Thom Snowman has spent most of his life in New England—outdoors. During a decade in outdoor education, he got to know Canada through bicycle and canoe trips and grew fond of the north woods. After the career that followed, as a forester working in Boston’s water supply forests, Thom was fortunate to be able to retire in Canada, where he and wife Carol have settled in the Napanee area.

As Thom began searching out ways to exercise his interest in forests and forestry, he found and joined the OWA. He says, “While there are many common species and similar natural resource issues (invasive species, impacts of climate change, etc.) in Ontario woodlands and New England forests, they are also distinctly different both in the details of their physical make-up and in the human community charged with their care and management. OWA is a model organization for addressing the concerns of anyone who has realized the critical link between our forests and our future. Personally, I am fortunate to have found an excuse to wander private woodlands and get to know their owners here in southern Ontario!”