Lancelot William McCaskill (8 May 1900 – 9 August 1985) was a New Zealand agricultural instructor, lecturer, conservationist and writer. Born in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, South Canterbury, New Zealand, he became aware of soil erosion problems in 1929 through his work towards his master's thesis ''Fertilizers in New Zealand, 1867–1929''. He argued in favour of land management and conservation over downstream engineering solutions. His long career of public advocacy for soil conservation made him a pioneer of

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

, as it is understood today. In the

1969 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1969 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lond ...

, McCaskill was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to agriculture and soil conservation. He was awarded an honorary

DSc DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

by the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

in 1978. McCaskill died in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

on 9 August 1985.

References

1900 births 1985 deaths New Zealand educators New Zealand writers New Zealand conservationists Academic staff of Lincoln University (New Zealand) New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Lincoln University (New Zealand) alumni {{NewZealand-writer-stub