Haig-Brown Institute

Roderick and Ann Haig-Brown were exceptional members of their community, with an influence far beyond the boundaries of Campbell River. The Haig-Brown Institute celebrates and acknowledges these significant contributions.

About Roderick and Ann Haig-Brown:

Roderick Haig-Brown was born in Sussex, England. He moved to British Columbia (Campbell River) in the 1930's. He was a pioneering conservationist, writer of some 25 books, magistrate and fly fisher whose collections of essays and broadcasts concerning, in part, fly fishing and the natural world made him a strong voice of conscience in British Columbia and internationally. In later life, he was Chancellor of the University of Victoria and advisor to many national and international conservation organizations and initiatives helping to shape the thinking of resource managers, conservationists and naturalists in British Columbia.

Ann Elmore Haig-Brown was a conservationist, community activist, intellectual, librarian, and a strong advocate for women in transition. Ann Elmore House in Campbell River, is named for her. It is a residence where women and their children can go to be safe from abuse or violence.

Together Ann and Roderick were the parents of four children in whom they instilled the same social and environmental values they both professed so well.

The Haig-Brown home and property near Campbell River are designated heritage sites.

The Haig-Brown Institute, a not for profit society, preserves the legacy of Roderick and Ann Elmore Haig-Brown. It also promotes watershed conservation and the links between ecology and economy through literature and conservation. The Institute supports a writer-in-residence program and local restoration and enhancement projects in Campbell River. It was instrumental in promoting the very successful Haig-Brown Kid's Camp and an annual Haig-Brown Festival, also in Campbell River.