UBC Forestry & Environmental Stewardship 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 & Environmental Stewardship 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 & Environmental Stewardship 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 & Environmental Stewardship 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 Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship 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 Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship 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 & Environmental Stewardship 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 & Environmental Stewardship 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.
Laboratory Research Assistantat Canfor in Burnaby, BC
I am continuing my work term as a Laboratory Research Assistant at Canfor Pulp Innovation for my third co-op work term. This May, I got the opportunity to go to the Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George with several other staff members to conduct a fibreline audit. During this audit, we followed certain sets of chip samples, tracked when they would reach certain digesters and machines, and collected pulp samples at calculated times based on the operating speed of the machines. We brought those collected pulp samples to the pulp mill’s laboratory and dewatered them to remove chemicals such as black liquor, and we would bring those dewatered samples back to our workplace in Burnaby for further testing and refining. I was able to gain a broader perspective on how pulp mills operate and I also got to look at how pulp mills process pulp into their final form as machine room pulp sheets, which are sent to our workplace for additional refining and testing. I am grateful to be part of the Co-op program because it has allowed me to try out different career possibilities that are relevant to my studies, as well as experiencing more opportunities while maintaining my full-time student status.
Undergraduate Research Assistantat UBC Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship in Vancouver, BC
This summer I have been working as an undergraduate research assistant in the Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Lab. I have mainly been working at the Bamfield Marine Science Centre on Vancouver Island on a project studying the impact of angler catch and release methods on Chinook salmon survival. During this co-op term, I have been able to learn about research relating to salmon, the biology of salmon, and the complex issues surrounding their health and survival. Through this project I’ve had the opportunity to fish for Chinook salmon in Barkley Sound, which has been an incredibly unique and exciting experience. I learned how to catch, assess, monitor, and perform a necropsy on Chinook salmon. Working with the Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Lab has been a great opportunity to assist with cutting edge research in salmon, and to gain experience with participating in research. This co-op term has allowed me to incorporate and build upon knowledge I gained from my previous co-op terms. This is my final co-op term, and has been a great way to end my co-op career!
Environmental Co-opat Teck Coal Limited in Sparwood, BC
For my fourth co-op work term, I’m working as an Environmental Co-op with Teck Coal Ltd. This is my second consecutive work term with Teck, and I’ve been working closely with the Fish Team, focusing on fish habitat, planning, and monitoring. This summer I’ve been working mostly in the field, assisting with contract supervision of fish salvages and barrier assessments. I’ve also been helping with stream temperature monitoring and spawning surveys. One of my main duties this term has been leading our team’s offsetting and recovery camera program, where we set up trail cameras to qualitatively monitor offsetting and recovery habitat, drying and stranding areas, and overwintering conditions to support the recovery of Westslope Cutthroat Trout in the Upper Fording River. This co-op position has allowed me to not only develop a variety of field and office skills, but also network with contractors and learn more about future career options.
Assistant Community Gardenerat Village Vancouver in Vancouver, BC
This past summer work term, I had the pleasure of working with Village Vancouver, a local environmental organization. Village Vancouver works to take action and build resilient and sustainable communities with the rising threat of climate change through the creation of walkable transition villages. During my time working with Village Vancouver, I had the opportunity to build food gardens, learn about irriagtion systems, and get involved in community development projects. Overall, this summer co-op has been a valuable learning opportunity and great chance to explore and enjoy gardens all across Vancouver.
While working for then BC coastal forest company MacMillan Bloedel in the early days of her career, Linda Coady (BA’74) took part in discussions to resolve land use conflicts over Clayoquot Sound and the Great Bear Rainforest. It was the 1990s, and the concept of sustainability was still in its nascency. However, Linda saw an opportunity that set the course of her career.
Before her current role as the President and CEO of COFI, as of July 2022, Linda served as Executive Director of the Pembina Institute – a leading Canadian think tank on energy, climate and environmental issues. She was also Chief Sustainability Officer for Enbridge Inc, Vice-President of Sustainability for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, Vice-President of the pacific region for World Wildlife Fund Canada and Vice-President of Environmental Affairs with MacMillan Bloedel and Weyerhaeuser. At UBC, Linda taught corporate social responsibility as a Sessional Lecturer with the Sauder School of Business from 2011- 2012, and worked on new models for sustainable finance and disclosure. We sat down with Linda to learn more about her work and the evolution of sustainable approaches to forestry in BC.
When did you realize that you wanted to pursue sustainability in your career?
When I was first involved in land use issues on the BC coast, I saw how sustainability principles could be applied on the ground to help resolve conflict. The United Nations’ Our Common Future Brundtland Report had just been released in 1987, and the Earth Summit in Rio happened five years later. The Rio declaration put the first global ‘flag in the ground’ that sustainability and environmental concerns are integral to development. Subsequent multigovernmental commitments to work collaboratively to meet emerging sustainability goals made me realize that this was a movement I wanted to be part of.
What potential did you see in sustainability frameworks and how have they changed with time?
At first, I saw these frameworks as a means to address objectives around environmental stewardship and conservation. On the BC coast, this necessarily included sustainable forest management, Indigenous rights & reconciliation and the development of new partnerships, policies and technologies. I grew to understand that taking a sustainability approach requires consideration of social, economic and environmental dimensions. Today, sustainability is a lot more rigorous. Perhaps not quite a science, but it now comes with metrics, measurements, standards, benchmarks, reporting and accountability.
How is diversity and inclusion part of the bigger sustainability picture today?
Most sustainability frameworks started out with a focus on environmental indicators. Then, social indicators, such as diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and on other issues, became a pillar in reporting on sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance. So, companies, governments and investors using these frameworks are also now required to disclose how they are managing risks related to the social dimension of their activities. This largely stems from the growing acceptance of the importance of incorporating differing opinions and belief systems in business decision-making, along with an acknowledgment that cultural histories and backgrounds influence perceptions of the validity of different approaches.
In BC, Indigenous rights and reconciliation are central to discussions on sustainable forest management, as well as the transition to managing for ecosystem and community resilience. Ultimately, the hope is that by being more inclusive and having more people at the table, we’ll be able to equitably identify better solutions to very big challenges, such as climate change, minimizing our impact on the envi-ronment and maximizing our resources in order to lead more sustainable lives.
How can forestry help reach federal and provincial net-zero emissions goals by 2050?
All sectors of the economy will need to be involved in the movement to net-zero by 2050, and making measurable progress by 2030. The forest industry in BC and Canada is developing roadmaps and identifying areas where emissions can be driven down at the operating level and in the form of carbon storing products, materials and biofuels. These climate smart forestry approaches include managing forests for climate change, such as mitigating fire risk and biodiversity loss. A lot of attention is also being directed to identifying new value-added wood products, as well as expanding mass timber and other engineered forest products for tall wood building construction and green building systems in the province and abroad. These innovations open the door to more skilled jobs and forward-thinking approaches to the use of new forest tech and the production of renewable materials for construction, the bioeconomy and pulp and paper.
This article was originally published in the Spring 2023 issue of Branchlines Magazine. View the full issue here.
Isla investigates global change drivers and impacts with a focus on tundra ecosystems. She works at sites across in the Canadian North and conducts data syntheses at tundra-biome and global scales. Over two decades of research in the Arctic, she has studied how tundra ecosystems beyond the latitudinal and elevational treeline are responding to climate change. Her research explores how an accelerating warming is leading to a ‘greening’ of the Arctic including an increase in shrubs, shifts in the timing of plant growth and altered tundra biodiversity. Her research group works with a variety of tools from measuring tapes and quadrants through to time-lapse cameras, drones and satellite data to capture tundra vegetation change across scales. Isla communicates to broad audiences and works collaboratively with local communities to better understand environmental change in the Arctic and beyond.
As the Head of the Department of Wood Science at UBC, Professor Avramidis has spearheaded groundbreaking research that has propelled the understanding of wood-water relationships, non-destructive timber evaluation processes, and diverse wood drying methodologies. With close to 300 publications, he is an accomplished author and highly respected reviewer for science journals, publishers, and research foundations. Through his exceptional leadership and pioneering research, Stavros continues to inspire and advance the field of wood science.
About the International Academy of Wood Science
The Academy was established on June 2nd, 1966, and is a non-profit assembly of wood scientists, recognizing all fields of wood science with their associated technological domains, and securing a worldwide representation.
Fellows of the IAWS are wood scientists who are elected as actively engaged in wood research in the broadest sense, their election being evidence of high scientific standards.
Qikiqtaruk – Herschel Island along the Arctic Coast of the Yukon Territory, Canada is at the forefront of climate change. (Credit: Jeff Kerby)
Virtual reality (VR) technology continues to push the boundaries of innovation, and its potential to create meaningful experiences is being harnessed in a project that recently won the “Best in Category: Visualize” at the XR Prize Challenge: Fight Climate Change. Led by UBC Forestry & Environmental Stewardship Professor Isla Myers-Smith, the collaborative effort between National Geographic Explorers and local communities resulted in the development of “Qikiqtaruk: Arctic at Risk.” This ground-breaking VR project offers an immersive journey to Qikiqtaruk, an island in the Canadian Arctic, which serves as a poignant backdrop for exploring the impacts of climate change.
Unveiling the Arctic’s Climate Crisis
Isla Myers-Smith
Isla has been conducting research on Qikiqtaruk – Herschel Island in the Western Arctic since 2008 teaming up with Indigenous park rangers and government biologists to monitor the responses of tundra ecosystems to climate change. “If we want to understand how climate change is impacting the Arctic, we all need to work together combining Indigenous knowledge with scientific data to build the best picture we can of how these systems are changing.”
This project brought together scientists, park rangers, educators, and immersive content creators to shed light on the effects of climate change in the Arctic. The collaboration involved National Geographic Explorers Jeff Kerby, Isla Myers-Smith, and Martin Edström, along with Senior Park Ranger Richard Gordon and Aurora Research Institute Outreach Coordinator Annika Trimble from Inuvik, Arctic Canada. Their combined efforts aimed to present both Inuvialuit and scientific perspectives on the issue.
The Urgency of Arctic Climate Change
The Arctic region is experiencing a warming trend four times faster than the global average, as highlighted in the 2022 IPCC report. Isla emphasizes the urgency of understanding and addressing the situation. With melting sea ice, shifting vegetation patterns and thawing permafrost, the Arctic faces a multitude of challenges. These changes disrupt local transportation, threaten heritage sites along the coast and potentially double the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, due to the remote nature of these occurrences, perceiving the causes and consequences of climate change can be challenging.
A comparison of shrub encroachment in VR. (Credit: Qikiqtaruk — Arctic at Risk)
Harnessing Immersive Technology for Change
Jeff Kerby, a researcher and science photographer at Aarhus University, Denmark, recognizes the power of immersive technology in bridging this communication gap. He asserts that people who directly witness and experience the impacts of climate change are more likely to take action. With this in mind, “Qikiqtaruk: Arctic at Risk” was developed as an interactive VR experience, transporting users to the heart of Arctic climate change on Qikiqtaruk, also known as Herschel Island.
Embarking on a Virtual Journey
The VR experience allows users to explore the island and perceive the drastic changes occurring due to climate change. From the thawing of frozen ground to the encroachment of shrubs and the flooding of a historic settlement, the journey provides a vivid representation of the rates and magnitudes of environmental transformation. By enabling users to witness these changes firsthand, the project aims to evoke empathy and prompt action.
Isla shares how a global pandemic helped inspire this project. “When the pandemic hit, we could no longer get to our field sites and we had time to put our drone imagery and scientific data to a different use. We developed this virtual reality experience with our northern partners to visualize climate change impacts to communicate the rates and magnitudes of change occurring on Qikiqtaruk. When you see climate change impacts with your own eyes, you are more likely to advocate for climate action.”
Drone imagery and field-collected soundscapes were used to create an immersive digital experience to communicate climate change impacts. (Credit: Qikiqtaruk — Arctic at Risk)
A Fusion of Authenticity and Scientific Data
To create a truly immersive environment, the project incorporates field-collected drone imagery and authentic soundscapes captured from Arctic ecosystems. The VR experience leverages real scientific data and local perspectives, weaving together a compelling narrative narrated by Richard Gordon and Isla. This fusion of authenticity and scientific rigor enhances the credibility and impact of the project.
Accessibility and Collaboration
The “Qikiqtaruk: Arctic at Risk” VR experience has been designed for easy accessibility, catering to a wide range of devices and platforms. It can be enjoyed on VR headsets, regular computers, or even mobile devices, making it accessible to audiences across the globe, including Arctic communities themselves. This inclusive approach ensures that the project’s message reaches diverse audiences.
Isla points out that: “Climate change threatens the way of life for Northern communities. But, local people aren’t always able to visit sites further from their homes due to challenges of travel and high fuel costs. The VR environment allows Arctic people to see the rates and magnitudes of change in their homeland, and think about how they can best manage those landscapes for the future.”
“Qikiqtaruk: Arctic at Risk” showcases the power of virtual reality in raising awareness about climate change and its devastating effects on the Arctic region. By merging scientific data, local perspectives, and immersive technology, this innovative project provides an unprecedented opportunity for users to understand and engage with the challenges faced by Arctic people.
Senior Park Ranger Richard Gordon tests out the virtual reality environment on Qikiqtaruk in August 2022. (Credit: Isla Myers-Smith)
Isla and her research team have just returned to the Arctic to continue their Arctic climate change research and further develop the VR project. “This summer are taking the VR experience into Arctic communities. I am just back from the town of Akalvik where we shared the experience in the school and at a community event. It was great to see everyone from young children and high school students through to Elders engaging with this project and chatting about the changes that are going on in the Western Canadian Arctic.”
Through virtual exploration of Qikiqtaruk, individuals from around the world can gain a deeper appreciation for the urgency of addressing climate change and its impact on fragile ecosystems. As the project prepares for its public release, it holds the potential to inspire action and drive meaningful change in the fight against climate change.
