Reg Balch

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Dr. Reginald Ernest Balch (December 29, 1894 - 1994) was an internationational photographer and scientist.

[edit] Biography

He was born in Sevenoaks, England, the son of the Rev. Alfred Earnest Balch and Sarah Hawkes.

He was educated at Bedford Grammar School and Kingswood School. He received a University scholarship, but waived it to be a farmer.

He came to Canada in 1913, departing from Liverpool and arriving in Saint John, ten days later. He took a train to Ontario, but found little work. In 1914, he was hired by the Ontario Reformatory. Later that year he "joined up," serving three years in France with the Canadian Field Artillery during the First World War. His interest in forest biology led him to enroll in the Ontario Agricultural College, graduating in 1923 with a BSA degree. Afterwards, he took a summer job as a fire ranger and assisted an American forest entomologist. This led to his receiving a MS degree at Syracuse University's New York State College of Forestry in 1928.

In 1930 he was appointed Officer-in-Charge of the Dominion Entomological Laboratory, a federal government facility located on the University of New Brunswick campus in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He settled in Fredericton with his wife, Martha.

His five half-hour radio lectures for CBC's University of the Air series during the spring of 1965 were essential in the introduction of the word "ecology" to the public.

He traveled and photographed Europe, especially Ireland.

His photos illustrated a book of Alden Nowlan's poems, Early Poems.

[edit] Bibliography

Control of Forest Insects - R E Balch, Annual Review of Entomology, January 1958, Vol. 3, Pages 449-468, (doi: 10.1146/annurev.en.03.010158.002313) [1]
The Ecological Viewpoint - R.E. Balch, Toronto: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1965, ISBN 0-88794-023-4
A Mind's Eye - R. E. Balch (Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 1985) ISBN 0-86492-066-0
Celebrations of Nature - edited by Harold Hatheway (Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 1991) ISBN 0-86492-107-1