Herman Giethoorn, one of the Sydenham Field Naturalists' (SFN) founding members, received the organization's "Friend of Nature Award" over the weekend.
"We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Herman for his unwavering commitment to nature and his instrumental role in laying the foundation of SFN. His dedication and passion for conservation have been truly inspiring, and we are honored to have him as part of our community," the group said of the award winner.
Giethoorn, who's been on the giving end of the award for many years, was honoured to receive it.
"It certainly was a surprise to me. I didn't expect it," he said. "It feels good to be recognized for what I've given to the club for the last 40 years."
Giethoorn's love of nature began as a teenager, shortly after his family moved to Canada.
"At that time, I didn't speak good English, I didn't know many people... So, I wandered around the nieghbourhood looking around at things and from there I've pretty much had a life-long interest in nature and wildlife," he said.
In 1985, Giethoorn joined a group of friends at a meeting which eventually became the Sydenham Field Naturalists. According to the group, he's been "an integral part of the organization's journey towards conservation, restoration, and preservation of nature in the Sydenham and Thames watershed."
He's the longest serving board member in SFN's history and though he's retired from that position, Giethoorn remains an active member of the group.
"I will continue to remain active for as long as I can. I will continue contributing and documenting stuff - what I've been doing since I joined the club," Giethoorn said.
He serves as the official photographer for SFN.
"I bought my first camera in the early 60s, at that time I was studying nature and I wanted to learn how to take pictures to record some of the things I saw," Giethoorn explained.
His photos prompted the first unique prize to be given as the Friend of Nature Award, a book created of Giethoorn's own work.
His photography is well known in the area.
Currently, he has 40 prints on display at the Wallaceburg Museum. His exhibit "Flora and Fungi" runs until April 30.