2O22 TRAIL BOSS AWARD, WENDY C. GARDNER
Dr. Wendy C. Gardner hit the ground running and hasn’t slowed down since!
Wendy is a force of nature….and happily for the professional Society for Range Management and the Pacific Northwest Section, she has focused much of her talent and energy on improving northern hemisphere rangelands and encouraging students and rangeland & grassland managers & practitioners to bring lands and habitats into better ecological condition than they were when that person began their tenure on the land!
Dr. Gardner’s resume is chock-full of accomplishments, goals met, and rewards reaped! Here are a few: She was formally educated in British Columbia and Alberta (B.Sc and M.Sc at UBC and Ph.D at University of Alberta). She has been a professional Agrologist since 1994. She has worked with BC Agriculture and Agri-Food, with the BC Cattlemen’s Organization, and since 2000 with Thompson Rivers University.
Wendy’s work at TRU has been outstanding and jaw-dropping! She has taught every rangeland and grassland ecology class the University offers; she has mentored a whopping total of 47 post-graduate students on their advanced degree research; she has advised and mentored 91 under-graduate students as they completed their Honors and Senior research projects; and she has guided 12 under-graduate research assistants!
In addition to teaching and student mentoring, which is a full-time job in itself, she has published a total of 118 peer and lay research and management titles in the international literature. AND she has brought in over $1.6 million in research grants to TRU! Phenomenal!
Dr. Gardner is also practical. She has coordinated dozens of summer tours and research workshops as well as community based offerings such as her highly successful Women in Ranching program. She has coupled all of this with an on-going “Home on the Range” webinar which she and several of her outstanding students have prepared for internet production over the past several years.
Wendy is active in several organizations beyond the SRM, but SRM is for all practical purposes her “home organization”. Here is a list of several activities and awards that she has received at the Chapter, Section, and Parent Society level: At the local level she has served on numerous committees; sat on the Board of Directors; and served as Section President. In 2015, the PNW recognized her for its EXEMPLARY SERVICE AWARD. At the parent society level, she has again served on committees and had been well recognized with several very significant awards, to include THE OUTSTANDING YOUNG PROFESSIONAL AWARD in 2005; an OUTSTANDING RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENT AWARD in 2007; and most recently, in 2022, the Range Science Educational Council and Society for Range Management OUTSTANDING UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING AWARD (making her the top undergraduate teacher of rangeland management internationally!)
Dr. Wendy Gardner is a strong believer in rangelands and in the people who care about rangelands. She is an outstanding researcher, teacher, and continuing education provider. She is someone who inspires others, and especially young professionals, to care about the land and to personally continue to be life-long learners toward making our resources and world a better place. She is truly worthy of the Pacific Northwest’s highest honor which can be bestowed upon one of its members….the Pacific Northwest Section is proud to announce Dr. WENDY C. GARDNER as the 2022 PNW TRAIL BOSS AWARD recipient!
