Why did you choose UBC Forestry?
By accident really – I was more interested in finding a conservation program. I read through various options and the Forestry conservation program seemed to be the most diverse and interdisciplinary. Before I came to Forestry, I was more interested in saving the trees, rather than cutting them down. I later realized that the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive and that you can harvest trees responsibly and still maintain ecological and cultural values.
What are you doing now and how did you end up there?
Several factors led to where I am right now. The first was spending my 3rd and 4th years volunteering and working part-time and summers at the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre as a Park Naturalist. Then, after I graduated, I was looking for a job and spoke to Dr. Scott Hinch, who hired me as a Lab Field Technician. I worked for him in the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest (MKRF) on a stream restoration project, doing invertebrate identification, beach seining and even grinding salmon in a food processor! When his grant ran out, I was hired to work with Dr. John Richardson, mostly doing invertebrate identification and working at the MKRF. These were both great field work experiences.
When Dr. Richardson’s grant ended, I was trying to find work. Through word of mouth my now husband found out about a job at Metro Vancouver (Greater Vancouver Regional District then), which I applied to and was hired for. My previous field work provided a good foundation for my new role – working for the Water Services Department collecting water samples from watersheds, drinking water and beach samples. It was a fantastic job as I was able to visit our watersheds and all the beaches in the Metro Vancouver area.
I was curious what happened to the samples once I brought them back to the lab and I wanted to learn more, so after asking one of the lab technicians I was able to get some lab training. While I was in the middle of training, I moved to my current department which at the time was called the Nutrifor Program. My role involved using biosolids (treated sewage solids), which are considered a waste in some jurisdictions, and treating them as a resource by recycling the organic matter and nutrients back to the land. My previous field work, along with information from my CONS classes and my GIS class were very valuable again. Part of my role, then and now, involves using biosolids as a soil amender and fertilizer to enable revegetation of heavily disturbed sites like mines, where the alternative would be a non-renewable chemical fertilizer, which wouldn’t provide any of the organic matter that biosolids do.
I have stayed with this same group, first starting as an Environmental Technician 1, then moving to Environmental Technician 2, at which point I decided to go back and get my RPBio. I had contemplated it while I was at UBC, but I didn’t want to take the organic and inorganic chemistry classes that were required at the time. When I was re-contemplating it in 2010, I contacted Dr. Hinch who was very helpful. I found out the requirements had changed and I would only need one class, which I completed while I was pregnant with my second child. I currently have my Bio-In-Training title and my next goal is to get my RPBio – through my current role I have enough experience.
In 2012 I became a Biosolids Project Coordinator and I currently job-share and work part time hours, as I am also a mom. My current role involves using biosolids as a tool in restoration and reclamation to enhance and improve sites within and outside the Metro Vancouver area. I also work with regulators like the Ministry of Environment, First Nations, other government bodies and industry.
What is your fondest memory of your time at UBC?
Dr. Hinch stands out for me. He hired me on as a lab technician after I graduated and I kept in touch with him after leaving UBC. He has been a helpful resource. Dr. Richardson’s passion for water quality and bugs is another highlight. I really enjoyed working in his lab post-graduation and sorting through mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies.
I still think about Dr. Hamish Kimmins’s answer of “it depends,” and how absolutely correct he was. “It depends” applies to everything I do from an ecological context from helping my project partners achieve their restoration/reclamation goals to choosing the correct plant species for the project. Working with dynamic, ever changing ecological systems and trying to predict outcomes can be very tricky, especially with so many factors, like climate change, that are outside of our control. There is no one size fits all in the field I work in, it really does depend!
Overall, I am very grateful to the CONS program for teaching me so much – it gave me a solid skill set and I still reference my text books and class notes, 15 years later.