We’re delighted to announce this year’s King Family Bursary winner: Peter Mills.

Peter Mills is an ecologist and artist based in Huntsville, Ontario. He works for Ontario Parks and regularly spends time exploring the Georgian Bay coast, including the French River and Massasauga Provincial Parks. Mills will use the bursary funding to assist in producing a book that collects some of his experiences with the natural world of Georgian Bay, and reflects on the value of wilderness, solitude, and the preservation of beauty.

Called Letters from the Broken Coast, the book is an anthology of five letters written by Mills while canoe tripping on Georgian Bay, accompanied by his own painted illustrations. Each letter takes its inspiration from a different element of the Georgian Bay environment, and draws on Mills’ knowledge in the realms of geology, spatial ecology, herpetology, plant dispersal, and the post-glacial history of the Georgian Bay basin.

Mills plans to use the bursary funds to produce a print run of the book to be sold in bookstores, at events, and through his business Boghaunter Studio. One of the intended outcomes of the book is to foster an appreciation for the Georgian Bay landscape and inspire its stewardship.

You can see Peter Mills’ work at boghaunterstudio.ca and on Instagram @peterbmillsart.