The OCTWS will offer a number of awards annually
2024 awards
Student Travel Award - The Wildlife Society Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland Oct 19-23 2024
The OCTWS is offering one, $500 travel award to offset the cost of travel to The Wildlife Society's 2024 annual conference in Baltimore Maryland, which will be held from October 19-23, 2024. To be eligible, you must:
1. Currently be an OCTWS member in good standing (membership dues paid), 2. Currently be registered as a student at an Ontario college or University, or within 6 months of graduation, 3. Be selected to present a ‘Contributed Oral Presentation’, a ‘Contributed Poster’, or a ‘Student Research in Progress Poster’ at the conference, and, 4. Agree to provide a photo and brief summary of the conference for the OCTWS newsletter. Please note that abstracts for the TWS conference are due Friday, May 3rd.
We will finalize the OCTWS travel award deadline and notify the successful applicant after TWS announces accepted abstracts, but we wanted to officially announce this award prior to the TWS conference abstract deadline.
To become a new OCTWS member, or to renew an expired membership, all you need to do is complete the Membership Application/Renewal Form and pay the $5.00 student membership fee.
The selected recipient will be reimbursed the amount of the award following the conference. However, alternate arrangements can be made if needed, if the selected recipient requires access to the funds prior to the conference (e.g., for purchasing flight tickets or registration).
Deadline to apply: To be decided
The OCTWS is offering one, $500 travel award to offset the cost of travel to The Wildlife Society's 2024 annual conference in Baltimore Maryland, which will be held from October 19-23, 2024. To be eligible, you must:
1. Currently be an OCTWS member in good standing (membership dues paid), 2. Currently be registered as a student at an Ontario college or University, or within 6 months of graduation, 3. Be selected to present a ‘Contributed Oral Presentation’, a ‘Contributed Poster’, or a ‘Student Research in Progress Poster’ at the conference, and, 4. Agree to provide a photo and brief summary of the conference for the OCTWS newsletter. Please note that abstracts for the TWS conference are due Friday, May 3rd.
We will finalize the OCTWS travel award deadline and notify the successful applicant after TWS announces accepted abstracts, but we wanted to officially announce this award prior to the TWS conference abstract deadline.
To become a new OCTWS member, or to renew an expired membership, all you need to do is complete the Membership Application/Renewal Form and pay the $5.00 student membership fee.
The selected recipient will be reimbursed the amount of the award following the conference. However, alternate arrangements can be made if needed, if the selected recipient requires access to the funds prior to the conference (e.g., for purchasing flight tickets or registration).
Deadline to apply: To be decided
Student Travel award - General
In 2024, the OCTWS is offering one travel award (amount TBD) to offset the cost of travel to an ecology - related conference of the selected recipients choice. You can either be planning to submit an abstract to present at this conference, or submit proof of your abstract submission to a conference you have already been accepted to present at.
To be eligible, you must:
1. currently be an OCTWS member in good standing (membership dues paid),
2. currently be registered as a student at an Ontario college or University,
3. be presenting a ‘Contributed Oral Presentation’, a ‘Contributed Poster’, or a ‘Student Research in Progress Poster’, and,
4. agree to provide a photo and brief summary of the conference for the OCTWS newsletter.
Some example conferences include (but are not limited to!):
CSEE, Vancouver, May 26-29th (abstracts closed)
ESA, Long Beach California, Aug 4-9th (abstracts closed)
TWS, Baltimore, Maryland, Oct 19-23rd (abstracts close May 3rd)
AFS-SCO-WOS joint meeting, Peoria, Illinois, July 29-Aug 1st (abstracts closed)
American Fisheries Society, Honolulu, Sept 15-19th (Abstract deadline May 3rd)
The selected recipient will be reimbursed the amount of the award following the conference. Alternate arrangements can be made if the selected recipient requires access to the funds prior to the conference (e.g., for purchasing flight tickets or registration).
In 2024, the OCTWS is offering one travel award (amount TBD) to offset the cost of travel to an ecology - related conference of the selected recipients choice. You can either be planning to submit an abstract to present at this conference, or submit proof of your abstract submission to a conference you have already been accepted to present at.
To be eligible, you must:
1. currently be an OCTWS member in good standing (membership dues paid),
2. currently be registered as a student at an Ontario college or University,
3. be presenting a ‘Contributed Oral Presentation’, a ‘Contributed Poster’, or a ‘Student Research in Progress Poster’, and,
4. agree to provide a photo and brief summary of the conference for the OCTWS newsletter.
Some example conferences include (but are not limited to!):
CSEE, Vancouver, May 26-29th (abstracts closed)
ESA, Long Beach California, Aug 4-9th (abstracts closed)
TWS, Baltimore, Maryland, Oct 19-23rd (abstracts close May 3rd)
AFS-SCO-WOS joint meeting, Peoria, Illinois, July 29-Aug 1st (abstracts closed)
American Fisheries Society, Honolulu, Sept 15-19th (Abstract deadline May 3rd)
The selected recipient will be reimbursed the amount of the award following the conference. Alternate arrangements can be made if the selected recipient requires access to the funds prior to the conference (e.g., for purchasing flight tickets or registration).
Certification awards
The OCTWS is offering four awards to cover the application fee to apply for TWS professional accreditation. Certification constitutes recognition by TWS that, to its best knowledge, a member meets the minimum educational, experience, and ethical standards adopted by the Society for professional wildlife biologists. Applications will be reviewed by a team of OCTWS directors, including Don Barnes, who is the Canadian expert in TWS certification.
Read more about TWS certification here: https://wildlife.org/certification-programs/ wildlife.org/certification-programs/
Download the TWS certification policies & instruction manual
Watch a webinar on TWS certification
Find out more about why you should become certified here: http://www.octws.ca/certification.html
To be eligible, you must:
1. currently be an OCTWS member in good standing (membership dues paid),
2. meet the minimum requirements for Associate Wildlife Biologist® (AWB®) certification,
3. Agree to make suggested changes to your application before submitting to TWS,
4. Agree to apply for certification within one month of being selected to receive the award.
Please note that although applications will be reviewed by OCTWS to ensure they meet the minimum requirements, TWS may require additional changes before accepting the application. Receiving the accreditation is under the authority of TWS and not OCTWS. You must be a member in good standing (dues paid) with TWS to apply for certification. If you are not a member of TWS at the time you apply this award, you must become a TWS member before you can apply for certification.
More information coming soon!
Associate Wildlife Biologist® Description
An individual who has completed rigorous academic standards and is judged able to represent the profession as an ethical practitioner will be designated as an Associate Wildlife Biologist®. The AWB® certification is granted for 10 years and cannot be renewed. An AWB® certified individual can upgrade to Certified Wildlife Biologist® during the 10 year time period once the necessary experience requirements are obtained. Don Barnes is the chair of the Canadian Sections Certification Committee, and it is highly likely that with input from Don, applications will need little to no changes before being accepted by TWS.
Download the AWB® application
The OCTWS is offering four awards to cover the application fee to apply for TWS professional accreditation. Certification constitutes recognition by TWS that, to its best knowledge, a member meets the minimum educational, experience, and ethical standards adopted by the Society for professional wildlife biologists. Applications will be reviewed by a team of OCTWS directors, including Don Barnes, who is the Canadian expert in TWS certification.
Read more about TWS certification here: https://wildlife.org/certification-programs/ wildlife.org/certification-programs/
Download the TWS certification policies & instruction manual
Watch a webinar on TWS certification
Find out more about why you should become certified here: http://www.octws.ca/certification.html
To be eligible, you must:
1. currently be an OCTWS member in good standing (membership dues paid),
2. meet the minimum requirements for Associate Wildlife Biologist® (AWB®) certification,
3. Agree to make suggested changes to your application before submitting to TWS,
4. Agree to apply for certification within one month of being selected to receive the award.
Please note that although applications will be reviewed by OCTWS to ensure they meet the minimum requirements, TWS may require additional changes before accepting the application. Receiving the accreditation is under the authority of TWS and not OCTWS. You must be a member in good standing (dues paid) with TWS to apply for certification. If you are not a member of TWS at the time you apply this award, you must become a TWS member before you can apply for certification.
More information coming soon!
Associate Wildlife Biologist® Description
An individual who has completed rigorous academic standards and is judged able to represent the profession as an ethical practitioner will be designated as an Associate Wildlife Biologist®. The AWB® certification is granted for 10 years and cannot be renewed. An AWB® certified individual can upgrade to Certified Wildlife Biologist® during the 10 year time period once the necessary experience requirements are obtained. Don Barnes is the chair of the Canadian Sections Certification Committee, and it is highly likely that with input from Don, applications will need little to no changes before being accepted by TWS.
Download the AWB® application