Merrilees, William James

His interest in the natural world was stimulated when he built bird houses with his father and earned his Natural History Badge in Boy Scouts in South Vancouver.

He joined the Vancouver Natural History Society in 1953.

He studied zoology and botany at UBC and received an MSc in outdoor education from Colorado State University.

He spent three years with the Australian National Antarctic Research Establishment in the Sub-Antarctic and a year on MacQuarrie Island in a research station as a Biologist.

He was recruited by Yorke Edwards in a hallway in UBC after a short (5 minute) interview and in 1960 he started as a Seasonal Park Naturalist for the British Columbia Provincial Parks in Miracle Beach Provincial Park based at Black Creek BC.

In 1961 he worked with the Canadian Wildlife Service in Alberta and Saskatchewan on Sand Hill Crane studies.

In 1962 he worked with the Canadian Forestry Service in Petawawa Ontario and in 1964 at Kananaskis AB.

He taught at Selkirk College and was the first President of the Kootenay Doukhobor Historical Society - and in this capacity he was a primary force behind the reconstruction of a traditional Douhhobor Communal Village.

In 1974 he was the Seasonal Park Naturalist at Cultus Lake Provincial Park.

In 1978 he was the Assistant Chief Park Interpreter at Waterton Lakes National Park.

He was the District Interpretation Officer at Parksville BC for BC Provincial Parks.

He is now retired and working as an interpretive tour guide and writer in Nanaimo BC Canada.

He has written many articles and several books on a wide range of topics and is very active in animating the enjoyment of nature by the public. His books include: Attracting Outdoor Wildlife in 1989, Newcastle Island A Place of Discovery in 1998, and co-authored (with C.P. Lyons) Trees, Shrubs and Flowers to Know in British Columbia and Washington in 1997.

He is very interested in all aspects of natural history but has concentrated on backyard habitat development.

He is a past President of the Vancouver Natural History Society, a Past President of the Federation of British Columbia Naturalists and Vice-President of the Nanaimo Field Naturalists.

He has written more than 100 articles on natural history.

In 1999 he is a ship-based tour guide and interpreter in the Antarctic servicing organized packaged tours.

He is the father of fellow interpreter Andrew Merrilees.