Tony and Liz Fricke at Mistaya Mountain, Banff AB (Photo courtesy of the Frickes)
Tony and Liz Fricke
A fondness for Canada
Liz and Tony Fricke have always been fond of nature. Their deep connection to its beauty has inspired them to support the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), an organization they say dovetails beautifully with the natural world that they love.
Liz was raised on a sugar cane research station north of Durban, Africa. There her father worked as an entomologist; a true nature lover. He introduced his children to the majesty of the outdoors, a passion that has carried on throughout Liz’s life. Tony was born in Johannesburg but was raised in a small town near Cape Town. His parents were German immigrants who fled Nazi Germany.
Both Liz and Tony obtained degrees, Liz with a math and geography degree from the University of Natal and Tony with a degree in chemical engineering and soccer from the University of Cape Town.
However, if it wasn’t for their love of the outdoors and their love of hiking, they might not be where they are today. The two met in 1966 in the Drakensberg Mountains of Natal during a mountaineering camp. Since their initial meeting, their work has taken them from London, all over Europe, to Yugoslavia, Romania, Japan and finally to Canada.
“It was wonderful living amongst and meeting local people, exploring all of these different places and experiencing different cultures,” says Tony whose career in design and licensing in the oil refining business was responsible for taking them all over the world.
The Frickes moved from Japan to Canada in 1971, where Tony helped to commission the new Gulf Oil refinery in Edmonton and was soon after offered a job in Fort McMurray. “It was easy to become immigrants here,” he recalls. “That was an emotional time; realizing that we had found a home in a democracy.”
Liz remembers the integration vividly. “The friendliness of the people, the vibrant communities, the opportunities for us to raise our family in a just society and the wonderful landscape with all of its variety...We simply loved the Prairies, the mountains, the rivers and the sea, and the population density didn’t hurt either,” she says of the Canada landscape.
Upon their integration into Canada, they spent much time hiking, kayaking and cross-country skiing, simply growing their love for Canadian wilderness; a passion they have passed on to their children and now grandchildren.
“Over the years, we have watched development expand into the prairie landscape around Calgary and threaten all of Alberta’s wild lands and we feel it is of the utmost importance to save some of our natural spaces and our rich diversity of plant and animal species,” says Tony. “We want future generations of Canadians, including our children and grandchildren, to know and love the natural landscape.”
As supporters of NCC since 1990, the Frickes emphasize their confidence in the organization. NCC conserves land, focusing on ecologically significant places; an act that the Frickes celebrate. “We like the way the Nature Conservancy of Canada works quietly and non-divisibly with all stakeholders,” says Tony. “NCC is an efficient charity, so the money is well spent.”
This worldly and down-to-earth couple has been a key player in the success of NCC Alberta Region. It is with the support of visionaries like these that allow NCC to conserve and steward the landscape that we all cherish.
“We have grown to love this adopted land of ours,” concludes Tony. “Canada is home and Canada has treated us very well, now it’s time to give back what we can.”
