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UNBC honorary degree recipients announced

The names of this year's UNBC honorary degree recipients were disclosed Wednesday. Each year the university traditionally honours two people with the distinction.
UNBC honorary degrees
Architect Michael Green and ethnobiologist Nancy Turner will receive honorary degrees from UNBC next month.

The names of this year's UNBC honorary degree recipients were disclosed Wednesday.

Each year the university traditionally honours two people with the distinction. Past honorees include Iona Campagnolo, Mary John, Joseph Gosnell, Denise Chong, Peter Bentley, Horst Sander, Bill Reid, I.K. Barber and many others - all of them deemed significant in the culture of northern British Columbia.

This year's honorees will be ethnobiologist Nancy Turner and architect Michael Green.

Turner's work has focused on indigenous peoples of the region while Green's work is at the forefront of wood-based high-rise construction.

"[Turner] is interested in the traditional knowledge systems and traditional land and resource management systems of indigenous peoples, particularly in Western Canada," said UNBC spokesman Matt Wood. "Turner has worked with First Nations elders and cultural specialists in northwestern North America for more than four decades, collaborating with indigenous communities to help document, retain, and promote their traditional knowledge of plants and habitats, including indigenous foods, materials and medicines, as well as language and vocabulary relating to plants and environments."

Turner is a member of both the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

"Michael Green is the principal architect at Michael Green Architecture in Vancouver," Wood said. "Considered a leader in the architecture and interior design field in B.C., Green's work has already gained accolades for its innovative quality and beauty in design. He is passionate about his craft, especially regarding the use of wood. He considers it 'an amazing material full of unexplored potential'."

Green is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, and has been recognized for his award-winning buildings, public art, interiors, landscapes and urban environments. He is best known in Prince George for transforming the Prince George Airport and the Wood Innovation and Design Centre now under construction downtown. Elsewhere he put his pencil to Vancouver's Ronald McDonald House, North Vancouver City Hall, and many more.

Turner will receive her honorary degree during the College of Arts, Social and Health Sciences Ceremony at 9:30 a.m. while Green will receive his honorary degree during the College of Science and Management Ceremony at 2:30 p.m. - both on May 30 during UNBC's convocation events in Prince George. Other convocation ceremonies will happen later in the communities of Terrace, Gitwinksihlkw, and Quesnel.