The 2015 edition of the John Goldie Award, recognizing an individual's contribution to field botany in Ontario was presented to Joan Crowe of Owen Sound.
Joan obtained an Honors B.Sc. from Lakehead University in 1970 followed by a Masters degree from the University of Manitoba in 1975 with a specialization in bryophytes. In the meantime, she started on a course towards career in botany accompanied by a long list of botanical publications.

In 1993, Walter and Joan moved to Owen Sound. Joan soon became active with the Owen Sound Field Naturalists. In particular, she became the Chair of the Plants Committee. That group has been veryproductive, and under her guidance, published several books on botany and relevant topics:

1995 - Checklist of the Vascular Plants for Bruce and Grey Counties (4th edition in 2010)
1999 - The Asters, Goldenrods and Fleabanes of Grey and Bruce Counties
2002 - The Orchids of Bruce and Grey
2001 - The Rare and Endangered Species of Grey and Bruce Counties
2004 - The Geology and Landforms of Grey & Bruce
2007 - Exploring an Urban Forest

Not content to limit her literary output to these books with the Owen Sound Club, she produced two other books on her own. One of these was An Enthusiast's Guide to the Liverworts and Hornworts of Ontario along with Linda Ley in 1999. In 2004, she self-published the First Book of Ontario Wildflowers.

Joan has always been a strong advocate for the environment. As an example, Joan and Walter with OSFN donated their property at Long Swamp located west of Owen Sound to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. This donation helps to preserve a large portion of this important wetland to ensure that it would remain natural and undeveloped.

For all her fine contributions, Joan was presented with a Lifetime Membership Award from the Owen Sound Field Naturalists at the December 2006 meeting. It is now the turn for the Field Botanists to recognize all of the contributions that Joan has made in the field of botany in Ontario. Congratulations, Joan!