UBC Forestry wishes to congratulate Professor Terry Sunderland on being the 2023 recipient of the Canadian Institute of Forestry/Institut forestier du Canada (CIF-IFC) International Forestry Achievement Award.
About Terry Sunderland
As a world-renowned expert in tropical forestry, Terry’s extensive professional contributions in applied research, biodiversity conservation, sustainable resource management, impact and policy influence have greatly contributed to promoting excellence in the field of forestry internationally. His contributions to the scientific community, including publishing over 320 publications, and his dedication to the training and development of young professionals/scientists, truly embody the intent of this award.
About The CIF-IFC International Forestry Achievement Award
The International Forestry Achievement Award recognizes individuals who have made unique and outstanding contributions or achievements in international forestry and encourages excellence and cooperation in international forestry.
The UBC/Malcolm Knapp Research Forest is seeking two highly motivated students from Forestry, Conservation or Wood Science, to assist our staff with field and office duties for the summer of 2024. The successful students will work closely with staff members, including the manager, resident forester, research coordinator, and administrative and technical staff on a variety of tasks.
Deadline: January 21st, 2024
See attached document for additional information and how to apply.
Consus Management Ltd. is a multi-faceted consulting firm based in Williams Lake and specializes in the implementation and Management of various Forest Tenures, Government Funded Programs, Silviculture and Timber Development Activities, and Utilities Contracts. Consus has been established since 2009 and has over 100 years of experience combined in the supervisory staff.
Currently Consus Management Ltd. is seeking Forest Professionals/Technicians to work within its Forestry division in both field and office setting. Consus has multiple positions available with work being primarily out of our Williams Lake; however, there is also an option to live in Vernon, BC where we currently have a satellite office (other locations in the province are also negotiable).
UBC Forestry would like to emphasize our shared commitment to inclusive and diverse educational environments, with a special focus today on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) education. Let’s stand together for acceptance, empathy, and equality.
If you are experiencing hate or discrimination, please know that help is available. If you witness discrimination, you’re encouraged to take steps to support those in the situation. Below is a list of available supports and resources at UBC:
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You may also want to contact the Office of the Ombudsperson for Students, an independent, impartial, and confidential resource that supports students in addressing and resolving concerns about unfair treatment at UBC.
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Tom Booker joins UBC Forestry as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences. His research draws on population and quantitative genetics, bioinformatics, statistics and ecology.
Tell us about yourself and your background!
I’m an evolutionary geneticist working on forest trees. My main research interests up to now have been trying to understand how we can study evolution by analyzing patterns of genetic variation in natural populations. The work that I do incorporates genetics and genomics, evolutionary biology, statistical analysis, bioinformatics and conservation.
I grew up in rural communities in Australia and Scotland, and moved to BC in 2018. I enjoy woodwork as a hobby, so I’m quite excited by the possibility of getting access to the CNC machines down in CAWP!
What drew you to your work?
I have a bunch of answers to this question. I think basic research is extremely important, it underpins pretty much everything in the modern world. Simple questions about the how the world works lead to major scientific breakthroughs and technological advances.
It’s very hard to predict exactly where basic research will lead in the future, but it is the scaffold from which we build everything. I enrolled as an undergraduate in a conservation biology program, but I quickly realized that ecology is the foundation of a lot of conservation.
Through that degree, I began to get interested in the genetic underpinnings of ecology. That led to an interest in population and quantitative genetics, which were the topics I focused on for graduate school. My Masters and PhD were both on evolutionary genetics, particularly on how we can use genetic data to study natural selection.
I’d also have to give some credit to the X-Men and Metal Gear Solid for sparking an early interest in genetics.
What do you hope to achieve through your work here at UBC?
My interest in evolution and desire to contribute to conservation efforts have merged into my work. Clearly, the world needs solutions to the many problems that climate change has brought and will continue to bring. My deepest hope is that I can make a meaningful contribution to conservation by pursuing a program of basic research. I also would like to contribute to making graduate school a fairer, more equitable and more diverse environment.
What attracted you to UBC and UBC Forestry?
It’s hard not to be drawn to the extreme natural beauty surrounding UBC. I am extremely privileged to have lived and worked in BC for the last 5 years as a researcher and uninvited guest on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Musqeum, Squamish and Tsleil Waututh nations. One of the draws of UBC Forestry was certainly that it meant I got to stay here! Besides that though, UBC is renowned within evolutionary biology and the faculty in Forestry, in particular, have made huge contributions to my field of research. I’m hoping to work alongside researchers with a deep understanding of the many facets of conservation and restoration.
In addition to research, what are you most looking forward to in the Faculty of Forestry?
Building a deeper understanding of forest ecosystems. As a geneticist, I have spent most of my time focussing on DNA rather than on whole organisms, so while I have a deep appreciation for the natural world I would definitely benefit from a greater understanding of it. The depth of knowledge and diversity of perspectives that the students and my colleagues in the Faculty of Forestry have is clear, and I’m hoping some of that will rub off on me.
Tzeng Yih Lam joins the UBC Faculty of Forestry as an Assistant Professor of Forest Measurements in the Department of Forest Resources Management. His research interests are tree measurement, forest sampling, and quantitative silviculture.
Tell us about yourself and your background!
I select and measure trees, and make sense of what I measure. It involves probability, math, and statistics. I was trained as a forester at the University of New Brunswick (Canada). I received my Master’s from the University of Göttingen (Germany) and completed my PhD at the Oregon State University (USA). Before coming to UBC, I was an Associate Professor of Forest Mensuration at the National Taiwan University. I have also worked in an NGO and consulted for UN projects. Outside of work, I like reading, walking, rock climbing, and playing video games.
What drew you to your work?
Growing up in the age of Star Trek and Star Wars in a big city, I dreamt of building robots and going to space. At least until I went on my first camping trip in high school. I realized that the final frontier for me was the forests. What drew me to forest measurement and sampling in the first place was the (deceptively) absurd notion of managing forests with information only from an infinitesimal fraction of measured trees. So, I thought that there must be a reasonable and defensible way of doing that, which I found to be probability sampling. Measuring trees is fun because I get to work in the field. I also like the geometry that goes into tree measurements.
What also fascinates me is finding patterns in data and transcribing high-dimensional forest dynamics into models that we can process and visualize. Eventually, it is the continuous challenges of trying to make the most out of every penny spent on measuring trees on the ground that drives my passion for forest measurements.
What do you hope to achieve through your work here at UBC?
Forest measurement is one of the foundations of forest management. One cannot really manage what is unknown to us. There are still many tree attributes that we do not have efficient methods to measure. I hope to combine geometrical models and consumer-grade products to build easily accessible tools. Resources are always limited for ground inventory. There is still much work to push the limits of variable probability sampling to design cost-effective forest inventory. It is important to understand the trade-offs between costs, sampling, and management decisions. Lastly, I hope to build the next generation of forest mensurationists who appreciate math and are imaginative, critical, and cooperative. They will have the skill sets to continue solving urgent problems facing our society in the present and the future.
What attracted you to UBC and UBC Forestry?
UBC is incredibly diverse. I strongly believe in this diversity because it leads to innovations needed to solve our most pressing issues (sounds like adventures in Star Trek?). I very much look forward to being part of this diversity. UBC Forestry always has very strong forest biometrics and silviculture programs. These programs have produced many world-class leaders in research and industry. The programs also attract many potential students with strong quantitative skills. Thus, I like the challenge of keeping the biometrics program strong in the coming years. There are also many biometricians and silviculturists in this region. Being in UBC Forestry offers many opportunities to interact with them over a good cup of coffee.
In addition to research, what are you most looking forward to in the Faculty of Forestry?
Being trained as a traditional forester and having previously worked as a supply chain analyst, I always view forestry as a system of many integrated components such as social, wildlife, harvesting, and wood products. The Faculty of Forestry has every component in place. I look forward to sharing ideas with colleagues from different departments working on various topics. Being in the Faculty of Forestry also allows me to connect with forest industries. Forest industries have direct impacts on the ground. I am always interested in creating partnerships with forest industries so that my research may be of use to them.
Any other information you’d like to share?
One of my favourite books is “Infinitesimal: How a Dangerous Mathematical Theory Shaped the Modern World” (Amir Alexander, 2015). We almost lost the ability to land on the moon. However, a good idea will transcend space, time, and culture.
My name is Zewen and I am working in Kimberley, Ontario for my first co-op term. I am working on a farm called Fiddlehead Nursery. In the nursery we sell a wide range of edible perennial plants. I have been doing plant maintenance, gardening, and other tasks like the construction of the chicken coop. I would sometimes do sales job by helping out the customers and answering the questions. I would do mulching and weeding in the gardens twice or three times a month. During the day I would just pot up plants in the greenhouse, or simply do harvesting when the fruits start to ripen. I have met lots of different people from a variety of backgrounds. By interacting with them, I have greatly improved my oral communication skills. I also applied some of the knowledge I learned at UBC Forestry. For example, I did softwood cuttings in July, and I have never practiced it despite learning about it at university. I would recommend the co-op program because it is a really effectively way to apply your knowledge by doing various tasks and fieldwork. The co-op program also provides the opportunity for a student to grow as a more complete human being. The work experiences will help to prepare for your future career after graduating. Compared to those who graduated without any working experience, you would already be ahead in the job-search.
GIS Business Analyst Co-op at Korotu Technology Inc.
I have been working as a GIS Business Analyst to help shape forest management recommendations for landowners, organizations and the government. This includes estimating biomass information on > 900 forest hectares (equivalent to ~ 1200 football fields) and importing data from multiple spatially aware remote sensing data sources (satellites, drones, camera traps) in GIS!
I feel particularly satisfied after completing each project knowing how much I have contributed to increase forest protection areas in Canada. I am happy that co-op has provided me the opportunity to help protect and grow nature-based solutions!
Genfor is seeking Assistant Forest Engineers to join their growing engineering and silviculture field teams. Visit the file below for more information if interested.
