Assistant Project Manager at La Hesperia Reserve in Quito, Ecuador
During my co-op placement in La Hesperia Cloud Forest Reserve in Ecuador I have worked alongside researchers, volunteers and mangers to improve day-to-day operations; facilitate communication in English and Spanish; and creating content in various social media platforms. I have learned about the work that goes on behind the scenes to run an NGO. Most importantly, I have been working on collecting data on the importance of trees for improving biodiversity in farms and pastures. Because of this, I have learnt very valuable skills in fieldwork as well as in science and climate communications.
Co-op has been an amazing opportunity to prepare myself for the changes that I will face once I graduate; allowing me to have a smoother transition from student to employee. The experience I gained has made me a more well-rounded candidate for future jobs. I belive that other students should take advantage of the benefits of this great program since they will get the unique chance to grow within the industry of their choice before officially entering the job market.
Vegetable Gardener at Don’t Go Hungry Food Support Program in New Westminster, BC
For my second co-op term, it has been a delight to work as a produce gardener for the Don’t go Hungry Food Support Program, based in New Westminster. My main role is to manage and maintain health of three different vegetable garden sites, one in which I newly implemented, to aid food insecure communities. This includes planting, pruning, setting up irrigation systems, and regularly harvesting the vegetation. This is a dynamic position that has allowed me to gain skills in project management, leadership, and community engagement. The new garden site I recently implemented helped me practice project management through creation of layout visualization and understanding the importance and process of land cultivation. I have been able to take on leadership roles to coordinate volunteers and distribute garden tasks. Another exciting aspect is getting to know the local community, through interactions with program supervisors, social media engagement, and people in food insecure situations, that utilize the program. This has opened my eyes to urban agricultural practices and how these techniques can be used to directly help those around you. It has been a pleasure to work at this program and I am excited to continue applying knowledge learned from my school courses to help the community of New Westminster.
Remote Sensing Analyst at Pacific Forestry Centre in Victoria, BC
I am responsible for checking different Landsat/satellite images on ArcMap and incorporating high-resolution images from different sources such as Google Earth to see if there are any human-induced deforestation events happening across Canada, where the entire country has been divided into different packages containing cells that are 3km by 3km. If there is a deforestation event happening and the area is greater than a hectare, I will have to map it on ArcMap and input relative information of the deforestation event (eg. forest pre-type, post-class, and current land use). This co-op work term not only has given me the chance to apply the remote sensing knowledge I have learned in my forestry courses in real-life work experience while learning new skills, but I also got to see different land-use changes and geography across the whole of Canada. Co-op is an extremely good opportunity to experience different fields and build connections outside school.
Summer Camp Leader at Vancouver Botanical Gardens Association in Vancouver, BC
From the beginning of June, I have been working as a Summer Camp Leader with the Vancouver Botanical Gardens Association for my first Co-op work term. I started with a month of training, where others in the same position as me would learn about the overall structure and expectations of day camps, workplace safety, and collaborate on summer camp plans. We also got opportunities to practice our camp leadership skills and understand how camps work in a botanical garden, which included leading a school field trip, a half-day weekend nature camp, and running a full Pro-D Day camp. The full-day summer camps happen in July and August, and children aged 5 to 10 attend the outdoor-based camps with a weekly natural theme as they explore the natural environment around them through fun activities. I appreciate Forestry Co-op for providing me the opportunity to apply my forestry and natural sciences knowledge towards various responsibilities and duties as a Summer Camp Leader.
Landscape Maintenance Team Member at Kennedy Landscaping LTD in Richmond, BC
This Summer I am continuing my work term with Kennedy Landscaping in Delta BC. So far I have had opportunities to learn a variety of new skills using small engine tools such as pruning, hedging, line trimming, and leaf blowing while helping maintain beautiful landscapes throughout the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. The Maintenance Team and Crew Leads at Kennedy have been very welcoming and helpful as I take on new tasks and work towards my goals. I look forward to continuing to build my new skills while working with this incredible team for the rest of the Summer!
After many years of advancement, the forestry profession is increasingly going digital. Research and teaching at UBC Forestry are heading the charge, offering students the best possible opportunities to learn and gain skills using industry-focused digital software and hardware. Thanks to a significant in-kind gift from Trimble, a leading global technology company, UBC Forestry is home to the state-of-the-art Trimble Technology Lab – the first Forestry-focused lab for Trimble and the first lab of this type in Canada.
“The Trimble Technology Lab at UBC gives students and researchers access to some of the most sought-after digital tools that are being integrated into forestry practices across the industry,” says UBC Forestry Prof. and Canada Research Chair in Remote Sensing Nicholas Coops. “Making this technology available under one roof will help UBC Forestry continue to provide the highest calibre educational and research opportunities.”
Housed within UBC Forestry’s Forest Sciences Centre, the Trimble Technology Lab space will help train the next generation of forestry and natural resources professionals, researchers and leaders. Computer-based decision support systems, building information modelling software, rugged field tablets and 3D laser scanners are among the technologies that will help expand teaching and research opportunities. Educational areas that will benefit from this new lab space include silviculture, stand dynamics, forest biometrics, carbon management, sustainable harvesting systems and resource identification and quantification.
“Trimble is incredibly proud to contribute to the advancement of forestry education and learning opportunities in British Columbia,” says Amy Northcutt, director of education and outreach with Trimble. “This gift to UBC represents Trimble’s commitment to the future of sustainable forestry practices and to the next generation of forestry and natural resources professionals. We’ve chosen to invest into UBC because of the alignment around our mission of transforming the way the world works, and our vision for the future of sustainable forestry and natural resource management.”
“Students graduating from UBC Forestry programs in the coming years will be entering careers in which they will address some of the most urgent challenges surrounding climate change, biomass utilization, wood building design, urban planning, sustainable harvesting and forest management,” adds Amy. “Trimble is proud to support these students and future professionals as they tackle these big challenges of tomorrow.”
Each ESRI Scholarship applicant should provide no more than three or four pages, two pages of text and one or two pages of graphics (maps, tables, gures, models, diagrams), outlining why they should receive the award. The text pages should describe the applicants’ background in one paragraph and then detail their use of GIS, including when it was done and for whom. The graphics page(s) should include an exported image of the graphics that they have produced that illustrates the outcome of their analysis. Applications will be reviewed according to the clarity of the presentation, the level of GIS innovation, and the quality of the graphic presentation.
