Gryphon Gallery: Speaking For You and Me

February 24, 2022

Alumni

Stuart Brambley, Archivist Stuart Brambley, Archivist photo

Vicky Husband was born and grew up in Victoria. She attended GNS (Norfolk House School) from 1946 to 1957.

Husband is one of British Columbia’s best-known environmentalists and a passionate defender of British Columbia’s natural heritage, especially the coastal rainforest and its inhabitants. She is tireless in her drive to protect BCs natural heritage, especially the coastal rainforest, with a focus on ancient forest protection, wildlife and sustainable fisheries.

She has focused on working toward environmental, economic and social resource extraction that protects all values and is sustainable in the long term. She has been a leader in numerous conservation debates, including working for the protection of the ancient rainforests of Clayoquot Sound and Vancouver Island, the Great Bear Rainforest, South Moresby/ Gwaii Haanas, and the Khuzeymateen grizzly bear sanctuary.

Her major goal is to educate the public about environmental and resource extraction issues. Her work, done entirely on a volunteer basis, has earned her numerous honours, including a United Nations Global 500 award for environmental achievement, the Order of Canada—awarded in 2001, the Order of BC— awarded in 2000 and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Victoria in 2006.

Through her volunteer effort over the past 20 years, she has become for many the outspoken voice of environmental reason—speaking straight to the point with courage and determination, fueled by both the science and by personal knowledge of the salmon, trees, bears, people and places of our province.

As well as working alongside others, she can also go it alone if need be, and the Tahsish, Kwois and Silburn, the Nasparti, the Power and the Battle watersheds on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island are protected today largely because Vicky Husband made them her personal campaigns.

She blends equal measures of respect for scientific knowledge and the understanding of First Nations, and pioneered the use of satellite imagery for helping others see for themselves how much ancient rainforest has been logged and how little remains.

Vicky Husband is a leader in this generation’s commitment and responsibility to ensure a natural legacy for those to come.

This is the eleventh instalment of a series of articles entitled “Gryphon Gallery” created by our School Archivist that provide snapshots that celebrate the achievements of a variety of alumni and staff from throughout the history of GNS.