# Reg Balch

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**Reginald Ernest Balch** (29 December 1894 – 1994) was a [Canadian](/source/Canadians) [photographer](/source/Photography) and [scientist](/source/Scientist).

## Biography

He was born in [Sevenoaks](/source/Sevenoaks), [England](/source/England), the son of the Rev. Alfred Ernest Balch and Sarah Hawkes. He was educated at [Bedford School](/source/Bedford_School) and [Kingswood School](/source/Kingswood_School). Balch received a university scholarship but waived it to be a farmer. In 1913 he left home in England to become a cowboy in Canada.[citation needed]

He arrived in [Canada](/source/Canada) in 1913, departing from [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool) and disembarking ten days later at [Saint John](/source/Saint_John,_New_Brunswick). He took a train to [Ontario](/source/Ontario) but found little work there. In 1914, he was hired by the [Ontario Reformatory](/source/Reformatory#Reformatories_in_Ontario,_Canada) and later, with the outbreak of [World War I](/source/World_War_I), enlisted, serving three years in [France](/source/France) with the Canadian [Field Artillery](/source/Field_Artillery).[citation needed]

After World War I, his interest in forest biology led him to enroll in the [Ontario Agricultural College](/source/Ontario_Agricultural_College). He graduated in 1923 with a [BSA](/source/Bachelor_of_Science_in_Agriculture) degree. Afterwards, he took a summer job as a [fire ranger](/source/Park_ranger) and assisted an American forest entomologist. This led to his receiving an MS degree at [Syracuse University](/source/Syracuse_University)'s [New York State College of Forestry](/source/State_University_of_New_York_College_of_Environmental_Science_and_Forestry) in 1928.[citation needed]

In 1930 he was appointed Officer-in-Charge of the [Dominion Entomological Laboratory](/source/Dominion_Entomological_Laboratory), a [federal government](/source/Government_of_Canada) facility on the [University of New Brunswick](/source/University_of_New_Brunswick) campus in [Fredericton](/source/Fredericton,_New_Brunswick), [New Brunswick](/source/New_Brunswick). He settled in Fredericton with his wife, Martha.

His five half-hour radio lectures for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's *[University of the Air](/source/University_of_the_Air_(TV_series))* series in the spring of 1965 were essential in introducing the word "[ecology](/source/Ecology)" to the public. He later served as the honorary president for the [Conservation Council of New Brunswick](/source/Conservation_Council_of_New_Brunswick), one of the first modern Canadian [environmental groups](/source/Environmental_groups) (established in 1969).

He travelled and photographed in Europe, especially Ireland. His photos illustrated a book of [Alden Nowlan](/source/Alden_Nowlan)'s poems, *Early Poems*.

## 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](https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.03.010158.002313) [\[1\]](http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.en.03.010158.002313?cookieSet=1)
- *The spruce budworm in New Brunswick* - R. E. Balch, (Ottawa : Science Service, Forest Biology Division, Canada Department of Agriculture, 1958) Publication (Canada. Dept. of Agriculture); 1035
- *Dieback of Birch in Canada* - R. E. Balch, unpublished typescript, British Columbia Ministry of Forests Library, call number 634.90971 U-319
- *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](/source/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

## Sources

- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060514234152/http://www.lib.unb.ca/archives/balch.html](https://web.archive.org/web/20060514234152/http://www.lib.unb.ca/archives/balch.html)
- *Introduction to A Mind's Eye* by Astrid Brunner

## External links

- [R. E. Balch fonds at University of New Brunswick](http://lib.unb.ca/archives/finding/balch.html)

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