Dr. Beaven began his life-long career in conservation in 1922 with “Forest and Outdoors”, a Canadian Forestry Association magazine. In 1925, he came to western Canada, to conduct a tree planting campaign sponsored by the Canadian Forestry Association. An important feature of the campaign was a “true planting” railway car which was taken to communities across western Canada. For 20 years Dr. Beaven travelled with this car, teaching conservation classes and demonstrating tree planting methods to school children and their parents. The main trust of the program was to encourage the planting of trees for farmstead and field shelter belts and the protection and preservation of wooded areas in those parts of western Canada unsuited for agriculture.
In 1945, Dr. Beaven accepted the responsibility of manager of the Prairie Division of the Canadian Forestry Association and very effectively used his office to continue conservation efforts. When the provincial associations became autonomous in 1971, Dr. Beaven became Executive Director and Vice President of the Manitoba Association. In Manitoba, Dr. Beaven was successful in establishing what is now the Sandilands Forest Centre near Hadashville, a conservation training area with lecture facilities, a small museum and nature trails, enjoyed by thousands of students each year. He also participated in the planning and opening of the Interlake Forest Centre near Fisher Branch in 1984.
For his outstanding contributions to making our world a better place in which to live, this great Canadian has been recognized by many organizations including the National Association of State Foresters and the Forest Service USDA, the University of Manitoba, the Manitoba Zoological Society, the Soil Conservation Society of America and the Canadian Institute of Forestry.