Person

Burch, W.G.

1923 -

William Gerald Burch, known as Gerry Burch, was born on August 2, 1923. The son of a forest ranger, he grew up in Moyie, BC, and Trail, BC. After his secondary education, he went to study forestry at the University of British Columbia. His studies were interrupted by conscription into the navy in 1942, when he served as a sub-lieutenant on HMCS Eyebright. In 1945, he was demobilized and returned to his studies at UBC. He spent his university summers working for British Columbia Forest Products, which became his employer for most of his career. Burch was appointed Chief Forester in 1968, and Vice President of Timberlands and Forestry in 1976. He was also active in professional associations, serving for a time as President of the Canadian Institute of Forestry. Burch has been awarded with such distinctions as the Distinguished Forester Award and the Achievement Award from the Canadian Institute of Forestry. After retirement from BC Forest Products in 1988, Burch remained active in forestry as a consultant for Stewart & Ewing Ltd., as an adjunct faculty member at UBC in the faculty of forestry, and by collecting research, writing papers and giving speeches. Burch was the director of The Working Forest of British Columbia, a book published by I.K. Barber in 1995. Burch’s autobiography, Still Counting the Rings, was published in 2006.