Reporter wins earth sciences award

Reporter Randy Boswell has won the 2010 Yves Fortier Earth Sciences
Journalism Award, given by the Geological Association of Canada, for his
story about a century-old scientific discovery.

The annual award, which comes with $1,000 prize money, is given to a writer who has been “exceptionally effective” in promoting a broader understanding of earth sciences in Canada.

Boswell’s winning piece was about Elkanah Billings, Orangeville.com reports. Billings is “a near-forgotten Ottawa-based scholar who documented a mysterious fossil found in a sandstone outcrop in Newfoundland in 1872.” The story was published last December in the Ottawa Citizen, as well as in other Canwest newspapers.

Orangeville.com reports:

“Billings work went largely unnoticed until a team of Canadian scientists drew fresh attention to the paleontological discovery in 2009, prompting Boswell to report on their findings.

“From the birthplace of Canada’s national pastime to pieces of Canadiana ending up on the auction block, Boswell, who also teaches journalism at Carleton University, has spent his career finding new takes on old tales.”