As a part of the City of Markham’s Tree Preservation by-law team, I have a meaningful role in preserving our urban forest and promoting a greener community. Along with enforcing by-laws and ensuring proper tree care, I actively contribute to increasing canopy cover and promoting the planting of native tree species. By focusing on these efforts, we not only preserve our natural heritage but also create a healthier and more vibrant environment for all residents to enjoy.
Internat The University of British Columbia in Williams Lake, BC
I am beginning my first co-op work term as an intern with the Alex Fraser Research Forest, which works in conjunction with the University of British Columbia. I have been working alongside RPFs to conduct a variety of surveys and learn what it means to be a professional forester. During this term, I learned how to conduct regeneration surveys that help the team understand the current state of the prescribed cutblocks and how trees are doing years after being planted. As well, I have had the opportunity to do quality checks and pay plots for planting prescriptions, and timber cruises to assess the volume and quality of timber to value potential harvest. Overall, I have had the opportunity to constantly improve my tree identification skills, data entry proficiency, problem-solving skill, and navigation skills, ultimately developing my understanding of forestry in a professional setting. By having my boots on the ground during this co-op experience I have reinforced my desire to pursue a career as an RPF. Through this engaging and informative experience, I have learned the value and influence that professionals can have and I am inspired by the people I work with to create the change I want to see in our forests, for the future.
Wetland Naturalistat Kootenay Columbia Discovery Centre Society in Creston, BC
During my co-op work term at the Kootenay Columbia Discovery Centre situated in Creston BC, I have been responsible for a diverse range of tasks that contribute to the conservation and education efforts of the centre. Operating within the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area, renowned for its abundant and diverse wildlife, I have acquired a comprehensive knowledge of common waterfowl and plants. So far I have had the opportunity to conduct weekly data collection on tree swallow nests by monitoring over 60 nest boxes distributed along our trails. Furthermore, I deliver daily nature education programs catered to students spanning from kindergarten to high school while also attending to visitors through guided canoe tours where I answer their questions about the region’s flora, fauna, and conservation efforts. These immersive experiences have not only deepened my comprehension of wildlife and environmental stewardship but developed valuable communication and leadership skills. I would highly encourage others to consider the co-op program as it provides an incredibly rewarding experience to connect with nature, educate others, and contribute to the conservation of our precious natural resources.
UBC Forestry wishes to congratulate Professor Jack Saddler on leading the BC-SMART program and receiving the 2023 CFA Collaboration and Partnership Award.
Professor Saddler is a dedicated Professor in the Department of Wood Science at UBC Forestry and the the Program Lead for The British Columbia Sustainable Marine, Aviation, Rail and Trucking (BC-SMART) Low-Carbon Fuels Consortium. Under his leadership, the BC SMART program has fostered key connections with different stakeholder groups along the full supply chain and facilitated meaningful conversations around made-in-Canada solutions. The program has been diligently assessing global technology development and deployment as well as policies that encourage the production and use of low-carbon fuels, such as biodiesel, renewable diesel and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
“BC-SMART wants to thank CFA for the 2023 Collaboration and Partnership Award and will continue to provide forum that brings together Canada’s main components of its economy, as the country strives to meet its decarbonisation targets,” says Professor Saddler.
About the CFA Collaboration and Partnership Award
Collaboration is a key pillar of CFA’s Driving to 2050 vision, so the award is designed to recognize groups with whom BC-SMART has shared objectives. The CFA Collaboration and Partnership award recognizes an organization or association that demonstrated solid engagement and cooperation with CFA and members, leading to positive outcomes for shared objectives.
Project led by Gitanyow Nation in collaboration with UBC researchers explores how cultural burning, planting practices protect against catastrophic wildfire.
Kira Hoffman, Darlene Vegh, Kevin Koch, and the Gitanyow Guardians at a cultural burn at Wilp Gwass Hlaam, Spring 2023
Climate change, forestry and fire suppression practices have all worsened wildfire seasons in British Columbia. The worst seasons have all occurred in the last five years — more than 3.5 million hectares of forest have burned, of which two million hectares were in northern BC.
Although Indigenous fire stewardship practices were largely banned early last century, many Nations across British Columbia are returning to the practices to increase food security and restore community health and wellbeing.
Researchers from UBC Forestry are working in collaboration with the Gitanyow Nation to restore cultural fire regimes and ecosystem-based management to the territory.
Fighting Fire with Food, a three-year project funded through the Pacific Insititute for Climate Solutions (PICS), will receive $180,000 over three years.
The project explores how planting, tending, and burning fire-resistant vegetation increases the biodiversity of ecosystems, buffers against a rapidly changing climate, and protects cultural, ecological, and social values while mitigating wildfire risk.
The practice of using fire as a tool for resource management and community protection has been part of Indigenous fire stewardship for millennia.
Kevin Koch at a cultural burn at Wilp Gwass Hlaam, Spring 2023
Historically, areas surrounding important cultural sites were foodscapes managed with low-severity fire to support an abundance of berry patches, root gardens, and orchards.
“Cultural burning to me is a connection with my ancestors, a connection to the spirit world,” says Gitanyow Elder Darlene Vegh. “The smoke sends our prayers to our ancestors — it’s helping connect our DNA to the land.”
“Our ancestors spent thousands of years preparing the land to produce a symbiotic relationship to give us what we needed for food security to survive,” she says. “We spent 10,000 years preparing our table, our pantry, our food security system — and it only took 150 years for it to disappear.”
“For over 100 years, Indigenous fire stewardship techniques such as cultural burning were banned, and much of the knowledge and expertise related to burning for plants and medicines has suffered loss,” says Fighting Fire with Food researcher Dr. Kira Hoffman, postdoctoral researcher at UBC Forestry and the Bulkley Valley Research Centre.
“By returning to burning, many food systems and culturally important sites can be restored,” she says.
Plant species differ in their flammability, and when fire-resistant trees and shrubs are present, they can significantly slow down a fire or extinguish embers blown ahead of a fire front.
Elder Darlene Vegh
When these hard-to-burn species are planted in a strategic way, they can protect ecosystems as well as human life and property.
“Over the past five to 10 years, as my research team and I have reconstructed fire histories around BC and the Alberta Foothills, it has become increasingly evident that historical fire regimes across many ecosystems were strongly influenced by Indigenous fire stewardship,” says Dr. Lori Daniels, Fighting Fire with Food’s principal investigator and professor in the UBC Faculty of Forestry, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences.
“The role of ‘good’ fire for maintaining ecosystem composition, structure, and function cannot be understated – it is essential for biodiversity and resilience to climate change,” she says.
Using fire management is fundamental to promoting core biodiversity in the landscape, according to Kevin Koch, Gitanyow Lax’yip Guardians program lead.
“Much of the landscape has been heavily impacted by direct forces, such as silviculture practices that decrease forage productivity for many species, and indirect forces related to climate change, such as extreme weather, including drought,” he says. “Burning will help increase forage values for a wide range of wildlife species which are all interconnected.”
“The biodiversity that’s there evolved over thousands of years of fire being a big part of the landscape. So when you strip away managed fire, you’re taking away habitat from the species that depended on it. “And by stripping away the managed fire, you promote extreme, catastrophic fire,” he says. “One extreme fire right now could wipe out most of the old growth in the territory.”
UBC Forestry is growing, and is introducing exciting changes to its undergraduate programs by introducing a new ‘Bachelor’s of Science in Natural Resources’ starting in fall 2024. Five of the Faculty of Forestry’s current degree programs are being unified into one degree, with students choosing from six majors, each providing a well-rounded education in unique fields of Natural Resource studies.
Students will all take a common first year, with some course selection freedom to obtain prerequisites for potential majors, and then have the opportunity to select a major in second year in bioeconomy sciences and technology, conservation, forest management, forest operations, forest sciences, or wood products.
Two new first year courses, led by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, will introduce students to some of the most wicked environmental problems facing humanity such as climate change, catastrophic fires and floods, resource over-exploitation, food insecurity and poverty, and will show how these sorts of challenges, and others, are truly interdisciplinary needing innovative ecological, social and entrepreneurial solutions. Each major offers a different path for learning how to address these types of issues.
With immersive learning experiences, from field schools and lab work, to co-op opportunities, students will gain practical knowledge and skills that are critical for solving our most pressing natural resource challenges. With a diverse range of majors to choose from, students can explore their interests and find the best program fit for their career goals.
Equips students with expertise in cutting-edge technologies and manufacturing techniques, to create environmentally sustainable and innovative systems and products utilizing renewable natural resources.
Involves the interdisciplinary study of conservation, planning and management of renewable natural resources, providing a thorough understanding of function, process and structure of natural ecosystems, and an appreciation for political, legal and socioeconomic contexts which affect design and outcomes of conservation strategies.
Provides a working knowledge of the characteristics of forest resources and the ways in which they can be managed to yield a socially desirable mix of goods and services.
Provides broad coverage of the biological, physical and social sciences upon which forest resource management is based, with additional emphasis on the operational aspects of forestry.
Equips students with expertise in sustainable and innovative techniques for designing, developing, and manufacturing high-quality wood products.
Implementation of this new degree program will begin in the fall of 2024 for incoming UBC students, while current students will have the option to either remain in their original program or transfer to the unified program.
UBC Forestry is growing, and is introducing exciting changes to its undergraduate programs by introducing a new ‘Bachelor’s of Science in Natural Resources’ starting in fall 2024. Five of the Faculty of Forestry’s current degree programs are being unified into one degree, with students choosing from six majors, each providing a well-rounded education in unique fields of Natural Resource studies. With immersive learning experiences, from field schools and lab work, to co-op opportunities, students will gain practical knowledge and skills that are critical for solving our most pressing natural resource challenges. To walk us through some of the changes Professor Scott Hinch answers a few questions about the new undergraduate program.
1. Introduce yourself!
My name is Scott Hinch. I am a Professor in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, and am also the Associate Dean for Students in the Faculty of Forestry. I am a fisheries scientist and lead the Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory. I teach several class and field courses dealing with aquatic sciences, human impacts on aquatic systems, and fisheries conservation and management.
2. What is the rationale behind UBC Forestry’s Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources degree?
At present, students enter year 1 into one of our 5 BSc degree programs which all involve natural resource sustainability, but each focusses on very different aspects of environmental science, management, technology, and application. Requiring new students to select one of these degrees, largely when they are in high school, is unreasonable given the complexity, breadth and depth of the degree disciplines. We feel students needs some ‘immersion’ in diverse environmental disciplines before selecting their ultimate academic path.
Our new degree brings together students in year 1 in two new courses, led by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, that introduces students to some of the most wicked environmental problems facing humanity such as climate change, catastrophic fires and floods, resource over-exploitation, food insecurity and poverty, to name a few, and will show how these sorts of challenges are truly interdisciplinary needing innovative ecological, social and entrepreneurial solutions. Students will use this knowledge to select their major. Also, the Faculty of Forestry has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years in our undergraduate programs so streamlining our degree options will make it easier to advise and mentor students during their programs.
3. What are the major subject areas covered in the Natural Resources degree?
The majors are: Bioeconomy Sciences and Technology, Conservation, Forest Management, Forest Operations, Forest Sciences, and Wood Products. There will also be an option to not select a major and have a more ‘general’ program which would enable a more ‘accessible degree’ with no required field schools (or their course fees) assisting those who are not able to spend significant time away from home due to employment or family obligations, or financial limitations.
4. What does this change mean for current UBC Forestry undergraduate students?
Current students will remain in their present programs which will all continue until they graduate. If they wish to transfer into the new degree, accommodations will be made for them to do so.
5. What advice would you offer to prospective students who are considering applying for the Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources program?
If you want an education that will give you practical knowledge and skills for a career in resource sustainability, if you are ‘action-oriented’ and want ‘immersive learning experiences’ like field schools and lab work, co-op opportunities, if you want a career where you can help solve some of the most pressing natural resource challenges that humanity faces, the BSc in Natural Resources is the degree you should consider.
UBC Forestry wishes to congratulate Adjunct Professor Michael Wulder in the Department of Forest Resources Management for being appointed as a Member to the Order of Canada for his internationally recognized innovations in the field of remote sensing for mapping and monitoring land cover.
Michael Wulder
Michael Wulder is a highly accomplished Research Scientist at the Canadian Forest Service. His research focuses on using remote sensing and spatial data to support forest monitoring and reporting. Michael has dedicated his career to supporting forest monitoring and reporting activities across various scales and data types. His expertise lies in harnessing the power of advanced technologies to analyze and interpret information critical to sustainable forest management. As a respected figure in his field, Michael has contributed significantly to the advancement of forest monitoring practices.
The Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is one of Canada’s highest honours. It recognizes people across all sectors of society who have made extraordinary and sustained contributions to our nation. Its Companions, Officers, and Members take to heart the motto of the Order: DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM (“They desire a better country”). The Order of Canada was created in 1967 to honour people whose service shapes our society, whose innovations ignite our imaginations, and whose compassion unites our communities.
Sue Watts (MF’75, PhD’81) arrived at UBC Forestry 50 years ago with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Bangor University in North Wales, where she was the only female in her graduating class. Sue was drawn to UBC Forestry for graduate work in forest entomology – more specifically, to study blood-sucking flies – becoming only the second female to receive a Master of Forestry and the first to receive a PhD in Forestry. In 1982, Sue added an RPF to her list of credentials.
Having decided to stay on with UBC Forestry as a faculty member. Sue worked under six deans and three acting deans, and edited two editions of the Forestry Handbook for British Columbia, a Forestry Undergraduate Society publication first produced in the 1950s. In the late 1980s, Sue began a new role as Assistant Dean, External Relations, and was made responsible for creating UBC Forestry’s first newsletter, Branchlines.
Branchlines was officially launched in 1989 under the leadership of then Dean Bob Kennedy. In the early days, it was a monochrome, tri-fold newsletter featuring one short research article from each of UBC Forestry’s three departments. All pre-print production was – and continues to be – handled in house. Distribution was by mail four times per year. Over time, Branchlines has continued to evolve, becoming a central communications tool for UBC Forestry that links alumni, researchers, educators and members of the public with the broad-ranging work of students and staff. Today, the print publication is distributed to over 7,000 individuals and organizations around the world twice per year.
Sue edited Branchlines for 30 years before stepping down from her administrative roles in 2019 to focus her time on mentoring and teaching communication courses to graduate students. Students and alumni may also remember seeing Sue walk the Forest Sciences Centre halls with her large chocolate Labrador at her side. She was the force behind the Dogs in the Workforce program, launched in 2016, that encouraged faculty, staff and graduate students to bring their dogs to work. Since then, over 80 dogs have been registered in the program.
Helping graduate students through her teaching and mentoring roles was something that Sue was always passionate about, and she says that this is also the hardest thing for her to step away from in retirement. However, she is quick to add that she will be happy to have more time to devote to her hobbies of perennial gardening and dog training, as well as to connect with old friends and new.
Dean Rob Kozak (BSc’88, PhD’96) says it best: “We would like to congratulate and sincerely thank Dr. Sue Watts for her 30 years of work as editor of Branchlines, probably the longest-running newsletter of any UBC faculty, and for her dedication and excellent contributions to UBC Forestry as a faculty member and lecturer. You’ve set the bar high.”
We spread our branches standing on your shoulders, Sue. Best wishes on your next adventures!
This article was originally published in the Spring 2023 issue of Branhlines Magazine. View the full issue here.
