NSO Intern– British Columbia Conservation Foundation
The Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program (NSOBP) is an initiative under the British Columbia Conservation Foundation to breed and re-establish a self-sustaining population of one of Canada’s most endangered species. As an intern, I have had the immense privilege of working alongside northern spotted owls while gaining insight into their biological and ecological functions. One of my responsibilities is to monitor the physical and behavioural traits of the owls, both in-person and through camera recordings, specifically reporting on feeding and courtship behaviours. A large part of my role involves breeding and raising the rats and mice we house on-site as a fresh, high-quality food source for the owls. I am responsible for feeding the rodents, monitoring their health, and ensuring a clean and enriching environment.
Through my experiences at the NSOBP, I have learned a great deal about animal husbandry and welfare and supported the many miscellaneous behind-the-scenes activities that are required to maintain a successful conservation breeding program. As the breeding season approaches, I am eager to assist in the artificial incubation and hand-raising of owl chicks.
Student Research Assistant – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
For this Co-op work term, I have worked on extracting data on grain yield and experimental conditions from peer-reviewed papers based on field studies. This literature review task serves as the preliminary step for a meta-analysis study on the effects of pulse crops on subsequent cereal/oilseed crops in alternative cropping systems. Not only have I learned systematic organization of Excel data to facilitate statistical analysis in R, but I also continuously improve on efficient communication with the research scientist I work with, clarifying misunderstandings to ensure my data output always aligns with his expectations.
In addition to my primary task, I also collaborate with another Co-op student in conducting lab work, including KCl extractions (soil nitrogen content assessment), soil pH and electrical conductivity analyses, and greenhouse gas sampling.
This Co-op work term has enriched my perspective towards my future career in a phenomenal way. I never expected to be able to contribute to several ongoing agricultural studies, considering myself coming from a forestry degree. I am happy to see how I expand my knowledge in soil science/statistical analysis and deepen my understanding about formulating field-based research. Last but not least, this Co-op work experience enabled me to confirm my passion to pursue a Master’s degree oriented by my own research project.
Intern – Quezon City Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department
At the Quezon City Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department, I have gained an understanding of the range of sustainability initiatives. I have drafted internal, inter-departmental and external communication and proposal documents, and joined in hosting or attending different events and workshops.
Co-op has given me the opportunity to explore different work environments across sectors and countries.
My co-op at Merit Kitchens has been a really rewarding experience because it connects directly to what I’m studying in Wood Products Processing. I work with the Engineering team and support my manager with project management tasks and day-to-day engineering workflows to help reduce recurring issues. What I enjoy most is that the work requires active engagement and problem-solving rather than repetitive tasks. It’s also been motivating to see how concepts from my courses like Engineering Economics and Quality Improvement are applied in real workplace decisions.
Overall, this Forestry co-op has given me the opportunity to deepen my understanding of the value-added wood products industry and the role engineering plays within it.
During my work term as a Registration Assistant with Forest Professionals British Columbia (FPBC), I have developed a strong understanding of the applications and procedures required to fulfil the needs of forestry trainees and their sponsors throughout the registration process. A primary responsibility in my role was assessing trainees’ work history forms. I review each submission to ensure that their work has a detailed record of the learning progress and demonstration of their professional competency. For further improvements, I give them strong, concise feedback on how they can improve with their next submission. Although their work experience is verified with their sponsors, it was essential to have the details confirmed when submitted through FPBC’s learning management system (LMS), which reflects on their growth and progress.
I also gained more experience with the applications that FPBC has for its trainees, such as Roadmap to Registration and required learning modules. Additionally, I responded to trainee inquiries in a customer service capacity, ensuring applicants received timely, accurate, and supportive guidance. Another key responsibility was involving to make eligibility assessments. This process required reviewing resumes, pre-screening analyses, and their academic transcripts to determine whether the candidates have met FPBC’s registration requirements. This is extremely challenging as I would need to use my personal judgement to make the best and right decision. I am currently working on a project to focus on recruiting more foresters to become registered professionals in British Columbia’s forestry sector.
The UBC Co-op programs allow students, such as myself, to have the opportunity to gain more work experience and insight into choosing a career path they want to pursue in the future. I would highly encourage future Co-op students to participate because the learning objectives they experience in class can be applied to a professional setting while developing networks within the industry. The time spent within the Co-op program can be advantageous in terms of competition for job marketing, skills development, valuable work experience, and paid employment to help offset tuition costs.
The Co-op UBC Forestry Micro-Certificate Program Assistant position has given me many opportunities to challenge and refine my skillsets, mindset, and thought processes. This position primarily consists of maintaining and updating Canvas Catalog courses for the current and future offerings, answering student inquiries via phone and email, providing technical support to staff and students, and coordination with program instructors. A few of my favourite tasks include, updating the UBC Forestry website, writing VBA scripts for data visualization, making and adapting manuals for future assistants, and communicating with many forest professionals.
This position heavily relies on the development and refining of skillsets such as, attention to detail, thorough communication, time management and independent research. Additionally, this employment gave me the occasion to work alongside many experienced coworkers, which has broadened my aptitude for new mindsets and perspectives – fundamentally rewiring my approach to challenges and new tasks.
The UBC Forestry Co-op program offered me an avenue for employers to reach out directly, resulting in my current work placement. Moreover, Co-op can connect students to discrete job opportunities while maintaining a safe and encouraging support system for students during and outside their work term.
Professor Terry Sunderland and Lecturer Peter Wood, director and coordinator of the MIF program respectively, served as lead authors of the report, released at the UN Forum on Forests. It is one of the most comprehensive assessments of global forest management ever produced, drawing on voluntary submissions from 48 nations representing more than half of the world’s forests. The fact the report’s lead authors are also shaping the next generation of international forestry professionals at UBC FES is no coincidence — it is exactly the kind of real-world engagement the MIF program is built around.
“The tools, the knowledge and the policy frameworks exist,” said Dr. Sunderland. “Innovative financing, stronger institutions and cross-sectoral cooperation are essential to meet the goals. National leadership and community-driven solutions demonstrate that progress can be accelerated when ambition is matched by action.”
This is the kind of thinking MIF students encounter from day one.
The 12-month program prepares graduates for careers at the intersection of forests, policy and global sustainable development — covering international environmental governance, diplomacy and negotiations, Indigenous rights and tenure, natural resource economics, and leadership. It is one of the few programs specifically designed to train professionals for the complex, cross-border challenges that reports like this one are calling on the world to solve.
The Global Forest Goals Report 2026 takes stock of progress toward the six Global Forest Goals and 26 targets of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030, and the findings are a clear call to action. Of the 26 targets, only seven have been broadly met, 17 are only partly met, and two — reversing deforestation and eradicating extreme poverty for forest-dependent people — are completely off track. Between 2015 and 2025, the world lost more than 40 million hectares of forest, an area roughly the size of Germany or Japan, including 16 million hectares of primary forest critical for biodiversity and the climate.
The urgency is tangible for Canadians. Wildfires are intensifying across the country, costing taxpayers at least $1.5 billion annually. Climate change is extending fire seasons, lowering water tables and increasing the lightning strikes that ignite blazes. Canada’s 370 million hectares of forests are on the front lines of these pressures, and what happens here resonates globally.
“We have never been more in need of collective action on global environmental challenges,” said Dr. Sunderland, “yet current geopolitical tensions and the prioritization of near-term national interests place international cooperation at risk.”
The financial imbalance the report documents is stark. Official development assistance for forests fell by 23 per cent from 2024 to 2025, the largest annual contraction on record, while private institutions provided US$8.9 trillion in financing to companies with the highest deforestation risk. Environmentally harmful agricultural subsidies reached approximately US$406 billion annually, compared to just US$84 billion in total finance flows to forests.
But the report also highlights meaningful progress, including Canada’s 2024 Wildland Fire Prevention and Mitigation Strategy, which deepens partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and scales up investment in prevention and resilience. These are precisely the kinds of integrated, community-grounded approaches that MIF graduates are trained to develop and implement.
That real-world relevance is built into every element of the program. Students undertake an international field course — the 2026 cohort traveled to Costa Rica to witness conservation and forestry in practice — and complete the year with an internship or directed study placement with an international partner organization. MIF instructors bring decades of global fieldwork, policy experience and institutional relationships directly into the learning environment.
The MIF program’s mission is to produce leaders who can navigate exactly the challenges this report describes: bridging policy and practice, working across cultures and jurisdictions, and translating ambition into action. The fact that its faculty are authoring the UN’s most significant forest assessment of the decade is not incidental to that mission – it is evidence of it.
On May 1st, 2026, three forestry students from the UBC Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship (FES) joined the Alma Mater Society (AMS) leadership team, bringing their passion for sustainability, student advocacy, and community building to campus governance. We spoke to them about what drew them to AMS, what they hope to accomplish, and their role as forestry students.
President: Dylan Evans
Dylan Evans is a fifth year conservation student and the newly elected President of the AMS. He previously served as President of the Forestry Undergraduate Society (FUS), leading an award‑winning year that earned Constituency of the Year, and as AMS Vice‑President Administration, where sustainability first drew him into AMS‑wide work.
What drew you to the AMS presidency? It really started in Forestry and with the FUS. Leading FUS showed me how much impact student leaders can have, and my work on sustainability as AMS VP Administration made me want to take on campus‑wide challenges as President.
What are your main priorities for the year? I want to improve the student experience by helping students feel more engaged and supported, while also tackling affordability. At the same time, I’m focused on keeping sustainability at the centre of AMS projects and setting clear, tangible goals with faculties and campus partners.
How has forestry shaped your approach to student advocacy? Forestry has given me a deep understanding of what sustainability means in the context of climate, ecosystems, and communities. That lens shapes how I represent students and how I push UBC to be a better environmental steward.
VP Administration: William Sparks
William Sparks is a fourth year conservation student in the Faculty of Forestry and the AMS Vice-President Administration. He came to the role through leading Forestry’s “Drop the Puck” initiative and now focuses on the AMS Sustainability Action Plan 2030 and support for clubs and constituencies across campus.
What drew you to the VP Administration role? My interest in this role really grew out of my time in Forestry and with Drop the Puck. Seeing how that event brought people together showed me how powerful well-supported student initiatives can be, and VP Admin felt like the best way to help more groups do that across campus.
What are your main priorities for the year? I’m focused on making AMS climate and sustainability goals specific and trackable through the Sustainability Action Plan 2030, with clear timelines and deliverables. I also want to make sure clubs and constituencies have the resources they need to engage students.
How has forestry shaped your approach to sustainability and advocacy? To me, Forestry feels like a tight-knit community as much as a faculty. Conservation courses, especially an early class with Dr. Bun, gave me a hopeful, practical view of sustainability and what students can accomplish on and off campus.
VP External: Alex Zheng
Alex Zheng is a fourth year BEST student and the AMS Vice‑President External, with experience as FUS Vice‑President Finance and as a junior bioeconomy analyst in the Ministry of Forests through co‑op. He brings a diplomatic, systems‑thinking approach to external advocacy.
How do you feel stepping into the VP External role? I’m very excited, because this portfolio has a lot of potential to benefit students in Forestry and across UBC. At the same time, with economic and political pressures and the provincial post‑secondary review affecting funding, I feel a strong responsibility to uphold a high standard of advocacy.
What motivated you to run for VP External, and how has forestry shaped your view of the role? Working with AMS offices through my time as FUS Vice‑President Finance sparked my interest in external affairs and diplomacy. Forestry’s co‑op and coursework taught me how to tackle “wicked” problems and work collaboratively, and I bring that mindset into navigating complex external issues on behalf of students
About the AMS
The Alma Mater Society (AMS) is UBC Vancouver’s student union, representing over 60,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Since 1915, the AMS has advocated for students and worked to hold the university and all levels of government accountable to them. It provides services, runs student‑owned businesses, supports 300+ clubs, and helps students build community, access resources, and make the most of their time at UBC.
Lindsay is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, jointly appointed with the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. She has developed, implemented, and shared innovative approaches to teaching and strives to weave real-world applications into the classroom. She is a UBC Sustainability Fellow, contributes to an interdisciplinary team developing an Indigenous Land Stewardship Program, and is the author of the open educational textbook Writing Place.
As an instructor of discipline-specific scholarly writing, Lindsay supports students from diverse backgrounds, including those in their first year, helping them discover writing as a powerful tool for learning, reflection, and connection. Her impact is reflected in the outstanding feedback she receives from students, who consistently describe her teaching as motivating, engaging, and inspiring.
About the Killam Teaching Prize
The Killam Teaching Prize is awarded annually to faculty nominated by students, colleagues and alumni in recognition of excellence in teaching. Recipients are recognized at the graduation ceremonies.
Pacific salmon are at record high abundances in the Pacific Ocean. Yet numerous stocks are in decline and near extirpation particularly in their southern distribution threatening biodiversity, fisheries and food security in British Columbia. A suite of physical and management ‘barriers’ are part of the problem. The solutions need to be evidence-based, and the science needs to be co-produced in order to influence salmon management decision-making. In this thought-provoking seminar, you’ll learn about new cutting-edge collaborative research involving ‘fish-friendlier’ fisheries and passage infrastructure with outcomes that are reducing barriers to salmon recovery.
Presenter
Dr. Scott Hinch Professor and Associate Dean of Students Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship
Moderator
Jason Hwang Chief Program Officer & Vice President, Pacific Salmon Foundation.
