Research Assistant– University of British Columbia
I have been working on a variety of wood product testing and research projects during my co-op term, with a focus on evaluating the mechanical performance of lumber and glulam. My responsibilities have included preparing test specimens, conducting laboratory testing, analyzing experimental data, and interpreting results using industry standards such as CSA O122. Through this experience, I have developed stronger technical skills in data analysis and laboratory procedures while gaining a much deeper understanding of wood properties and structural performance. More importantly, I have learned that research often requires patience, attention to detail, and the willingness to learn from mistakes.
Co-op has allowed me to connect what I learned in the classroom with real engineering applications and has helped me become more confident in solving practical problems. I would encourage other students to join the co-op program because it provides valuable hands-on experience, helps build professional skills, and offers a clearer understanding of potential career paths.
The evolution of the forestry profession, and the increasing complexity of forest ecosystem management, is attracting a new generation of professionals from diverse backgrounds — including many mid-career learners — to programs like UBC Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship’s (FES’s) Master of Sustainable Forest Management (MSFM).
“This program is designed for students coming from various professional backgrounds,” says Anna Tobiasz (RPF, MSc (Forestry)’25), the Coordinator for the MSFM program as well as a Planning Forester at FES’s Malcolm Knapp Research Forest (MKRF).
“Our graduates are well-prepared to secure management roles to lead in this shift in forestry towards managing for sustainable and healthy ecosystems and communities.” — Anna Tobiasz
Anna’s prior experience in landscape-level planning and forest operations in BC includes explorations of complex forest ecosystem dynamics and management approaches. As part of the MSFM team, she joins UBC Forestry faculty members and industry experts to support student learning, preparing students with the knowledge and skills to lead innovative forest projects and steer the future direction of the profession in the province.
“Many MSFM students aspire to become Registered Professional Foresters (RPFs), which the accredited MSFM program prepares them to do following graduation; however, there is a huge range of practice areas that students can pursue,” Anna notes. “The program exposes them to the breadth of the highly dynamic modern forestry profession — from meeting with Indigenous land stewards tolearning about community forest operations, developing a landscape plan for community partners and lots of hands-on learning and field trips.”
Brooke Lerman came to the program following a degree in neuropsychology and about 10 years working in industry at an energy company, with another five years spent as a consultant and the lead of an innovation lab for forestry, energy and mining. Moving from Houston, Texas to study at UBC Forestry, Brooke was drawn to the opportunity to explore a new field under the guidance of world-class experts.
“When I was still working as a consultant, the more I talked with timber company foresters about their day-to-day work, the more I became excited about silviculture and harvesting operations,” recalls Brooke, who is also a long-distance hiker and nature enthusiast. “Following a little bit more research, I decided that I wanted to enroll in the MSFM program to become an accredited RPF.”
Brooke was also drawn to MSFM’s emphasis on traditional knowledge. “I’m an avid reader, and books by FES Prof.Suzanne Simard(BSF’83, RPF) and Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass inspired me to seek a program that would expose me to both leading science and traditional practices like Indigenous cultural burns.”
Many students view the MSFM as a gateway to pivoting and/or advancing in their careers. Joe Stewart was attracted to the nine-month MSFM program as a time-efficient stepping stone to an RPF. Joe came to the program after completing a Bachelor of Kinesiology at UBC and a Forest and Natural Area Management diploma from BCIT, as well as gaining experience as a Park Worker with Metro Vancouver and, most recently, as a Forestry Technician with Coastal Natural Resource Management Ltd.
“My interest in the MSFM program came from a place of wondering about the decisions being made in managing the land base and wanting to identify approaches that preserve forests over the long-term while also supporting economies and communities,” says Joe.
The MSFM curriculum walks students through the bureaucratic complexities of forest management in BC, which stands in stark contrast to what some of Joe’s classmates have shared with him aboutforestry practiced in parts of Africa and China. “The cohort-style approach to the program is something that I really enjoy because it has given me opportunities to learn from a lot of smart people from various places,” Joe shares.
Hands-on experience is another MSFM selling point for both Joe and Brooke, who will complete a group site-plan project for a 16-hectare area at MKRF that will later be harvested under the direction of MKRF staff. “We can see the results of the areas cut based on the 2024-25 MSFM class’s site plans recommendations, which brings the process that we’re undertaking full-circle,” notes Brooke.
“This program is a huge accelerator,” Brooke adds. “I feel so well-equipped to pursue a variety of career opportunities. It has also given me lasting connections. I fully expect that I will be able to pick up the phone and call any one of my classmates after we graduate and even 10 years down the line.”
An innovative field school program run by UBC Forestry & Environmental Stewardship Assoc. Profs. David Bunn and Melissa McHale is attracting students interested in conservation in the global south. The Communities, Wildlife and Conservation in Post-Apartheid South Africa program — now in its third year — is mapping the shifting social and ecological landscape of Kruger National Park, a two-million-hectare public-entry game park located in South Africa’s north-eastern savanna and one of the world’s largest national parks.
A core part of the program and a focus of the student field experience is data collection for a long-term NASA Ecological Forecasting project, headed by David and Dr. Jody Vogeler at Colorado State University. Launched in 2021, the Ecological Forecasting project is combining NASA and other earth observation data from satellite imagery with field work to establish a robust data set for precision ecological forecasts with applications in park management and conservation efforts.
“We are working to develop an innovative conservation framework for South African protected area managers,” shares David. “Our approach focuses on producing spatio-temporal tools that will aid in understanding current and future landscape changes, habitat suitability and species dispersal together with considerations related to nearby urbanization.”
The savanna is a unique mix of open, scattered trees and a tall grass understory that thrives in hot, mostly dry climatic conditions. Local South Africans have traditionally initiated fire on the savanna to clear away thorny shrubs. Lightening and human-ignited fires, as well as movement and feeding by elephants, also open up areas where new grazing biomass can emerge, feeding a complex system of insects, birds, herbivores and predators.
Under earlier Apartheid conservation management systems, fencing around the Kruger National Park was used to limit contact between wild animals and cattle, and to exclude rural populations. Wildfire was also suppressed, resulting in thorny shrub overgrowth. However, from about 1993 onwards, fences between Kruger National Park and private reserves to the west of the park were gradually dropped, reintroducing elephant migration routes through the area and giving researchers an opportunity to assess the impacts of this infrastructure removal on the local ecology.
“The Greater Kruger National Park area, which includes protected land to the west of the park, has a mosaic of management regimens led by different communities,” David explains. “Working within these complex interrelationships, the big question that NASA and our team is interested in answering is: how do you manage equitably and for biodiversity across so many disparate forms of management?”
With 30 and 18 years of experience working in the park, respectively, both David and Melissa have longstanding and ongoing collaborations with local community members that have deepened collaboration and trust with park managers.
“Building relationships and trust are a big part of this work,” says Melissa. “We cannot preserve biodiversity without first addressing the needs of the local population.”
The knowledge to support savanna biome biodiversity
A healthy savanna ecosystem exhibits a patchwork of native plants that support animals, such as grazing antelopes, and carnivores like lions, wild dogs and cheetahs. Some management approaches have raised concerns about a loss of heterogeneity on the landscape. Downstream consequences of this range from woody vegetation encroachment to reduced grazing for herds and stressed carnivores in increasing competition with human settlements.
Camera traps are an on-the-ground data collection technology leveraged by David and Melissa to keep track of species numbers, distribution and movement patterns. These carefully placed field cameras are equipped with motion sensors. When a cheetah, antelope, hippo, wildebeest, zebra or any of the hundreds of other creatures traveling through the park pass by the sensor, the camera snaps a picture.
“A key component of what we do is ground truth the data from NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) satellite,” shares David.
GEDI is a LiDAR-based instrument that transmits laser pulses at the earth, modeling vegetation cover to a very fine resolution. However, like most satellites, GEDI struggles to differentiate between some of the complex grass-tree characteristics found on the savanna. The data collected by David and Melissa and the UBC students is contributing to the accuracy of satellite models and the development of a predictive instrument to aid conservation managers in making critical decisions related to animal habitats in Kruger National Park.
Students enrolled in the Communities, Wildlife and Conservation in Post-Apartheid South Africa program use handheld instruments from UBC Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship Trimble Technology Lab to sample and measure plants within a 25-metre-radius plot at Kruger National Park.
“This project is helping us to predict changes in species distribution, land use and land cover over the coming years.” — David Bunn
The research team’s detailed maps of vegetation structure offer insights into how it and other park features are changing such things as park hydrology and species distribution. Insights like these offer essential aids for park managers overseeing a fragile savanna ecosystem increasingly stressed by invasive species, climate change and drought.
“The imaging and field data we are gathering offers more nuanced information about what is happening on the land,” says David. “These insights are helping to remove some of the guesswork for park managers heading local conservation efforts for the benefit of the community and the environment.”
Learn more about the Communities, Wildlife and Conservation in Post-Apartheid South Africa program:
As climate change warms rivers across B.C., young salmon are facing increasing heat stress at vulnerable stages of their lives.
Researchers from UBC Forestry & Environmental Stewardship’s Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Lab found that younger fish cope with heat differently than older fish, and that current methods may be underestimating the risks salmon face in warming waterways.
We examined how young salmon respond to warming water and whether current methods accurately measure heat tolerance. Most studies assess fish at rest, but juvenile salmon are constantly moving to find food and avoid predators, so we need to mimic real-world conditions. We also considered how age and prior temperature exposures influence responses.
Collaborating with researchers from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the National Institute of Aquatic Resources in Denmark, we studied juvenile Chinook salmon from the Nicola River in B.C. We compared two life stages: fry, about two months old, and parr, around six months old. One study, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, explored the biological mechanisms that influence heat tolerance, while a second study, published in Conservation Physiology, examined swimming performance and survival at different temperatures.
Researchers conducted a trial with fish swimming. Credit: Natalie Butler.
What did you find?
When monitored while swimming, fish were less able to physiologically cope with warm temperatures like they could in stationary trials, suggesting that traditional tests may overestimate their heat tolerance in natural conditions.
We identified 20°C as an important threshold. Fish acclimated to this temperature or warmer performed better up to that point, but beyond it their ability to cope declined.
Surprisingly, fry handled warmer temperatures better than parr, tolerating about 1.8°C higher on average. We think older fish may struggle to pump enough oxygen-rich blood to their muscles as temperatures rise.
Fish that were acclimated to cooler temperatures like 12 to 15°C, but swam vigorously at 24°C died shortly after the trials, suggesting an inability to recover from a single rapid heat event. A juvenile salmon living in a cool river that encounters really warm temperatures may not survive such a rapid temperature change.
Dr. Hinch’s lab set up with different thermal acclimation troughs. Credit: Natalie Butler.
What do these findings mean for salmon conservation?
Heat stress affects salmon differently at different life stages, so conservation and management strategies need to consider the full freshwater life cycle and habitats. Some populations do show resilience despite continued warming, but supporting that resilience means reducing thermal stressors, especially during the warmest periods. This may include maintaining and protecting riparian trees and groundwater sources to help keep waterways cool.
What does 2026 look like for B.C. salmon in fresh and salt water?
Forecasting salmon returns is complex. When juveniles migrated to the ocean two years ago, they encountered cool, food-rich coastal waters linked to La Niña conditions, so returns this year of some populations may be similar to last year.
However, current El Niño conditions could pose challenges particularly for returning adult salmon, which may encounter migration and spawning rivers that could be very warm and low due to drought.
For young salmon that will remain in freshwater for another year or two before heading to the ocean, the situation is more concerning. A “super” El Niño is projected to bring warm coastal waters, poor food availability and abundant predators, and a large blob of warm ocean water is also approaching our coast, reflecting cumulative climate change impacts.
The 2025 Fraser River sockeye run exceeded expectations, but a single year does not signal recovery. This year, we should expect continued variability with some runs near average, with others below historical norms.
For more on salmon conservation, watch Dr. Scott Hinch’s webinar on science-based solutions for ‘barriers’ to salmon recovery here.
Dr. Bulkan has been promoted to Professor in the Department of Forest Resources Management – after joining the Faculty in 2012. Her work focuses on forest governance, community forestry, Indigenous rights and resource management. Drawing on decades of research and collaboration with Indigenous Peoples and local communities in Canada, Guyana and world-wide, her scholarship examines how policies, institutions and power structures shape access to land, forests and natural resources.
Janette’s research, teaching and leadership have consistently centred equitable relationships, community voices and inclusive approaches to environmental stewardship, making her well positioned to serve as the new Associate Dean, EDI at FES.
What motivated you to take on this new leadership role?
In the last few years, we have witnessed a retreat from support for EDI in tertiary-level educational institutions across the globe, and to some extent, in BC, and in Canada also.
Here in BC, the opposition to Indigenous land acknowledgements, and more recently, Aboriginal tenure, are live issues across all three arms of provincial government – the Executive, Legislative and Judicial.
The pushback against EDI is occurring at all levels of the society, partly because of a fear that this is a ‘zero-sum’ approach to governance. For example, that a modern recognition of Aboriginal sovereignty somehow subtracts from a narrow Lockean style of property rights. Or that public acknowledgement of the rights of LGBTIAPQ2S persons somehow diminishes the rest of society.
At the same time, I recognize that the Canada of today has changed in the lifetimes of many. Just on the demographic front, Canada’s population has doubled since 1970. Of course, it will take time for both long-settled populations and newer immigrants from countries that at best only pay lip serve to EDI to acknowledge the historic injustices in Canada’s past, and which persist, and to commit to the work of reparative justice in whatever sphere(s) they move in. I’ve no doubt that Forestry’s commitment to JEDI – Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion – has worked, and will continue, to strengthen the thread of strong egalitarian aspirations that runs through Canada.
How has your work and research shaped your perspective on equity, diversity and inclusion in higher education?
Like James Douglas, BC’s first governor, my formative years were spent in the multi-cultural societies of Guyana. The colour-class stratifications that benefitted Douglas – he could ‘pass’ for White, even though his Mother was a free Black woman; he was educated in the UK at the expense of his sugar-cane planter father – had taken a different shape by the time of my youth, but were still there, and have persisted. In time I came to recognize that my privilege at having benefited from an excellent education was by virtue of the fact that I was part of a coastal society that produced rulers who allocated where the national budget was spent, in comparison to the tens of thousands of my Indigenous Guyanese contemporaries in the hinterland who lacked similar access to good schools, health and other infrastructure, and opportunities.
Looking back on your career, are there particular experiences that have influenced your approach to EDI and prepared you for this role?
Firstly, the philanthropic institutions and individuals that made my education possible – my Masters studies at the University of Texas at Austin was underwritten by a Fulbright scholarship, and a scholarship from Yale University made my doctoral work possible at the School of the Environment in the Faculty of Forestry.
Secondly, the Indigenous communities and individuals who educated me through the examples of their lives – adherence to communal decision-making, ingrained respect for their territories and all the living beings – plants, animals, spirits – within those lands and lakes, forests and grasslands.
What do you see as some of the key opportunities for advancing equity, diversity and inclusion within FES?
I hope to listen to as many persons as will share their views on these topics – students, administrative staff, all grades of Instructors, colleagues across UBC campuses and across Canada, and worldwide through my participation in IUFRO Working Parties, and in the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). And after listening, consulting on possible actions.
Another example would be to have a calendar. Many of us have fridge lists to remind us of family birthdays. Dana-Lyn Mackenzie and Hisham Zerriffi have ensured our faculty’s leadership in UBC’s annual Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (30 September). We can add some other EDI-related annual commemorations, when we can think about particular human exemplars, heroes and heroines and agencies, for aspects of EDI, and what do they mean to us today. For example, we can flag the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 action points (2015), or Martin Luther King’s Selma to Montgomery March (1965) for voting rights for African Americans.
Perhaps more than in most other parts of society, we at UBC have the institutional commitment to work for social justice and non-discrimination and fairness and equal opportunity; not just to talk and write about it but to openly practise what we believe in our hearts.
As the newly appointed Associate Dean, EDI, what are your priorities for the coming years?
Build on the firm EDI foundation that has preceded me, kudos to Hisham Zerriffi my predecessor; strengthen the alliances that work to fulfil the EDI mission across UBC, BC and Canada, in collaboration with Dana-Lyn Mackenzie.
Some critics of EDI see it as an iteration of affirmative action, and opposed to merit-based criteria, whether in admissions or hiring decisions, or even what perspectives are discussed in educational institutions. An Associate Dean of EDI can engage with such criticism by adding historical context and perspective, including opening up a space in which the realities of power and privilege can be assessed, and human rights explained and rationalised.
Our students and staff and faculty come from a great range of countries and societal norms and cultural preferences. In the past, some people may have had to hide their EDI personalities against family and local prejudice and government oppression. I would look for ways to encourage people at UBC to blossom not only intellectually but in the fulfilment of other aspects of their lives.
The Department of Forest Resources Management is recruiting for a part-time (25%) Sessional lecturer to teach in 2026W term 1 – Sept to Dec 2026.
The Department of Forest Resources Management at the UBC Vancouver campus is seeking to hire a part-time (25%) sessional lecturer in 2026W-Term 1 (September to December 2026).
FRST_V 305 – Silviculture (3 credits)
Silviculture concepts and principles; stand dynamics; artificial and natural regeneration; cultural techniques for forest stand establishment and stand tending; silvicultural systems; decision making and development of prescriptions; connections to forest planning.
The successful candidate will deliver core lectures; coordinate with guest lecturers; organize and run lab sections; organize tests, mid-term exams, and grading; and hold office hours weekly. Applicants should include with their letter of application a CV and the names and email addresses of two references.
How to Apply:
Applicants should apply via Workday JR24998. Your package should include a letter of application, a CV and the names and email addresses of two references. Deadline for applications is July 9, 2026. The appointment start date will be September 1, 2026. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority.
From Forest to Frame: Technology is Changing Homebuilding in BC
As housing costs climb across British Columbia (BC), emerging technologies like timber processing centres could help build homes faster and more affordably, particularly for multi-family dwellings.
Timber processing centres, such as the Hundegger computer numerical control (CNC) machine, use remotely operated and automated saws, drills and cutting tools to transform timber into custom wood components used in, for example, building construction. Sections of wood sawn in a timber processing centre can be glued together to form prefabricated mass timber products, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT), glue-laminated timber (GLT) and parallel strand lumber (PSL) pillars or beams that can be as strong as concrete or steel.
The system’s automated precision custom-cut, milling, joinery and drilling also answers calls from industry and provincial leaders to elevate BC’s value-added wood manufacturing. Value-added products like mass timber and prefabricated wood components for homes sourced from a variety of fibre types — some previously viewed as non-commercially-viable — are a big part of the vision for housing in the province.
Digital tools help builders, architects and manufacturers work together
Mass timber products can be constructed in collaboration with building architects and developers through seamlessly integrated software systems shared across professions. For example, computer-aided design (CAD) software supports designing structural components and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software supports integrations.
Digital technology like this is taking precision manufacturing to the next level, able to produce mass timber structural components sized accurately to within one millimetre of design plans, compared with the three-to-six-millimetre industry standard.
The Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship is a leader in this space
In 2014, the Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship (FES) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) was the first site in North America to install a Hundegger Robot Drive timber processing centre. Presently housed at FES’s the Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP), the technology serves as a teaching tool for both students and members of the wood products industry.
With a few clicks and taps on computers, timber processing centres can transform timber into finished wood components ready for use in building construction or to be assembled into made-to-order furniture.
Part of FES’s Department of Wood Science, CAWP is Canada’s national centre for education, training and technical assistance for the wood products manufacturing industry, offering a breadth of training courses, along with professional programs, product development and manufacturing improvement.
Building tall and beautiful structures with wood
While the technology has been around for a few decades, the application of timber processing centres in the manufacturing sector, particularly for prefabricated mass timber structures, is relatively new. However, a few examples exist in BC.
The CLT panel floor assemblies and GLT and PSL columns used to construct the Brock Commons Tallwood House at UBC Vancouver were manufactured with a timber processing centre. Thanks, in part, to its prefabricated construction, the 18-storey building was completed within 70 days of its mass timber components arriving on site, outpacing the industry standard for projects of its size by four months.
Another example is the Malahat SkyWalk in southern Vancouver Island. The structure’s 30-metre-high mass timber Viewing Tower showcases prefabricated glulam columns and beams and some CLT paneling, most of which is exposed because of their aesthetic appeal.
Leading education at FES is advancing mass timber design and manufacturing
At CAWP, the world-leading CNC-controlled joinery Hundegger supports student learning, as well as workshops for industry professionals.
“FES students use the Hundegger for prototyping and testing large-scale timber elements, creating custom structural components and other things like timber frame structures,” notes Jason Chiu, Managing Director at CAWP. “Following its installation, this technology has been used extensively to support applied research, student learning and student and industry training.”
FES industry workshops, like its hands-on Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) workshop, expose forestry professionals to advanced techniques using tools like timber processing centres, inspiring industry members to think outside the box about how this technology could be applied in real-world contexts. A collaboration between FES and UBC School of Architecture + Landscape Architecture (SALA), interactions between participants and FES faculty during these workshops bridge the gap between academia and industry, connecting experts in the field with innovative research and knowledge generation at FES.
“In particular, timber processing centres like the Hundegger have become instrumental in advancing collaborative research with industry in the prefabricated and mass timber specializations,” Jason shares.
DFMA workshop students use the Hundegger (shown in the background) to complete a team project.
“They provide the machine-operated, automated precision cutting, drilling and processing needed to prototype and test large-scale timber elements,” Jason adds. “This functionality gives researchers, students and industry partners the ability to explore innovative solutions that would not otherwise be possible in an academic setting, such as exploring new opportunities and challenges in advanced design-to-fabrication processes for timber.”
A DFMA workshop student is dwarfed by a mass timber team project.
DFMA workshops bring together architects, engineers, installers and manufacturers to design, fabricate and install a full-scale timber structure. Powered by the Hundegger’s capabilities, the workshop fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and builds the skills necessary to accelerate the integration of mass timber manufacturing into the design and construction sectors.
Looking ahead, technology like the timber processing centre will likely continue to expand in popularity as industry vies for growth, additional investment in BC’s forest sector and diversification to meet new construction sector and public demands. At FES, research is supporting this goal.
“The full potential of wood applications in the construction sector is still being explored,” says FES Professor and Head of FES’s Department of Wood Science, Stavros Avramidis. “FES is continuing to acquire state-of-the-art technology and hiring experts in wood manufacturing, and now tall wood building and mass timber, because of demand from industry to develop expertise and train the next generation of professionals in these areas.”
Located on X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaayHaida Gwaii, the Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship’s Haida Gwaii Institute (HGI) offers transformative, place-based educational experiences for undergraduate students and continuing education learners both in-person and online.
“At HGI, we offer a unique learning experience that goes beyond traditional academia,” says K’iinuwaas CarrieAnne Vanderhoop, Director of HGI. “Learners can expect to engage with content experts, knowledge keepers and the community.”
The new online “Reconciliation and Resource Management” course is co-instructed by Elizabeth Bulbrook and Nigel Baker-Grenier of White Raven Law, the firm working on the groundbreaking Haida Aboriginal title case. The course examines the interplay between Indigenous and European legal and governance frameworks and offers perspective on what a decolonized government could look like.
HGI offers immersive in-person learning experiences, as well, with full-semester programs taking place on X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaay. The new “Semester in Marine Conservation” dives into concepts surrounding responsible stewardship of marine ecosystems and covers perspectives of Coastal Indigenous Peoples. Students deepen their understanding of Yahgudáng • YahguudangRespect alongside local experts and community members, with scenic X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaay as a backdrop.
Haida Lands
X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaayHaida Gwaii is a place that holds a long history of triumph over monumental obstacles. In 2024, the Nation was recognized as title holder over their traditional territory by the governments of British Columbia and Canada, making way for Haida citizens and their lands to embark on a new journey of self-determination and reclamation.
“Fifty years after the start of this struggle, our work has just begun,” says Kung K_ayangas, (Stlaaygee Xay Guul) Marlene Liddle, Stewardship Director of Lands and Haida Solutions Table Member with the Council of the Haida Nation (CHN). “This historic and deeply meaningful agreement affirms our inherent rights and responsibilities as caretakers of X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaay, acknowledging our governance systems, our laws and our relationship with the land and the waters.”
“This is also about justice, healing and restoring balance.” — Marlene Liddle
An archipelago of some 150 islands off of Siigaay • SiigeeHecate Strait, northwest of Vancouver Island, parts of X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaay and its surrounding lands are believed to have escaped the most recent period of glaciation between 100,000 and 10,000 years ago — a time period when ice sheets covered almost all of the Northern Hemisphere. Dubbed the Galapagos of the North, many flora and fauna presently on the islands are found nowhere else, including many species of moss, like Carey’s small limestone moss, and distinctive sub-species of saw-whet owl, black bear, silver-haired bat and pine marten, to name a few. Some trees found here, including western hemlock, Sitka spruce, western red cedar and yellow cedar, have survived for over 1,000 years.
Mostly forested, with more than 54,000 hectares of intact temperate rainforest, X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaay is a place of abundant natural resources that have supported the Haida for thousands of years. Today, over 4,500 Haida reside on X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaay and other places around the world, including in established traditional villages in Alaska.
“We are now focused on the lands,” says Kung Xyalaas Tyler Hugh Charlie Bellis (BSF’23), who is currently consulting on Haida forest stewardship with the CHN. “What is exciting is that all the lands on X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaay are presently recognized as Haida title lands. While we know that X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaay has always been Haida land, we are now working towards what a future could look like under Haida laws.”
Negotiations are underway between Haida representatives and the province on strategies to cement Haida values in land management on X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaay, including robust environmental protections.
“Logging and the forest industry are still important on X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaay, providing important value to the local economy,” Tyler explains. “However, the future of forestry will further reflect Haida values and the values of all island residents who care about the health and wellbeing of the islands and people who live on them, and that’s what we’re working on right now.”
“Through the CHN’s governmental process, which includes Hereditary Chiefs, band councils and citizens, we are listening and learning about what this direction could be,” Tyler adds. “As well, the CHN is meeting with island municipalities, along with island residents, to listen to the views of everyone living on X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaay.”
“The Haida Aboriginal title recognition is not only exciting for Haida Gwaii, but, also, if you look at some of the shortcomings that have been found in industrialized forestry in general,” says Tyler. “Hopefully, our approach will be successful at showing that there are other ways to live and work with forests that are based out of Yahgudáng • Yahguudang Respect.”
Some alternatives for the Haida Nation for reimagining forestry on the islands range from building custom-cut mills to providing wood to artisans, carbon sequestration, restoration work and doing more with less through the identification of value-added wood products.
Indigenous tourism is another option that offers an opportunity to share X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaay’s culture, history and values with visitors in ways that reflects Haida priorities while also contributing to the local economy, notes Elaine Williamson, an Adjunct Prof. at UBC’s Sauder School of Business. Elaine is also pursuing a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies through UBC’s Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship, focusing on Indigenous studies, business and forestry.
“Indigenous tourism on X̲aadáa Gwáay • X̲aayda Gwaay.yaay can help visitors gain a deeper understanding of Haida culture, values, knowledge and heritage, including the Nation’s relationship with land and sea,” says Elaine. “It also supports the livelihoods of Haida community members on a sustained basis.”
Any new economic or forestry plans would be incomplete without accounting for the changing climate and other human-related impacts, such as increased wildfire risk, biodiversity loss and less snowpack during the winter, notes Marlene.
“The Haida approach to stewardship on the timber harvestable land base is an integrated approach that combines Traditional Knowledge with science,” Marlene says. “Our approach is rooted in respect and responsibility, and the management of our forests not for profit, but for long-term health and resilience — for future generations, not for current generations — and involves our communities in the decision-making of land-based plans and strategies.”
“It is not just about how much to take from the land, but how much we can give back to it and to the community.”
Congratulations to Stavros Avramidis for receiving the SWST (International Society of Wood Science and Technology) Distinguished Service Award.
This award recognizes distinguished contributions to the wood science profession through education, research, technological innovation, and professional service. Stavros received the honour in recognition of his career-long commitment to advancing wood science and technology through his advocacy, teaching, research, and service, including the past decade as Head of the Department of Wood Science.
When: Saturday, July 18, 2026 Time: 4 pm, 5 pm or 6 pm Where:Malcolm Knapp Research Forest – Maple Ridge Cost: $48.15 per person ($10 discount for UBC staff and Alumni with code 10OFF)
Spend a summer evening beneath the forest canopy enjoying handcrafted cocktails inspired by the season’s wild harvest. Created by Chef and Sommelier Robin Kort of Swallow Tail Tours, the immersive cocktail menu features house-made syrups, tonics, bitters, and locally foraged ingredients.
Your ticket includes one signature cocktail and an engaging conversation with a wildcraft expert, who will share insights into forest ecology and the art of foraging for edible plants.
Featured Cocktails
Wild G&T – Sheringham Seaside Gin infused with elderflower and flowering currant, topped with tonic and wild sorrel.
Savage Sour – A tribute to urban foraging, featuring Vancouver fig leaf bitters, rye, and citrus.
Tinto de Verano – A refreshing Spanish-inspired blend of wild blackberry shoots, berries, red wine, and orange.
Magnolia Shrub & Soda – Fermented magnolia blossoms, cider vinegar, and soda, available with or without mezcal.
Seasonal foraged ingredients may be added to each cocktail, depending on what the forest has to offer, from wildflowers to aromatic leaves and roots.
Additional cocktails and wine by the glass will be available for purchase. A non-alcoholic cocktail option is also available in place of the included beverage.
