The works of Thomas Hugh “Tom” Neily, Nova Scotia Field Naturalist Extraordinaire

Thomas H. "Tom" Neily was one of Nova Scotia's premiere field botanists and naturalists.His contributions to documenting the vascular plants, lichens and bryophytes of the province were on par with some of the province's best-known botanists of the last century, like A.E. Roland, E.C. Smith, and J. Erskine.Tom passed away on March 14, 2026, at the age of 68.This article summarizes his professional life and work from the perspective of those who were fortunate enough to have worked closely with him.Born in Spa Springs, in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley in December 1957, Tom's rural childhood produced a strong interest in natural history.After high school, he attended the Agricultural College in Truro for two years, then went on to McGill University in Montreal.After receiving his degree in Plant Science (BSc, 1980), he worked as a landscaper for a few years and then as a baker, with a special talent for cheesecake (Chris Pepper, pers.comm., May 28, 2026), before returning to Nova Scotia.In the 1990s Tom continued working as a baker while living in the Centre Burlington area of Nova Scotia.It was during this time he connected with Marian Munro, who worked at the herbarium of the Nova Scotia Provincial Museum (NSPM), through mutual friends.Tom was soon doing contract work and volunteering with the NSPM herbarium.When Marian became the Curator of Botany at the NSPM she passed her botanical consulting clients over to Tom, helping him to launch his career as a contract field botanist (M.Munro, pers.comm., March 18, 2026).One of the first consulting projects Tom participated in was an environmental assessment for the proposed White Rock Mine in Yarmouth