Past Award Winners - Gil Henderson
Gil Henderson is a man of many accomplishments. In addition to his significant contribution to protect Ontario’s natural environment, he is a veteran of the Second World War and a four-time Olympian in trapshooting. In 1958 Gil was second at the world trapshooting championships in Moscow and in 1960, he competed at the world championships in Rome. Gil even won the Grand American Trapshooting Tournament in 1957 beating out over 2,000 competitors including American movie cowboy, Roy Rogers. Although he competed at the pinnacle of his sport Gil’s life-long dedication to conservation is equally “Olympian”.
Gil’s conservation accomplishments extend over 40 years. In the 1960’s, Gil and his wife, Molly, amassed 900 acres of farmland in Brant County and entered into an association with Ducks Unlimited Canada to protect the many wetlands on their property. The property was often used by members of Ministry of Natural Resources and the Conservation Authorities as a good example for other landowners showing the benefits of such measures as fencing off wetlands to livestock and leaving vegetative buffers around the edges.
Among Gil’s most significant work was his involvement with Harry Lumsden in the recovery of Trumpeter Swans in Ontario. With Gil’s significant input the species was reintroduced in Ontario. When the project began in 1982 there were no wild Trumpeter Swans in Ontario. Just 14 years later the Trumpeter Swan was no longer considered to be “at risk”! Many pairs of Trumpeter Swans are currently nesting at the Brant County farm.
In 1999, Molly became terminally ill and it was at that time that the couple secured their legacy by donating 400 acres of farmland in St. George to the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation. Tim Horton Onondaga Farms ensures that Gil and Molly’s efforts to educate about the environment and how to care for nature are still being met.
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