Ann Cleary’s name has long been familiar to COG members because of Gleanings, her regular column in COGNITION. But what many don’t know is that this tireless volunteer has been working hard for COG on many fronts since she joined the organization in 1981.

Born in Uganda in 1913 and later educated in boarding schools in England, Ann spent most of her school holidays with her grandmother. That remarkable woman, who raised 20 children and lived to be 90, was a botanist, a gardener and a painter as well as a back-to-the-lander long before it was fashionable. Well-educated, she had an enormous library to which Ann had full access as a young girl.

"I read to my grandmother regularly as her sight began to fail – poetry at first and later editorials and biographies. I suspect now it was her way of educating me – and I certainly learned a lot." Although Ann was glad when radio came along and relieved her of the chore, reading has remained her passion and much of her time is spent in reading the sixty-five or so periodicals to which she and her husband Charlie subscribe. He is also a reading addict, with an eagle eye for sustainable agriculture.

After World War II, Ann came to Eastern Ontario as a war bride. She and her husband had milk cows and later raised beef on traditional lines even at a time when chemicals were being touted as the answer to the world’s problems. Ann has been a crusader against chemicals since the age of 12 when she was poisoned by pesticide, probably arsenic, on loganberries.

In addition to helping Charlie with the farm and raising their two children, Ann was also active in community affairs. However, when her children were in high school she returned to the workplace. She was employed at the American Embassy where she earned a Meritorious Honor Award for setting up the United States Information Agency library in Ottawa. "The trouble with being a librarian or an information specialist is that you know a little about a lot," she reflects.

From 1967, Ann, Charlie and their son Joslyn gradually completed the passive solar home they designed, finishing some of the interior with wood from their bush. Ann and Charlie have been living comfortably there for some years. The windowsills in the house were deliberately placed low so that when the time comes, Ann can sit in a wheelchair and still see out.

In 1981, Ann joined COG, recently set up in Toronto. Not long after joining, she and several others founded the Ottawa chapter. With nearly 400 members from all over Eastern Ontario and parts of Quebec, it is the largest COG chapter. The initial meeting took place in Ann’s home.

COG has been a pivot in Ann’s life for the last 12 years. In COG Ottawa, she has held nearly every position on the executive, has given talks and served on committees, and for several years has been the contributing editor of the chapter’s bimonthly newsletter, Down to Earth. She was instrumental in developing COG’s Reference Series, and twice organized COG Ottawa’s popular Harvest Festival.

Ann has served COG National as well. She has represented the organization on the Canadian Environmental Network’s working caucuses on pesticides and genetic engineering, and she is presently chair of COG’s own genetic engineering committee. She regularly contributes most of the material found in the For Your Information section of COGNITION as well as feature articles on a variety of topics, and it is the rare issue that does not contain one of her incisive book reviews.

"I think I probably hold the record for arm-twisting relatives, friends and foes into joining COG – six last week!" she says.

In her garden, she has always grown enough vegetables to supply the family all winter. Her hobbies? "COG, COG and more COG, though I do a bit of freelance writing, write poetry and try to paint watercolors of landscapes or flowers." She also likes knitting and other handwork.

Ann Cleary is one of COG’s greatest assets, and there is no doubt that the organization would not be the success it is today without her valuable input over the years.