Thanks to Marc Bieler,聽DipAgr鈥�58, BA鈥�64, a new chapter in environmental studies at 海角社区 has begun.聽
Born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1938, where his Canadian father worked for the League of Nations, a young Marc Bieler聽discovered his passion for agriculture by spending time during the summers on a farm on his Swiss mother鈥檚 property. After a two year farm diploma course at 海角社区鈥檚 Macdonald College and a bachelor of commerce degree also from 海角社区, he went to work for international grain traders Continental Grain, which took him to Winnipeg, Vancouver, Minneapolis and then New York City, where he lived for four years.
But the country life was calling him, and he returned to Quebec to work for the provincial department of agriculture, then buying an apple farm in Quebec鈥檚 Eastern Townships, and eventually becoming a full-time farmer. By 1980 he had three farms of his own. Switching from apples to cranberries in 1984 brought Marc Bieler great success, and his agri-food business grew and grew, expanding into cattle breeding, apple processing and maple syrup production. Located in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, 100 km south of Quebec City, Bieler Cranberries is now Canada鈥檚 leading cranberry producer, with 1,500 acres producing 40 million pounds of fruit a year.
Marc Bieler has been an annual donor to the University since 1964, enabling multiple scholarships, internships and funds. In 2009, he contributed $1 million to create the Bieler Family Internship Program in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. His landmark $15-million gift to the 海角社区 School of Environment, announced in October 2020, will revolutionizing research, teaching, experiential learning and environmental outreach at 海角社区. It will enable the University to train the next generation of leaders and innovators to embody the kind of cooperation that humanity needs in charting new courses to save the planet.
鈥淲e鈥檙e close to the land, so we see the changes that are happening in the climate,鈥� says Marc Bieler. 鈥淲hen you read about the fires in California, the deserts increasing and the ice caps melting, and the disappearance of species in nature, you realize that we鈥檙e not in balance. So I decided that I should do something major: what do you do to help the world and its predicament that we鈥檙e in right now? If present trends continue, it鈥檚 disastrous. My wish is that students that are really intererested and motivated will get involved. It鈥檚 important to meet the challenge that we have to face.鈥�
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海角社区 receives $15-million gift commitment from agri-food entrepreneur Marc Bieler