biosphere Reserve, an A2A Conservation Association, a highly successful Ferguson Forest Centre, or been on the verge of having a state-of-the-art Wood Centre & Eco-Industrial Park in the region if not for Brian’s mentoring style…astute, strategic, and persuasive while being kind, humble, and empathetic — often working away quietly in the background as opposed to in the spotlight.
Although his influence has been felt profoundly at the local level, Brian has touched communities around the world with his selflessness in sharing not only his knowledge and insights about our forests, but his home as well. Countless visitors from communities around the world have been welcomed into the Barkley home (and cottage on Charleston Lake!), to experience rural Canada and to learn more about our forests and the communities they support and nurture.
Brian has been a long-time, ardent supporter of the Canadian Model Forest Network, advocating the importance of working together and always striving to push the envelope of the possible. He is to credit for many of the achievements under the Private Woodlot Strategic Initiative and has contributed to numerous other network activities. He has been similarly supportive of the International Model Forest Network, always willing to lend a hand, and always going beyond the call of duty.
For those of us that have had the pleasure to work in staff positions with Brian—it is has been a pleasure and with mixed emotions we say “Congratulations on your retirement, we’ll miss you and please don’t be a stranger!”