Tom Walker, a former mayor of North Cowichan and recipient of the Freedom of the Municipality award, died on March 7.
Walker was elected to North Cowichan council in 1991 and served 17 years, from 1991 to 2004 and 2014 to 2018, as a councillor, and three years as mayor of North Cowichan from 2008 to 2011.
During that time, Walker served as chair of the Cowichan Valley Regional District board for three terms, and he was also chair on the forestry advisory committee and one of the six founding members of the forestry committee in the early 1980s.
In 2018, the Forest Legacy and Bursary Scholarship was renamed the Tom Walker Forest Legacy Bursary Scholarship.
The $1,200 scholarship and two $600 bursaries are awarded annually to North Cowichan secondary school graduates who are enrolled in post-secondary institutions in science related studies, including forestry, environmental, fisheries, hydrolog and geotechnical.
WalkerB次元官网网址檚 career spanned 35 years working for the BC Forest Service and in 1980, he was appointed the district manager of the Duncan Forest District headquartered in the Cowichan Valley.
This district covered southern Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands, complete with a complex variety of forestry and environmental issues and challenges.
Some years after his retirement, Walker was appointed by the province to protect the public interest as a lay councillor on the board of the Association of BC Professional Foresters, the governing body responsible for registering and regulating professional foresters, and served two terms in that role from 2013 to 2018.
Walker was involved as a president, a director or a member in many community organizations including past president of Cowichan Valley Crimestoppers, BC Forest Discovery Centre and Duncan Rotary Club, former director of Cowichan Valley Basket Society and Clements Centre Society, as well as founding member and past president of the Cowichan Valley Probus Club.
In 2023, he sat on North CowichanB次元官网网址檚 150th anniversary celebration committee.
North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas offered condolences on behalf of council, staff, and residents to the friends and family of Walker.
B次元官网网址淭om left a tremendous legacy in North Cowichan,B次元官网网址� Douglas said.
B次元官网网址淗e worked tirelessly to serve the people of North Cowichan first as councillor, and then as mayor. His passion and knowledge about forestry was a catalyst for significant changes to the way North Cowichan managed its forests, including the formation of the Forest Advisory Committee. The Tom Walker Forest Legacy Bursary Scholarship was renamed in his honour in 2018. His keen interest in community and municipal affairs remained until his passing. I want to extend my condolences to TomB次元官网网址檚 family, friends, and neighbours, who, like me, are mourning the passing of Tom.B次元官网网址�
Flags at North Cowichan's civic facilities have been lowered to half mast in WalkerB次元官网网址檚 honour.
