Roy, Roger Edward

All through his childhood Roger Roy was fascinated by the natural world - particularly turtles, which he studied in research projects in Ontario, New Brunswick, New York and Pennsylvania. At an early age he was an expert on all types of herptiles and was an avid field naturalist which he pursues in retirement. His knowledge of herptile biology, distribution and behaviour in Ontario is highly respected and sought after by researchers and he has written and published many articles on the subject.

He discovered several range extensions of wildlife species including the first Warmouth Sunfish at Rondeau Provincial Park and Point Pelee National Park, a species new to Canada. The specimens are in the Rondeau Museum.

He undertook extensive fish and herptile specimen collections for the National Museum of Canada on a volunteer basis 1960-1968.

He was appointed as a volunteer Game and Fisheries Warden (at age 18), for the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests 1962-1965.

He successfully laid charges, and presented a case in court, and got a conviction under the Migratory Birds Convention Act at the age of 19.

In 1960-1961 he served as an "unofficial volunteer" Rondeau.

In 1962-1966 was a Seasonal Park Naturalist Rondeau Provincial Park, (with occassional assignments to Pinery).

In 1967 was a Seasonal Park Naturalist Point Pelee National Park.

In 1968 was a Seasonal Park Naturalist P.E.I. National Park (Naturalist for the Cavendish Sector). After graduation from Acadia University, in 1969, he was appointed as Chief Park Interpreter of Fundy National Park.

He was an innovator in marketing interpretation services to park visitors and as a result his program at Fundy became the largest in terms of personal services contacts in all of Canada.

He trained several seasonal interpretive naturalists who went on to interpretation careers in their own right.

In 1971 he was appointed as the first Chief of Interpretation of the Central Region of Parks Canada in Cornwall ON (covering both Quebec and Ontario).

In 1973 he was appointed as the Chief of Natural Resource Conservation for a brief period, then as Chief of Interpretation of the new Ontario Region after re-organization.

In 1974 he was the first Chief of Interpretation in the Ontario Regional Office of Parks Canada in Cornwall ON (after the administrative division between Quebec and Ontario).

In 1986, after another re-organization, he became Co-operative Activities Specialist, for the Ontario Region which included Volunteers and Co-Operating Associations.

He retired in 1995 due to medical reasons.

He developed the first "Operational Standards for Interpretation and Extension for Parks Canada", including financial resources, equipment, and libraries.

He is proud to have established the first Parks Canada Regional Library at Cornwall Ontario which began on shelves on the walls of his office, and today occupies a good chunk of one floor of the Regional Office building.

He was a founding member and first Conservation Chair for the Chatham/Kent Cloverleaf Conservation Club (1962?) which is still in operation to-day with land, a large clubhouse and shooting range.

He joined the Association of Interpretive Naturalists in 1962 (probably the first Canadian Member).

He became a professional or active member in 1969, and hauled many Canadian interpreters with him on trips to their national and regional conferences.

He was appointed As Chairperson of the "Ad hoc Committee on Canadian Interpretation" (year or two before the Dorset conference) and was founding chairperson of Interpretation Canada (at the Dorset Conference).

He is (in 2013) an accomplished ballroom dancer.

He reports that he is taking a variety of courses at St.Lawrence College, in the Encore Seniors Program (patron).

He is a passionate perennial gardener around several turtle ponds he has created in his back yard.

He is researching and developing a Roy Family Tree and has collected over 20,000 names to date.

He is the "Administrateur" on the board of directors (C.A.) for the Association des Familles Roy d'Amerique in Quebec City.

He is the Public Representative on the board of directors for the "Remedial Action Plan, St. Lawrence River, Cornwall Area of Concern".