On October 30, join our Master of Geomatics for Environmental Management (MGEM) program team in an exclusive online presentation and question-and-answer session to learn more about how the MGEM program can equip you with the skills to advance in your career.
Over 9-months, the MGEM provides essential training in the use and application of geospatial tools used to plan, develop, manage, and evaluate programs to protect and regulate natural habitats and renewable natural resources. This interdisciplinary degree blends landscape ecology training and quantitative spatial skills development to prepare graduates to tackle pressing environmental issues across multiple sectors.
Dr. Nicholas Coops
Dr. Coops is the head of the Department of Forest Resources Management. His main research focus is the use of remote sensing technology to assess forest resources, both for conservation and production applications. Dr. Coops is specifically interested in advanced forest inventory techniques using high spatial resolution optical remote sensing imagery and LIDAR, use of remote sensing for the ecosystem and carbon accumulation modelling for biodiversity, production and greenhouse calculations, and detection of damaging agents in forests using spectral forest condition mapping.
Dr. Kathleen Coupland
Dr. Coupland is responsible for coordinating the day-to-day activities within the program, as well as providing dedicated support to the students and the MGEM teaching team. Her research focuses on the application and development of novel classification schemas for forests with the aim of trying to quantify non-timber forest values. Specifically, Dr. Coupland centers on trying to quantify educational values present for forestry education in urban forests, using UBC as a case study.
UBC Forestry & Environmental Stewardship’s new “Notes from the Field” series highlights the work of different community forests in collaboration with the British Columbia Community Forests Association.
If your community forest wishes to be featured in this publication series, please contact Deborah DeLong at deborah.delong@ubc.ca
Forest Access is a directed study course that provides students with the knowledge and decision-making framework to conceptualize, design and manage secondary transportation infrastructure projects in a natural resource context. This course is intended for students in the forestry and forest operations degree programs, and the material covered is directly applicable to the forestry and natural resource sector. The course will draw upon student’s prior knowledge of forest operations and forest access (FOPR264), as well as techniques in mensuration and forest soils. The course is intended to grow skills and knowledge in the areas of:
Topographic Surveying
Resource Road Planning & Management
Soil and Terrain Stability
Road Costing and Appraisals
Stream Crossing Planning & Management
Detailed Road Design
Principles of Drafting and Design
Complete lifecycle planning
Students can find the course listed on Workday, and can contact Lee Salmon for more details.
Join the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest for an exploration of the Land of Moss, where you’ll uncover the secret world of mosses in the traditional, unceded, and ancestral territory of the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie First Nation)—a name inspired by the mosses that flourish on this land.
One online session will be hosted on Wednesday October 23rd, and two in-person sessions are offered on Saturday October 26th at the UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest:
Level 1:Meet the Mosses (Zoom). A 75-minute seminar on Zoom from 7:00-8:15pm on Wednesday October 23 ($10)
Level 2: Introduction to Bryophytes. 3-hour field session at the research forest from 9am-12pm on Saturday October 26 ($35, includes level 1)
Level 3: Bryophyte Immersion. 3-hour intensive field session at the research forest from 1pm-4pm on Saturday October 26 ($55, includes levels 1 and 2)
These sessions are designed to build upon each other. Attendees can choose to enroll in online only, or add the half or full hands-on field day.
The interactive online Level 1 Meet the Mosses will highlight the role of mosses in forest health, traditional ecological knowledge, and global carbon sequestration.
Level 2 will provide a hands-on opportunity to learn to identify local moss species in the field.
Level 3 includes a more intensive fieldwork component accompanied by microscope study.
This event is free and will be held in person only. Lunch will be provided to the first 40 in-person attendees and granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Please bring your own drink.
Seminar Abstract
“What did you get for number three?!” said the student in the hallway post-exam. An animated discussion follows, punctuated by sounds of triumph and disappointment. This is part of the learning process, and the student who just realized their mistake will likely never make that mistake again. What if we could harness that post-exam energy for learning? Two-stage exams do just that. The idea may sound odd, but it is supported by research and student feedback. Come learn more about this approach to exams and why it can be so helpful for our students.
Speaker
Dr. Patrick Culbert is a landscape ecologist, Associate Professor of Teaching, and Director of Curriculum in the Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship at the University of British Columbia. He is known to students and the public through his YouTube Channel, where he teaches about forests and forestry in British Columbia. In the classroom, he employs innovative, evidence-based teaching practices to better help students learn and retain their newly acquired knowledge.
About the Teaching & Learning Lunch Seminar Series
The Teaching & Learning Lunch Seminar Series features extraordinary in-house and external speakers highlighting teaching & learning experiences or pedagogical research in UBC Forestry & Environmental Stewardship and beyond. The lunchtime forum invites the interactive participation of the public surrounding the speakers’ presentations and will open wider discussions about education in Forestry and undergraduate instruction in general.
Undergraduate Researcher – UBC Chemical and Biological Engineering
As an undergraduate researcher at Dr. Rojas’s lab in Bioproducts Institute, I have been working on the project that aims to turn wheat residues into textile fibers. My role in the project is to run experiments to obtain optimal pulp that is well suited for wet-spinning that makes the fibers.
This is my first time working in the lab, and I have learned a lot; from planning experiments to learning how to operate equipment, this work term has been full of new inspirations.
Project title: Global Center for Sustainable Bioproducts Grantee: Amit Kumar (University of Alberta) Co-grantees: R. Ahmad (University of Alberta), S.K. Agrawal (University of Alberta), K.K. Kim (University of British Columbia)
Kwang Ho’s research primarily focuses on developing sustainable biorefinery processes to maximize the conversion of biomass carbon into value-added products.
About the NSF NSERC/SSHRC Award
Four Canadian research teams were selected to work with international partners to address global challenges through the bioeconomy. These projects will receive $9.95M CAD over five years.
This year’s competition invited international, multi-disciplinary teams to use bioeconomy research to address global challenges. These innovations can impact sectors like agriculture, health, security, manufacturing, energy, and the environment.
Learn more about the funded project on the NSF website.
Curious about the diverse tree species at the Malcolm Knapp Arboretum? Join a guided tour to explore trees from Europe, China, North America, Korea, and the Caucasus Mountains, set against the Pacific Northwest. Learn to identify native trees and understand the differences between native, exotic, and invasive species, while discovering each tree’s role in our ecosystem.
Summer Student Resource Assistant – BC Timber Sales
This summer I’ve had the pleasure of working as a Resource Assistant with BC Timber Sales based in Smithers. My role has exposed me to a breadth of studies and field work such as block layouts, silviculture planting and harvesting, riparian assessments, road assessments, and the economic valuation of wood harvests. My individual responsibilities are primarily based on assessing the health of streams before and after forestry activities, as well as checking and assessing forest roads to generate a cohesive road map.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in this role as it provides me with personal tasks and responsibilities which have greatly improved my experiential learning, and I am also given ample opportunities to shadow and work with colleagues in different positions, exposing me to a variety of different jobs and forestry related fields. To me, co-op has been an invaluable learning experience since I have been fortunate enough to visit new sites and participate in different hands-on activities everyday.
