Prince Edward County naturalist Terry Sprague has written nature columns for area newspapers for more than 50 years. He has held positions at Glenora Fisheries Research and as an interpretive naturalist at both Sandbanks Provincial Park (8 yrs.) and Quinte Conservation (17 yrs.).   He is recipient of the 2002 Pioneer Conservationist Award from Conservation Ontario, the 2004 Richards Education Award from Ontario Nature, and the 2015 Gold Quill Award from the Canadian Community Newspapers Association. 

Terry has written 6 books about important parts of his life – The include these popular titles:   

1. “Up Before Five – the Family Farm” is a 200-page look at growing up in era when every small farm on Big Island had a small herd of dairy cows, a few chickens and small fields.
2. “Growing UP Big Island “-Relates his memories of growing up on “the Island” in the 1950s.  Contained are stories of the one room school he attended on the north side of Big Island, the friends he had, milking temperamental cows, ice travel in the winter, operating farm machinery while still in his pre-teen years, growing tomatoes, and the memory of a tragic plane crash in 1955 on a neighbouring farm that still affects him today some 65 years later. Also included is a section written by his late wife on her memories of growing up in Coe Hill.
3. “Naked In The Sand”- The book culls stories from Terry’s work over the years at his own Nature Stuff Tours, Quinte Conservation, the Prince Edward Region Conservation Authority and of course Sandbanks Provincial Park. 
4. The latest, 2024 —  “The Two of Us” In his beautifully-rendered and delightfully-descriptive account of day-to-day life with Christie, he shares the stories of his devoted little dog and what the pair may, or may not have, got up to during their time together. Sprague is clear about one thing, “she will never be forgotten”.