For the second time in three weeks, Calvin Sandborn accepted a significant award for his work on environmental law in B.C.
The latest, the Dr. Andrew Thompson Award from West Coast Environmental Law, follows his honourary citizenship in the City of Victoria in January.
“I think the important thing about Calvin, in his position now with (the University of Victoria’s) Environmental Law Centre is his infectious enthusiasm,” said Andrew Gage, acting executive director on the staff council for West Coast Environmental Law.
“It would be fair to say since coming to the Environmental Law Centre, he seems to have come to new delight in his work and I think that comes from the students. ... My impression is that they love him.”
Gage said the Dr. Andrew Thompson Award is like a recognition of lifetime achievement.
Sandborn, a 61-year-old resident of Esquimalt, said much of his appreciation comes from the man, after whom his latest award is named. In his early years, Sandborn studied under Thompson.
“I realized why Andy did this stuff – it was all about the river,” Sandborn said, using the Nechako River as an example. “And it was all about the community that loved that river like family.”
Now, as legal director at UVic’s Environmental Law Centre, Sandborn’s passing on his decades of experience to a new generation of environmental lawyers.
ecardone@vicnews.com