Royal BC Museum Curator Recipient of the 2015 Bruce Naylor Award

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 12, 2016) - Dr. Richard Hebda is the 2015 recipient of the Alliance of Natural History Museum of Canada's (ANHMC) Bruce Naylor Award. The award is given annually to recognize achievement by an individual orindividuals of national or international significance in the museum-based natural history field in Canada through distinctive leadership, publications or other remarkable endeavours.

The award will be presented to Dr. Hebda at the Canadian Museums Association Conference on April 13 in Halifax. Well known in British Columbia, Canada and internationally, Dr. Hebda is Curator of Botany and Earth History at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, British Columbia.

Nominated by his peers, Dr. Hebda is a trained botanist, ethnobotanist, paleontotologist, palaeoecologist, and phytogeographer. A widely published leader in his field, his work has been ground-breaking in palynology (the study of ancient pollen) and palaeoecology (study of ancient ecosystems). He has furthered the understanding of ancient landscapes and vegetation in British Columbia, especially wetlands, forest and alpine ecosystems.

Famous for his work in environmental restoration and promoting use of native plants, Dr. Hebda has mentored many graduate students and students in the Restoration of Natural Systems Program at the University of Victoria, a program he helped found. He was one of the main research collaborators on a large research team for the Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchí discovery, the first ancient human body from a North American glacier, found in northwest British Columbia. Exceptional in his public outreach through hundreds of lectures and a brilliant teacher, Dr. Hebda has inspired many and has been instrumental in encouraging students to pursue careers in natural history and botany. He has spearheaded the conservation of fossil sites in British Columbia and worked with NGO's to preserve the province's spectacular natural heritage.

The Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada is a national network of natural history museums and similar institutions dedicated to the preservation and understanding of Canada's natural heritage and the enhancement of the benefits museums provide to the people of Canada.