Volunteer Opportunity with Forests Ontario
Ontario’s forest sector is facing a significant labour shortage. Across the province, it is
recognized that engaging students and promoting employment and career opportunities is
critical to the long-term viability of sector – from forest management planning to forest
operations, from research and innovation to manufacturing.
On February 16, 2023 students in forestry and forestry-related programs will join
employers at Forests Ontario’s annual Student-Employer Engagement (SEED) Session.
SEED brings together students, recent graduates, and representatives from organizations
and companies within the forest sector in a virtual environment to discuss employment
opportunities and in demand skills.
UBC Establishes Trimble Technology Lab Serving the Faculty of Forestry
Building on a commitment to cultivate a highly-trained workforce that will drive the innovative solutions of tomorrow, Trimble and the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia (UBC) are collaborating to establish a state-of-the-art Trimble Technology Lab at UBC’s Forest Sciences Centre.
Growing Indigenous Forest Gardens
BC’s forests were once extensively managed for long-term sustainability and subsistence
Growing up in Greater Vancouver, Jennifer Grenz (BSc Agro-Ecology’04, PhD’20), who is of mixed Nlaka‘pamux ancestry from the Lytton First Nation, often relished in family trips to BC’s Southern Interior, Squamish-Lillooet and Coast Mountain regions. There, she would run through the semi-arid hills and valleys with her cousins, trapsing through stands of silver fir, white spruce, western larch, paper birch, trembling aspen and Rocky Mountain juniper.
Her deep roots in BC and passion for nature later led Jennifer down various paths. Following her undergraduate degree at UBC in agroecology, she launched an ecological restoration consulting company (Greener This Side), completed a PhD in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems at UBC and ran as the North Island-Powell River Liberal candidate.
In January 2022, Jennifer accepted a joint appointment with UBC Forestry and UBC Land and Food Systems as an Asst. Prof. where her research and teaching pursuits will build on her experience in invasive species management, ecological restoration, science communication and Indigenous ecology. What drives her work, she says, is a desire to better understand and apply an Indigenous worldview to the management of landscapes.
“I work a lot within Indigenous forest gardens,” she explains. “When you look at the species compositions in some areas in a legacy state that reflects Indigenous forest management practices, you find that they don’t look the same as a typical forest.”
…humans are an essential part of the relationships that allow plants, trees and forest ecosystems to thrive…
Prior to colonization, Indigenous peoples managed their lands extensively, placing certain plant species at various intensities in different locations to provide food and medicines on a broad scale, Jennifer explains. Forest soil was fertilized with fish bones, similar to how gardeners use fish emulsion to fertilize their backyard plants. Fire was used to conduct quick burns to open up the forest canopy, sweeten the soil (improve fertility) and remove dry woody debris that could ignite into a major blaze.
Many of these practices are being reclaimed and adapted in the modern context by Indigenous communities, says Jennifer, yet few are currently integrated into non-Indigenous-led, large- and small-scale forestry operations, despite their potential to improve climate resiliency.
Indigenous forest gardening was developed and passed down over millennia, which accounts for the sophistication and ingenuity of forest garden practices.
My question to address this predicament is: ‘how do we reclaim the practices in our Indigenous oral histories and then revitalize them in the modern context?
“The soil profile in Indigenous managed forest gardens can be entirely different than neighbouring areas,” says Jennifer.
“I have seen time and again throughout my career situations similar to the one in which salmonberry thrived in nearby Indigenous gardens, but, when a stand newly eradicated of invasive Japanese knotweed was planted with salmonberry, the plants died,” notes Jennifer. “The soils in non-Indigenous gardens are so different that the same result is not yielded.”
Jennifer has set her sights firmly on transferring knowledge of Indigenous ecology, food systems, forest gardens and invasive species management in collaboration with Indigenous communities and governments, as well as research into the soil microbiome and plant-soil interactions. This work, she asserts, can contribute to the much-needed paradigm shift towards relational, sustainable forest decision-making that honours place-based knowledge, community needs and values. These concepts will also be featured in her forthcoming book, Medicine wheel for the planet: Healing the land by reclaiming an Indigenous ecology, due to be released by Knopf Penguin Random House in 2024.
“We are dealing with many complex issues from the legacy of invasive plants on the land and a lack of understanding of and relationship with the land and how to steward and tend to plants,” says Jennifer.
While quick burns may work in remote rural areas, they may not be possible near towns and cities. This, Jennifer says, raises the question of what can be done instead. The answer is something she plans to pursue over the coming years.
“Today, we are in need of a reapplication of the food systems lens that guided the land management practices of Indigenous peoples who engineered forest species composition to serve our needs, as well as preserve the long-term health of the forest,” says Jennifer. “This involves a recognition that humans are an essential part of the relationships that allow plants, trees and forest ecosystems to thrive, and need to play a role in the purposeful shaping of lands and waters.”
Indigenous ecology, she says, has this concept baked into its core.
Green Investing
Global forestry assets could be poised for rapid growth
UBC Forestry alumnus, David Brand (PhD Forestry’85), knows the value of forests well. After serving as the director general of science and sustainable development with the Government of Canada’s Department of Natural Resources, David held roles with Australia’s largest forestry business. He also worked with a farmland and timberland investment organization before founding the global nature-based investment company, New Forests, in 2005.
David started New Forests with a $1 million loan, and has grown the business to a leading investment manager of approximately 1.25 million hectares of forest, valued at around $8.75 billion. A strong believer in the principles of sustainable forest management, David’s vision for his company includes creating opportunities within the forestry sector for communities to transition to a greener and more sustainable future.
“Community involvement and partnership are part of the transition to sustainable land use and natural climate solutions,” David says. “Community members need to be part of a shared value solution to generate returns and ensure success.”
“As a certified B Corp – working in the best interests of communities, employees, consumers and the environment – New Forests also supports the climate change mitigation opportunities forests can provide. Circular bioeconomy technology, such as wood-based bioproducts, along with the carbon sequestration potential of trees, are part of New Forests’ investments in real assets, as well as natural capital strategies.
“Forestry has become a key player in the sustainability transition,” says David. “It’s like all roads lead to Rome. Forestry investment can help in both mitigation and adaptation to climate change, as well as support nature conservation and create benefits to rural communities, including Indigenous communities.”
Forestry’s return on investment comes from the sale of timber and other forest-related goods and services, along with biological growth. Similar to wine, the more forests age, or in this case grow, the more valuable they can become.
A relatively new opportunity, forestry investing started to gain appeal around the 1980s and 1990s, largely in the form of assets sold to institutional investors in the US, says David. It has since piqued the interest of investors looking for ways to balance their portfolios with longer-term options.
“Forestry has no inherent correlation with the stock market or bond rates,” explains David, making it an attractive investment opportunity, particularly when weathering volatile market conditions.
What we’re trying to accomplish is looking at how the forestry sector can be recast as a solutions-based sector that leads in the transition to a sustainable society.” the carbon sequestration potential of trees, are part of New Forests’ investments in real assets, as well as natural capital strategies.
“The longer time horizon of forest assets does come with a degree of risk from externalities such as climate change, wildfire and other natural disasters, although many can be mitigated through management practices and insurance,” David shares.
Because real assets tend to be scarce or finite, demand for them increases with population growth. For example, real estate is a real asset that grows in value in a tight market with few available homes and lots of people looking to buy. Trees are a finite resource in that there is limited arable land upon which to grow them. With global populations estimated to reach 10.9 billion people by the year 2100, demand for trees and the services they provide could be on an upwards trajectory.
“As human populations and the global economy continue to grow, sustainability is likely to be an ongoing, central trend in investing,” says David. “Everything people do that creates a more sustainable outcome is going to become more valuable.”
In the Spotlight: Dr. Alex Moore
Dr. Alex Moore is an Assistant Professor at UBC, jointly appointed to the Faculty of Forestry and the Faculty of Science. Their research focuses on how predator-prey interactions impact the health and functioning of coastal wetland ecosystems and explores the role that cultural values and knowledge play in ecosystem restoration and conservation.
Tell us about yourself
I moved to Vancouver this past summer to begin my UBC career as a professor serving the Dept. of Botany in the Faculty of Science and the Dept. of Forest and Conservation Sciences in the Faculty of Forestry.
Previously I was living on the east coast of the United States where I worked at Princeton University’s High Meadows Environmental Institute as a postdoctoral research associate.
Prior to my position at Princeton, I completed 3 years as a postdoctoral fellow through a program with the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. It was during this time that I began to really appreciate teaching and how I might be able to make a difference. The postdoctoral position resonated with me because it called for both research and teaching conservation biology to high school students in the museum’s after-school program. After reviewing the museum’s science curriculum for opportunities to incorporate diversity, equity, inclusion and justice narratives and activities, I was eager to take part.
Can you give us an overview of your research? What excited you about this work?
I try to ensure that my research calls for a more holistic appraisal of ecosystem health, which includes important ecological features as well as the consideration of how social and cultural elements impact those landscapes.
What drew me to this line of research was that it allowed me to not only explore coastal wetland ecosystems but also directly engage with communities that have been historically marginalized in STEM fields as well as conservation practice. It’s a significant undertaking that I believe starts with an acceptance of the reality that the knowledge I hold is inherently incomplete and a commitment to developing long-term relationships with the marginalized communities that should be uplifted by this work.
How can principles of inclusivity, equity, anti–racism and justice help us to better understand the work of conservation, restoration and knowledge?
The field of conservation has a history that is rooted in anti-Indigenous and anti-Black practices, including those based on The Doctrine of Discovery and the enforcement of laws that stripped Indigenous and Black communities of their access to land. In order to equitably engage in conservation and restoration practice today, it is essential to interrogate this history and the modern-day practices derived from it. One way to do this is by allowing people to reconnect with places. If we want to truly understand and protect ecosystems, we need to include the knowledge and values of the communities that have historically shaped and interacted with these environments.
What kind of topics/questions will the Moore Inclusive Conservation Lab address?
In our lab, we plan to conduct applied community and ecosystem ecology research and practice conservation at various scales while incorporating the values and needs of local communities directly into our work. Our lab will begin setting up in Fall 2023 and is already open for applications from students interested in being part of our group.
Visit Dr. Alex Moore’s lab website
Climate change contributing to real Christmas tree shortage
Christmas tree consumers may be challenged again this year in finding a traditional tree due to a continuing supply shortage that can be attributed in part to climate change.
UBC Faculty of Forestry professor Dr. Richard Hamelin explains how climate change continues to plague the real Christmas tree market and what should be considered for improving the worldwide growing supply chain shortage.
Establishing a More Meaningful Approach to Field Research in Global Communities
Any Western researcher who had conducted field studies overseas is likely familiar with the terms “parachute science” or “colonial science.” Both terms being interchangeable, they are defined as researchers coming into communities to conduct their work without appropriately acknowledging the importance of local expertise.
UBC Faculty of Forestry PhD candidate Alida O’Connor, who joined the Faculty in 2019, wanted to ensure any international fieldwork she conducted would incorporate a more meaningful approach with equitable collaborations integrated into every step in the process.
“It’s always been my goal to work in research settings where we were truly collaborating with scientists and people who live in the landscapes we are studying. My international fieldwork, which is focused on understanding the relationship between land-use priorities, decision-making power and collaborative natural resource management, has allowed me to do just that.”
Working in Zambia
In spring 2022 O’Connor journeyed to the Kalomo District in southern Zambia, also known as the breadbasket district, where she spent three months with a local team who helped her with Tonga translations, co-developing research questions, identifying study sites and so much more.
Her work is part of a joint initiative with UBC Forestry, Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and CIFOR’s large-scale project – Collaborating to Operationalise Landscape Approaches for Nature, Development and Sustainability (COLANDS). O’Connor’s supervisor, UBC Forestry’s Dr. Terry Sunderland who leads the Faculty’s Sunderland Lab and is a senior associate with CIFOR, coordinated the connection.
During her visit, O’Connor and her field assistant Emeldah Mwenda conducted many in-the-field key informant interviews and discussion groups with community members, traditional leaders and government representatives. She learned from communities about challenges with everything from a decline in soil fertility to food security.
What O’Connor was learning from Zambians in return was their innovative approaches to managing their landscapes.
Southern Africa’s Innovative Approach to Natural Resource Management
“I’ve always been very interested in Southern Africa. The history with colonialism, for one, and the fact these countries are at the forefront of reclaiming their land and adapting to a changing climate through the management of their natural resources. They have a lot of interesting and innovative programs. I believe Canada could learn a lot.”
Despite working long days that sometimes involved travel, challenging primary data analysis and many hours of observation, O’Connor says it all seemed to happen quickly. She believes that was likely because the group was so grateful to have the opportunity to work in-person once more.
“It truly was a whirlwind. It was so nice to be able to get to the field after two years of COVID-19 pandemic-driven, desk-based work from Vancouver. Those in-person talks quickly became dynamic conversations that tend to happen naturally when you’re not forced to conduct it all virtually.”
Like most graduate students, O’Connor will continue to transcribe the dozens of hours of research data she collected while away overseas. While undertaking this in-depth analysis of the hours of data collected, she will also plan for her next field study – this time in Ghana.
“I look forward to continuing fieldwork early next year when I will be travelling to Ghana’s Northern Region.”
To learn more about O’Connor’s most recent research experience, read her blog here.
About Alida O’Connor
Alida’s work explores the social dimensions of conservation through topics such as community-based conservation, local perceptions and values, and integrated landscape approaches She holds a Master’s degree in Resources, Environment, and Sustainability from the University of British Columbia and a combined Bachelor’s in International Development and Environmental Sustainability from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.
Thirty-six projects led by UBC researchers awarded SSHRC Insight Development Grants
Faculty of Forestry researchers are among the UBC researchers who have been awarded 36 SSHRC Insight development grants.