Blog Archive Layout

Scientists’ names live on in lichens

Dec 17 2011/in News Coverage

Two newly-discovered lichens will be named after a botanist, who died of brain cancer in 2005, and a biologist, who died in a car accident in January.

An auction for the right to name the lichens raised $17,900 for The Land Conservancy and $4,000 for the Ancient Forest Alliance.

Artist Anne Hansen, of Victoria, made the winning bid on the hairlike bryoria lichen, which will be known as Bryoria kockiana in memory of her husband, Henry Kock. “Henry was a tireless champion of biodiversity and inconspicuous species like toads, lichens and sedges,” Hansen said.

Kock ran programs at the University of Guelph Arboretum for 20 years.

“Naming a species after a beloved forest defender is my idea of a fabulous solstice celebration,” Hansen said. “I’m not the only one who’s noticed that the lichen looks like Henry’s beard.”

Ken Wu, of the Ancient Forest Alliance, said funds raised will be used to map old-growth forest on Vancouver Island and produce old-growth status reports. “This is about eight per cent of our entire year’s funding,” said Wu, who hopes auctioning off the names of newly-discovered species will become more common in Canada.

The second lichen, a two-toned, more leafy variety, will be named Parmelia Sulymae in honour of Randy Sulyma, a forester and biologist who was 43 when he died in a vehicle accident in Chetwynd.

The campaign to come up with the winning bid was co-ordinated by Sylvia Sulyma, Randy’s mother. “For all who knew Randy, this is such a fitting legacy,” Sulyma said. “The whole family is excited and overwhelmed today.”

The $17,900 raised will go toward creating a wildlife corridor, in Wells Gray Provincial Park, for large mammals migrating from winter to summer ranges across the Clearwater Valley.

The two lichens were discovered by Trevor Goward, curator of lichens at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at the University of B.C., who offered them for auction. “Future auctions of this kind will garner even more support as Canadians awaken to the honour of being linked, if only in name, to other living species,” Goward said.

The horsehair lichen – which Hansen says resembles Kock's beard – will be known as Bryoria kockiana.

Media Release: “New Species Conservation Auction” closes with renowned BC artist Anne Hansen Winning Bid

Dec 16 2011/in Media Release

For Immediate Release
Friday, December 16, 2011

“New Species Conservation Auction” closes with renowned BC artist Anne Hansen (aka “Oystercatcher Girl”) making winning bid of $4000, with proceeds to the Ancient Forest Alliance

A unique conservation fundraiser, the “New Species Conservation Auction”, came to an end yesterday with the winning $4000 bid coming from renowned Victoria artist Anne Hansen, whose nickname “Oystercatcher Girl” is derived from her famous paintings of oystercatchers and other birds (see https://oystercatchergirl.blogspot.com/ ). Hansen won the naming rights to a newly discovered species of lichen from BC’s inland rainforest, which she plans to name in honour of her late husband. Proceeds from the auction will go to the Ancient Forest Alliance (www.AncientForestAlliance.org), a new non-profit organization working to protect BC’s old-growth forests and forestry jobs.

In June, Trevor Goward, curator of lichens at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at the University of British Columbia, loaned a new species of lichen he discovered, a Bryoria or “horsehair” lichen (see a photo at: https://ancientforestalliance.org/news-pic.php?ID=233 Note: media are free to reprint the photo), as a fundraiser for the Ancient Forest Alliance.

According to scientific protocol, the right to give a new species its scientific name goes to the person who scientifically describes it. However, the online auction has earned the highest bidder, Anne Hansen, the right to name the new lichen species. The scientific species name could last centuries or millenia, enshrined in the scientific nomenclature as a legacy for environmentally-concerned individuals long after they have passed away.

The new lichen’s scientific name will be Bryoria kockiana, as Hansen has decided to name the species after her late husband, Henry Kock, horticulturist and author. Kock, who passed away in 2005, was the public face of the Arboretum at the University of Guelph for 20 years and author of Growing Trees from Seed.

Hansen states:

“Henry was a tireless champion of biodiversity and inconspicuous species like toads, lichens and sedges. Organic gardening became his life’s work after an unfortunate early vocational exposure to pesticides. Many native gardens throughout Ontario owe their existence to Henry’s classes at the Arboretum and his travelling presentations to nature clubs. His own garden, which he transformed from lawn to forest, was dubbed the Hotel of the Trees…I feel like I got a bargain! Many people go into debt in December, for toys and gadgets that will soon be obsolete. Lichens have been around since ancient biological times. If we do something fast about climate change, lichens will be here far into the future. Naming a species after a beloved forest defender is my idea of a fabulous solstice celebration. I’m not the only one who’s noticed that the lichen looks like Henry’s beard!”

See Hansen’s full statement at: https://ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=342

Trevor Goward states:

“I’m delighted if the loan of one my undescribed lichens has contributed to such an effective grassroots organization as the Ancient Forest Alliance – a group definitely to watch!…In the event, we couldn’t have asked for a more appropriate benefactor for this new initiative. I salute B.C. Nature artist Anne Hansen for her efforts to make a positive difference in the world through her beautiful art work and now, in addition, through her contribution to the Ancient Forest Alliance. It gives…me real pleasure to name this new hair lichen in honour of Anne’s late husband, the horticulturist and author Henry Kock, whose work as a conservationist really deserves to be recognized. From this day forward, Henry’s name will be remembered in Bryoria kockiana – a name I expect to last as long as our civilization does.”

See Goward’s full statement at: https://ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=343

Conservationists are hoping that this first trial run of “taxonomic tithing” in Canada will inspire similar taxonomic tithing initiatives for conservation organizations working to protect diverse ecosystems and endangered species. “Taxonomic tithing” is a term coined by Goward whereby a biological researcher who describes a new species donates its naming rights for conservation purposes (see https://www.waysofenlichenment.net/tithe/home).

“We’re most grateful to Trevor Goward and Anne Hansen for this enormous boost of funding for our small organization,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “We’ve run this organization on a shoestring with very limited resources, so this will be an infusion of funding that will allow us to build some key pieces of the campaign in 2012 to save the last of BC’s endangered old-growth forests.”

B.C.’s old-growth forests are home to numerous species at risk that require old-growth forests to flourish, including mountain caribou, spotted owls, marbled murrelets, Vaux’s swifts, and many species of lichens. After old-growth forests are logged, they are replaced by tree plantations that lack the structural diversity and ecological characteristics that support these unique species. These plantations are to be re-logged every 30 to 80 years before they can become old-growth forests again. About 80% or more of the old-growth forests in southern British Columbia have already been logged and converted to second-growth tree plantations, farmland, and cities. See spectacular images of Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests at: https://ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/

Lichens are small organisms often mistaken for plants, but perhaps better thought of as cooperative (symbiotic) unions of fungi and algae: fungi that have discovered agriculture https://www.waysofenlichenment.net/.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is a new British Columbian environmental organization established in 2010 working to protect BC’s remaining old-growth forests and to ensure sustainable forestry jobs. It works through research and public education to promote the establishment of new laws and policies to protect old-growth forests.

Goward also donated the naming rights of another new species of lichen to The Land Conservancy, a major land trust organization in BC working to purchase private lands across the province, including parts of the Clearwater Valley to make a wildlife corridor near Wells Gray Provincial Park. The winning bid for The Land Conservancy’s lichen came in at a whopping $17,900 last night. Visit https://www.printablesme.com for your bed bath and beyond coupons

Santa Claus, Conservation Groups Benefit from ‘Tree Beard’ Lichen Named for Late U of G Plantsman

Dec 16 2011/in News Coverage

A newly discovered lichen resembling “tree beards” will carry the name of a late University of Guelph horticulturist, author and master gardener.

The new species of horsehair lichen will be called Bryoria kockiana for Henry Kock, former interpretive horticulturist at the U of G Arboretum and a leading authority on native woody plants. He died in 2005 of brain cancer. His wife, Anne Hansen, purchased the scientific naming rights to the lichen this week.

The new species was discovered in a British Columbia rainforest by lichenologist Trevor Goward. He organized an auction for naming rights for two of his recent finds to benefit two B.C. conservation groups.

“With Christmas coming, here’s a perfect opportunity to give something back to Canada,” he said, explaining why he created the online auction.

The auction closed Dec. 15. Proceeds from Kock’s newly named lichen will benefit the Ancient Rainforest Alliance, a Victoria-based group that helps protect old-growth forests.

Hansen said buying the naming rights was the perfect holiday gift.

“Many people go into debt in December for toys and gadgets that will soon be obsolete. Lichens have been around since ancient biological times. If we do something fast about climate change, lichens will be here far into the future,” she said.

“And I’m not the only one who’s noticed that the lichen looks like Henry’s beard,” said Hansen, who moved from Guelph to B.C. in 2007.

A combination of fungi and algae, lichen provide critical winter food for mountain caribou and black-tailed deer.

Goward said, “Without lichens, caribou and reindeer would soon disappear, and where would Santa Claus be then?”

“We couldn’t have asked for a more appropriate benefactor,” he said, adding that Kock’s “work as a conservationist really deserves to be recognized.”

Kock joined U of G in 1981. He led interpretive walks and educational programs at the Arboretum and spoke regularly to gardeners and naturalist groups. He helped organize U of G’s first Organic Agriculture Conference in 1982.

He established gene banks for rare plants and launched the province’s Elm Recovery Project. Kock received the Governor General’s Award for Forest Stewardship in 1998 and was named one of Canada’s most outstanding gardeners in 2004. His book, Growing Trees from Seed, was completed by botanist colleagues after his death.

NOW HIRING: Forest Campaigner

Mar 3 2026

The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) is hiring a passionate Forest Campaigner to join our team and help protect old-growth forests in BC!

Employment

It’s AFA’s 16th Birthday!

Feb 26 2026

On Tuesday, February 24th, we’re celebrating 16 years of working together with you, our community, to ensure the permanent protection of old-growth forests in BC. To mark the date, will you chip in $16 or more to support our work?

Announcements

Budget 2026 Shortchanges Nature Protection and Sustainable Forestry Transition At a Critical Time for British Columbia

Feb 20 2026

BC’s Budget 2026 fails to provide the funding needed to secure lasting protection for endangered ecosystems and at-risk old-growth forests in the province.

Media Release