GAC® National Medals & Awards
E.R.Ward Neale Medal
E.R. Ward Neale Medallist – Jane Wynne
CitationJane Wynne has made outstanding contributions to the public awareness of geoscience in British Columbia through a remarkable range of outreach activities that span two decades. Jane is one of BC’s most active outreach geoscientists, and perhaps our most effective, because of her unique gifts. She cares tremendously that geoscience is relevant to the public.
She has an entrepreneurial eye for seizing the “teachable moment” and making an event happen. And she has a great talent for drawing teams together because she is fun, selfless, and a fearless recruiter.
Jane’s impact on the public understanding of geoscience in BC has been huge. Since 1990, she has led or assisted with over 150 outreach events. In the past 5 years she has organized 10 major public meetings or workshops attended by over 1000 members of the public, as well as 3 annual open houses of the Pacific Geoscience Centre attended by over 30,000 public. Over the past 10 years, she has organized workshops for over 250 teachers, made 36 classroom visits and organized another 40, judged 15 science fairs, organized workshops for 450 students, and outreach workshops for 80 scientists. Jane can rally a group of geoscientists, or first responders, or teachers, or students, to work together to do remarkable things. A consummate team player, she will lead, or assist behind the scenes, depending on what is needed, to make things happen. She has a wonderful sense of fun that naturally draws people to work with her.
Jane creates high profile public events on key geoscience issues: earthquake risk, tsunami risk, climate change impacts, offshore oil and gas drilling. She leverages outreach capacity by training the educators. She runs EDGEO workshops for teachers (knowing they inform and inspire classrooms of students), storytelling workshops for scientists’, training workshops for non-geoscience interpreters, and earthquake workshops for first responders.
Jane has an entrepreneurial style and seizes opportunities. The 2004 Sumatran tsunami created a “teachable moment” for coastal BC and she organized two major public information meetings and a workshop attended by a total of over 500 people. When offshore drilling was “top of mind” in BC, Jane organized a symposium for the public. Jane initiated the partnership with BC Ferries and Parks Canada to teach geoscience to their interpretive staff, now passed on to thousands of visitors each year. In 2008 she saw the opportunity, found funding and arranged for earthquake presentations to 38 classrooms and about 800 students. If you have an idea, and want to see it happen, call Jane!
Jane Wynne is a remarkable ambassador for the geosciences. We are so lucky on the West Coast to have her.