Justin Peter
Justin truly lives "for the birds". In fact, he cannot remember a time when he was not interested in birds and nature more generally. He spent much of his childhood consulting his considerable nature book collection. At age 14, a family friend invited Justin to attend the birding course he was teaching for adults as part of the local school board's continuing education program. Justin soon assumed the role of unofficial assistant in the classroom as well as co-leader and, later, leader of the field excursions.
After university studies that saw his interest in nature fall to the wayside, he re-directed his interests to the outdoors, landing work as a seasonal, and then full-time interpretive naturalist at Gatineau Park, a federally-managed park in Quebec near Ottawa. Three years later, he began full-time work as Senior Park Naturalist at Algonquin Park, where he worked for almost 7 years, organizing the park's educational programming based at the Visitor Centre, recruiting and mentoring promising young interpretive naturalists, and assisting with various park management activities.
Justin began work with Quest Nature Tours in 2013 as Director of Programs, where he continues to showcase what the world has to offer. On the side, Justin is involved in various bird-related projects and organizations. Most recently, he was named to the Board of Directors of Birds Canada, which is Canada’s premiere bird science and conservation organization. His very favourite thing will always be leading bird walks. He is particularly interested in bird behaviour and vocalizations, and so he enjoys raising others' awareness of these aspects in the field.