Village Squire, 1978-10, Page 23PROFILE
Dr. Bill Andrews.
Dr. Bill Andrews
does more than
teach ecology
BY GLENNA MARR
On the way to the home of a friend near
Belgrave, Ont.. I passed many times a sign
which read, "Ecological Study Site, No
Snowmobiles. No Hunters," and each time
resolved to investigate that sign further.
When I finally did follow through on that
resolution I was welcomed to the summer
home and ecological study site of Professor
William Andrews, Associate Professor of
Science Education at the Faculty of
Education of the University of Toronto.
That name may not be familiar to the
reader but it should be to those who have
passed through the Ontario high school
system within the past 10 to 15 years. Dr.
Andrews is the author of the ubiquitous
Science 10 from which many of us have
attempted to understand the fundamentals
of science.
Since Science 10, his first book. he has
written seven other science texts, including
a series of textbooks of ecology and is
currently working on his ninth book. One
book, Environmental Pollution, has been
translated into Greek and there has been
talk of an Italian translation of one of his
books. These textbooks are also used in
Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the
U.S.A.
In spite of his achievements, Dr.
Andrews is a very down-to-earth individ-
ual. Raised on a farm in Clinton, he has
strong ties with this area. His wife is from
the Blyth area and his son farms on his
grandparents' farm near Blyth. His brother
works the family farm in Clinton.
Dr. Andrews took his first two degrees at
the University of Western Ontario and
finished his formal education at the
University of Toronto where he received
his Bachelor of Education. After teaching
high school for nine years he moved to the
Faculty of Education at the University of
Toronto. As environmental pollution
became an issue and studies in ecology
became more popular in the late 1960's,
Dr. Andrews began to offer courses in
ecology. after regular hours, to those
interested. In the early 1970's these
courses became instituted in the regular
curriculum of the Faculty of Education.
Dr. Andrews has also been involved with
various conservation groups. He has
served on the executive committee of the
Conservation Council of Ontario, an
amalgamation • of 40 different groups
including naturalists, medical workers,
architects, forestry workers and labour
groups. It is a large organization with
1,000,000 members. He is also an
ex -President of the Toronto Field Natural-
ists. When asked about any involvement in
Pollution Probe, Dr. Andrews said that he
attended the first meeting but did not
return because smoking was permitted. "I
will not tolerate hypocrisy," he flatly
states. He is deeply committed to this
principle and will not deliver his speech if
there is smoking in the audience.
However, even with all these activities,
the time came to find a piece of land which
would serve mainly as a place where
teachers and students can come for some
practical lessons in ecology. He naturally
looked to the area where he was raised.
The property which he chose -- 133 acres in
all -- was purchased mainly because of the
diversity of habitats found on the land.
There are high dry hills, wetlands, a
swamp and bog, a sand hill, hills overlaid
with rock, and a mature climax forest. Each
of these habitats attract different flora and
fauna, creating the variety necessary for
ecological studies.
The newly purchased land had been
poorly managed, affording a professor of
ecology ample opportunity to apply sound
ecological principles. The steep dry hills
had been greatly over -grazed and the cattle
had run over the bush leaving the
woodland completely devoid of ground
vegetation. Since purchasing the land Dr.
Andrews has planted 40,000 trees, mainly
on the hilly areas. Arable areas have been
left open, while the low clay belt and rocky
area have been cleared and planted with
trees.
Maintaining the property as a site for
ecological studies requires a lot of work.
Dr. Andrews estirnates that he spends 100
hours each year on the tractor mowing the
grass to keep weeds down and to create fire
breaks. Different sections are mowed with
varying intensity in order to have areas in
different stages of ecological succession for
comparative studies.
The many diverse habitats attract a
variety of wildlife. A most unusual -- and
unwelcome -- visitor last summer was a
Massasauga Rattler. Dr. Andrews specul-
ates that it was likely dropped by a bird as
it is not indigenous to this area. After a
positive identification was made it was
quickly killed, something Dr. Andrews is
reluctant to do. Where there is no direct
threat to human life he prefers to
peacefully co -exist with the wildlife, "They
were here first," he will tell you. He grows
10 times as many vegetables as he needs in
order to feed his family, the animals on the
property and his friends. Incidentally,
there have been no further visits from any
other rattler.
The many varieties of trees found on his
property attract many species of birds as
well. He grows approximately 600 pounds
of sunflower seeds for the birds, true to his
concern for the many forms of life around
him.
When asked to pinpoint an ecological
problem in this area, he said that the main
problem was water pollution and soil
erosion from farm run-off. Within the last
seven or eight years more and more land
has been cultivated and wetlands have
been drained. Even roadside property has
been cultivated and there is less grass to
catch the silt. While this has been going on
the Ministry of Natural Resources has been
flooding areas to create wetlands. However
they cannot keep up with the farmers and
the water table is rising. Dr. Andrews
observes that the river running through his
property floods worse each spring. Arable
fields are fine to drain but problems arise
when wetlands are drained. Dr. Andrews is
not without sympathy for the farmers
nonetheless. He sees the farmer caught in
a cycle which begins with the demand for
cheap food, which requires more food,
which in turn requires more land.
Aside from this problem to Dr. Andrews'
way of thinking this is t.ie best countryside
with the nicest people. Although he is
happy with his life of teaching and writing
he eventually hopes to settle permanently
on his property, retiring to full-time writing
and small-time farming.
Dr. Andrews may be a professor at a
big -city university but he takes great
delight in the things of nature. During the
course of this interview he broke off and
with obvious pleasure pointed out a
hummingbird flitting among his trees.
When I remarked that our hollyhocks
seemed to attract the hummingbirds, he
replied that they do indeed and said that he
must plant some. That is Dr. Andrews.
VILLAGE SQUIRE/OCTOBER 1978. PG.21.