Protecting nature for more than 25 years

Most of us can’t be everywhere at once, but it certainly seems as if Gerry Brown has found a way to do it. Throughout Manitoba, he’s well known as the guy who will show up, help set up and run events, and assisting at least eight Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) chapters in any given year.

Brown’s service and passion that has made him the undeniable choice for DUC’s Volunteer of the Year in the province.

As far as volunteers go, Brown is unique. Instead of serving on a specific chapter, he’s more like a provincial guardian angel, helping wherever he’s needed. In his 25 years volunteering with DUC, Brown has done it all, including running the lunch stop in the hamlet of Rennie (his hometown) for the annual Ride to the Lake event, to serving a stint as chair of DUC’s Manitoba Provincial Volunteer Council (where he still holds a position).

Brown says his dedication starts in Rennie. “I was born here, my mother is from here, I even went to the same school as my mother,” he says. “When I was a little kid, they [DUC] were building the control dam at the Alfred Hole Goose Sanctuary. My brother and a bunch of us kids would go watch every day and the guys there would talk to us about it all. That’s when I started to pay attention to things like this.”

In 1976, when Brown started working for the government, the true impacts people can have on natural wetlands became clear. “I was flying [Brown is a commercial helicopter pilot], doing low patrols over potential fire areas, and you could see it, the swamps getting smaller, disappearing. Obviously, that’s worrying. That was the point when I decided ‘hey, I’ve got to do something about this.’”

Then, a few of his colleagues who had been involved with a DUC banquet, invited him to come along. “I had already worked that day. I showed up at the hall and they just threw the apron at me and said, ‘get to work,’” he laughs. “That was it, I was a volunteer.” Soon, Brown was volunteering at every banquet he could get to in Manitoba, which he still does today.

Brown’s help has been much appreciated, with chapters requesting his assistance year-over-year. It’s at these events — clay shoots, concerts, and banquets included — where Brown is famous for his big smile, the wonderful stories he shares and his willingness to do whatever is asked of him. Though he doesn’t take any of the credit, he’s quick to say that these events don’t just bring funding to DUC, they bring people as well.

“Usually when people show up there, they end up joining. Some member will come and they’ll bring a friend, and then that friend on the spot goes, ‘this is great. I’m gonna be part of this, too.’ It’s such a great organization. Great people. And an important cause,” says Brown. “With the rate of habitat and wetland loss, it’s important not just to preserve what we still have but to restore the ones we’ve screwed up. I want more people to help step forward and protect these spaces.”

Brown believes that it’s the same for everyone once they see the difference they can make, in real-time, on these natural spaces. “It becomes your passion. And it’s something that’s fun, too.”

There are approximately 500 DUC volunteers in Manitoba and 3,500 across Canada. DUC is proud to recognize each of them—including outstanding leaders like Gerry Brown—as volunteer champions and conservationists who make every moment matter by serving with generosity, passion and dedication.