Research lead, Southern BC Cougar Project (Jan 2020-Present)
Presently I am leading the Southern BC Cougar Project based at UBC Okanagan in Kelowna. In this role, I coordinate all field operations, hire field staff, and provide all training to staff and volunteers to collect data on cougar diet in three study areas (www.bccougarproject.weebly.com). I further manage our website and lead all media and public outreach initiatives to engage academic and public audiences to better understand cougar ecology and co-existing with cougars in the province.
Research Asst. fRI Caribou Program (Nov 2018-June 2019)
Passerine bander RPBO (Jul-Oct 2018, 2019, 2022)
I worked as a senior bander for Rocky Point Bird Observatory in Metchosin, BC for fall migration monitoring. I operated two banding stations, Rocky Point and Pedder Bay, to trap and band migrant passerines, raptors, and hummingbirds.
Check out our weekly blog here to get updates on fall migration monitoring Nightjar species at-risk technician (May-Jul 2018)
During the spring of 2018 I collected data with the Norris lab at the University of Guelph, ON to assess the influence of road disturbance and predation risk on provincially and federally listed Eastern Whip-poor-will and Common Nighthawk habitat selection and breeding success in the Torrance Barrens Conservation Lands.
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Black-tailed deer Capture & Collaring (Mar-Apr 2018)
The Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society in Victoria, BC received funding to capture and collar 20 adult black-tailed does in 2018 to monitor their movement patterns around the Oak Bay neighbourhood to provide scientific advisory for effective, non-lethal management to the BC government. A total of 22 does and 5 bucks were captured and collared/tagged and 4 were recaptured using VHF telemetry receivers.
Boreal large mammal camera trapping (Oct 2017)
Intensive development in Alberta's boreal north has altered predator-prey interactions through the clearing and linearization of the landscape. In 2017 we deployed 60 Reconyx camera traps to detect large mammals.
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Bird banding assistant (Aug 2016,17 & Oct 2017)
During migration, some birds lose their way. Vagrants are rare birds that are found outside of their normal range and little is known regarding how they re-orient themselves. I spent two months trapping and banding passerines on Bon Portage & Seal Island in NS with Acadia University in 2016 and 2017 as part of a vagrant study.
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Aerial insectivore technician (Jun-Aug 2016)
In 2016 I worked for Bird Studies Canada as their aerial insectivore field technician where I monitored private properties for swallow and swift nests, measured habitat variables and completed point count surveys across New Brunswick and PEI. Part of the data collection involved cold calling along random route survey points to speak to home owners about their attitudes towards nesting birds on their properties.
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Species-at-risk technician (May 2016)
In 2016 I spent one month volunteering with the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute in NS where I assisted with herring gull and eider nest monitoring on Brier Island, common loon monitoring in Kejimkujik National Park, chimney swift roost counts at known sites, taking and analyzing old growth tree cores, conducting creel census, and tracking and tagging endangered Blanding's turtle and Eastern ribbonsnakes in Caledonia, NS.
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Conservation Volunteers Intern (Apr-Oct 2014)
In 2014 I worked with the Nature Conservancy of Canada in New Brunswick as their Volunteer Coordinator. In this role I organized bilingual conservation volunteer events such as beach clean-ups, trailblazers, acorn-planting, bird blitzes and identification workshops.
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