Jeff Miller was a conservationist and ally of Algonquin Park who inspired others to appreciate the natural beauty of the surrounding wilderness through his art. His dedication to promoting environmental stewardship has been recognized by the Muskoka Conservancy through a posthumous award.
Alongside painter Catherine O’Mara and sculptor Brenda Wainman Goulet, painter Jeff Miller was one of the original Artists of the Limberlost who started the popular annual summer art tour, initially an open house event held on Canada Day at O’Mara’s studio home.
Miller, born in New York, spent the summer of 1943 at Camp Pathfinder in Algonquin Park, where he fell in love with the beauty of the Canadian wilderness. He later moved to Toronto and began guiding canoe trips in Algonquin Park, where he inspired others to paint in this authentic setting.
As a founding member of the Algonquin Wildlands League in the 1960s—an organization dedicated to wilderness conservation and confronting logging practices in Algonquin Park—Miller led weeks-long group hikes and canoe trips through the park for over 40 years, encouraging participants to appreciate the environment and document their experiences through art.
Those who met Miller were “always impressed by his canoeing ability and storytelling prowess,” says Bill Dickinson, an honorary director of the Muskoka Conservancy who was also part of the awards selection committee that nominated Miller for the award.
The Muskoka Conservancy is a registered charity and land trust with a mission to protect and care for Muskoka’s natural spaces for future generations. To date they have protected the habitat of species at risk in over 2,700 acres of land, 50,000 feet of sensitive shoreline, and 600 acres of wetland.
Dickinson says The Wayland Drew Natural Heritage Award has been presented over the past 22 years to individuals who “exemplify environmental leadership by promoting stewardship, conservation, environmental education, or awareness of Muskoka’s natural heritage.”
“Jeff certainly fits the bill,” he says. “Jeff Miller chose to live near his beloved Algonquin Park. Over his lifetime he worked to teach youth and adults about the delicate ecosystems in Algonquin Park and neighbouring Muskoka.”
According to those who knew him best, Miller’s mission was to instill the love of the natural world in young children. Through a program called Look, See, Paint, Miller encouraged children to observe and draw inspiration from nature, and express themselves through their art. “This unique program was carried into the classrooms of Muskoka,” says Dickinson.
The Wayland Drew Natural Heritage Award is named after the Lieutenant Governor’s Conservation Award recipient Wayland Drew, who was a writer, environmentalist, and gifted teacher in Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes. Drew is well known for organizing the first Earth Day celebration in Toronto, and spearheaded the local 1991 Signs of Hope environmental conference which featured guest speaker David Suzuki.
“Interestingly, it was through [Miller’s] association with the Algonquin Wildlands League that he actually met and befriended Wayland Drew many years ago. How appropriate that he receive the award named in honour of his friend,” says Dickinson. Also befitting, the award itself, “Bear Manitou”, is a sculpture created by Miller’s fellow Limberlost artist, the late Brenda Wainman Goulet.
The Wayland Drew Natural Heritage Award “Bear Manitou” by Brenda Wainman Goulet (courtesy of the Muskoka Conservancy)
The award will be presented in the spring of 2021 at the Muskoka Conservancy in Bracebridge when more favourable weather permits a ceremony.
Jeff Miller died at the age of 88 on March 24, 2020 in Huntsville, Ontario.
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I saw this shared on Facebook. Jeff was a good friend of my parents. They would often head out on canoe trips in the summers. Such a great tribute to Jeff.
A well deserved award to a man whose passion for art and nature had no bounds.
Most fittingly awarded. It was a privilege to have known and collaborated with these dedicated people, albeit briefly many years ago through the Muskoka Environmental Educators Association. Warm thanks to Bill Dickinson and the Muskoka Conservancy for their decades of fine work.
I’m sad to hear that Jeff Miller has left us! I met him several times years ago and he was a wonderful person, full of life and inspiration, and, yes, a good storyteller. His “Look, See, Paint” concept is brilliant. Congratulations to him posthumously for winning the Wayland Drew Award, absolutely deserved. You’ve honoured him well by this well-written story, Brenda.