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Francis (Frank) J. A. Morris was a teacher, naturalist, and photographer. He taught at Trinity School, Port Hope, Ontario and Peterborough Collegiate Institute. He wrote “Our Wild Orchids – Trails and Portraits” (New York: Scribner and Sons, 1929) with Edward Eames.

Morris was born in 1869 in a parsonage near the town of Crieff, in Perthshire, Scotland. Living in the country, he developed a passion for nature early in life, and, with his brother, Charles, he investigated the various forms of flora and fauna in the countryside. Morris' father died when he was thirteen, and the family moved to a suburb of London. He studied classics and English literature at Dalwich College in London and continued to make excursions into the country to collect insects with his brother and a friend. Morris developed an interest in Darwin and the theory of evolution through his studies. He continued to study classics and English literature at Balliot College, Oxford. His encounters with Wordsworth's poetry added to his own emotional feelings towards nature.

In 1895, Morris moved to Canada and attended the School of Pedagogy in Toronto. He came under the influence of Dr. William Brodie who introduced him to Canadian natural history. In 1896, Morris joined the staff of Smith's Falls High School. There, the science teacher taught Morris some basic scientific botany and the use of identification keys. In 1899, he returned to Toronto to carry on more pedagogic study. By 1900, he had become the Classics Master at Trinity College School in Port Hope. He spent thirteen years there, during which time he married Miss Elma Walker. In 1911, he attended the University of Toronto to take a Master of Arts Degree and a Specialists Certificate in classics. In 1913, he was appointed to the staff of the Peterborough Collegiate Institute, where he first taught classics and later became head of the English Department. He remained in this position until ill health forced him to retire in 1936.

Morris was a founding member of the Peterborough Field Naturalists (Peterborough Nature Club) from c. 1939. The club named their periodic newsletter “The Orchid” in 1956 in his honour. An article titled "Honouring Frank Morris: A Legacy of Nature and Literature" was published in The Orchid in 2025 (vol. 71, no. 1). Morris died 31 December 1949.

Edward A. Eames was a photographer from Buffalo, NY. He worked with Frank Morris on Our Wild Orchids (1929).

The Peterborough Field Naturalists (PFN) was founded in 1940 as the Peterborough Nature Club. The club was incorporated in 1971 and became known as the Peterborough Field Naturalists. PFN had 32 adult members and 4 junior members at its founding.

The group’s mission statement is “Know Appreciate Conserve Nature in All its Forms.” Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, PFN hosted up 50 outings each year for members and the public. PFN has contributed to the publication of several books on the natural history and ecology of the region. PFN actively addresses issues concerning the environment and regularly contributes to environmental studies, makes presentations to city council, and provides financial support to acquire and preserve natural areas.

PFN publishes a periodical newsletter called The Orchid, which has over 50 contributors per year and documents natural history, trip reports, upcoming events, and photographs. The newsletter was named in 1956 in honour of Frank Morris, a past president who had been with the club since its founding.

Gordon S. Berry was a photographer and teacher in Peterborough, ON. He was born in Surrey County, England in 1930. In 1976, Berry mounted a collection of photographs taken by Edward A. Eames, Frank Morris, and Charles Macnamara between ca. 1915 and 1928 in a scrapbook for the Peterborough Field Naturalists.

Charles Mcnamara was a photographer, entomologist, and historian born in Quebec City. He relocated to Arnprior, Ontario in 1936. He contributed photography to Frank Morris' and Edward A. Eames' book, "Our Wild Orchids -- Trails and Portraits" (1929).

Hugh Atwood, a retired doctor, is understood to be a descendant of Catharine Parr Traill.

The Millbrook and Cavan Historical Society was established November 24, 1978. The reason for forming the Historical Society was to try and save the old mill for which Millbrook was named after. The society helped mark the 100th birthday of Millbrook village with a historical display at the Masonic Lodge. They produced a four-page tabloid entitled "Millbrook Messenger" after an early newspaper. The tabloid contained articles of historical interest with photographs of the railway station, the Deyell monument, the fire of 1960 and three of the several mills in the Village. The Society helped organize Historical House tours in the township. In 1985 the Millbrook and Cavan Historical Society received a Heritage Award. In 1990 the Society produced and published "This Green and Pleasant Land: Chronicles of Cavan Township". Not only does the Historical Society provide a source of fundraising for historical projects it also acquires, preserves and makes available for research historical items and artifacts from quilts to furniture and from wills, deeds, debentures to marriage and birth certificates, photographs, diaries and other records. (Taken from: This Green and Pleasant Land: Chronicles of Cavan Township. The Millbrook and Cavan Historical Society, 1990.)

Thomas Alexander Stewart Hay was born in Peterborough on August 14, 1849, the son of Thomas Hay of Seggieden, Scotland, and Anna Maria Stewart. Anna Maria was the daughter of Thomas A. and Frances Stewart, pioneer settlers in Douro Township. Hay married Elise Roux, of Montreal, June 27, 1881. Hay was a civil engineer by profession. He learned a great deal from his uncle, George Stewart, who was also an engineer. Hay was a charter member of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers. He was a Mason and he accomplished much in his career, working for the Midland Railway, the Trent Canal (where he assisted in the design of the Peterborough lift lock) and the City of Peterborough, as a City Engineer. In this capacity, he designed the Smith Street (now Parkhill Road) bridge at Inverlea, and aided in parkland development in the city. Hay was the first President of the Peterborough Historical Society, the active curator of its museum, and the author of "A Short History of Peterborough," an appendix in E.S. Dunlop's edited version of Frances Stewarts' letter "Our Forest Home." Hay died on March 28, 1917, leaving his wife and two daughters Frances Isabel and Helen.

Trent University was the first post-secondary Canadian institution, and second in North America, to establish a department for the study of Indigenous peoples and knowledges. The Department was established in 1972, although an earlier effort, the “Indian and Eskimo Studies Program,” had been underway since 1969. Trent created the first BA degree in Native Studies in 1972 and added a BA honours program in 1978. A diploma program in Native Management and Economic Development was created in 1980. Graduate studies began in 1985, with a masters program in Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies through the Frost Centre in Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies. In 1999, the first Indigenous Studies PhD program began. The Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies was launched 2017.

The Trent University Native Association was established in 1969 and Doug Williams was the first President.

Camp Tanamakoon was established by Mary G. Hamilton, principal of Margaret Eaton School in Toronto, in 1925 and is located on Tanamakoon Lake in Algonquin Park. A summer camp for girls, Camp Tanamakoon offers an environmental education; activities include tripping, mountain biking, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, wood crafting, and various other activities. Owners of the Camp since its inception include: founder Mary G. Hamilton, 1925-1953; Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Raymer, 1953-1974; Hugh and Carolea Butters, 1974-1984; and Kim and Marilyn Smith, 1984 to the present.

A video on the history of Camp Tanamakoon, titled " A Century of Magic -Tanamakoon Celebrates 100 years" is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRkC7hCdJpI&ab_channel=CampTanamakoon

Ella E. Stinson (nee Robson) was the daughter of Lindsay lawyer William Robson. She married T.H. Stinson on July 14, 1910.

Margaret Doxey (nee Roberts) was a professor in the Department of Political Studies at Trent University from 1967-1991 (Chair 1974-1982). Dr. Doxey earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of London and a Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Laws at University College London. Dr. Doxey’s main research area was economic sanctions, and she published prolifically in the fields of economics and law.

Dr. Doxey lectured at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa prior to her PhD and went on to teach at Wellesley College in the United States and the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom, in addition to Trent.

Dr. Doxey also wrote poetry and fiction in both her professional and private lives. Animals were a recurring theme.

Camp MI-A-KON-DA is an overnight summer camp for girls, located on Birch Island in Lake Wah Wash Kesh, near Parry Sound and Muskoka, Ontario. The program offers land and water sports in addition to arts, drama, and canoe tripping. MI-A-KON-DA is an accredited member of the Ontario Camps Association.

The camp was founded in 1955 by Mary and Jock Liddell. In 1973, William Auld became the owner of the camp, and the Directorship was transferred to Nancy Lou Farrell and Patricia Dobec. Between 1979 and 1998, the camp was owned and operated by Catherine and George Ross. Camp MI-A-KON-DA has been under the ownership of Pam Lamont and David Smith since 1998.

Anne Burke (nee Ricard) was a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of English at the University of University between 1975 and 1978. She had previous degrees from Queen's University (B.Ed., 1974), York University (M.A., 1973), and Concordia University, Loyola College (B.A. magna cum laude, 1972).

Burke's doctoral research was on A.J.M. Smith. Her proposed dissertation was "A Literary Biography of Canadian Poet Arthur James Marshall Smith," for which she corresponded extensively with his professional and personal networks.

Dale Standen has played various key roles at both Trent University and the Canadian Canoe Museum. Standen is Professor Emeritus of History at Trent University and has served terms as chair of the Department of History, liaison with Trent’s Frost Centre, and the Principal of Lady Eaton College. Standen’s research pertains to early colonial history of Canada with a focus on French-Indigenous relations and how museums interpret history. Standen has also held various positions at the Canadian Canoe Museum, including Director on the Board of the Canadian Canoe Museum (ended spring 2004), as a Councilor of the Champlain Society, as President of the French Colonial Historical Society, and as Director of the Board of the Peterborough Historical Society (2018-2019). Standen also assisted in the re-structuring of the Canadian Canoe Museum when they temporarily closed for financial reasons in 2003-2004.

Catherine Ross was the owner and Director of Camp MI-A-KON-DA between 1979 and 1998.

For Our Grandchildren is a group of grandparents who organize "To Inform, Motivate, and Mobilize" about climate change. The group was founded in Toronto in 2006, by Anthony Ketchum, Mary Ketchum, Peter Jones, Marg Anne Jones, and Walter Pitman and incorporated as a non profit Canadian Corporation in 2010. The group organized public meetings in Toronto, Guelph, and Peterborough. The Peterborough Chapter was formed in 2013, sSoon after the first public meeting was held in Peterborough. The 4RG head office moved to Peterborough in 2018. 4RG runs a website and newsletter, holds public events, writes letters to the editor, and lobbies public officials.

Joan Murray (nee Charlat) was born in New York City in 1943. She is an art historian, writer, and curator, known for her work on Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven. Murray earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto in 1965 and a Master of Arts from Columbia in 1966.

Murray held positions at the Art Gallery of Ontario (1968-1973), the Robert McLaughlin Gallery (1974-1999), and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection (2005-2006). She was the first curator of Canadian art at the Art Galley of Ontario. Murray served as art editor for The Canadian Forum, a literary and art magazine, from 1970-1974. Murry continued her curatorial work following her retirement.

Murray is a member of the Royal Society of Canada (1992) and received the Order of Ontario in 2003.