Forestry Co-op

Julia Thain (Forest Sciences)

January 19, 2024 | Author: Matthew

Research Assistant; Pacific Forestry Centre This fall I completed my final work term and second work term at the Pacific Forestry Centre in Victoria, BC. As a research assistant in the Bark Beetle Ecology Lab, I had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects including field trapping, lab experiments, and GIS work. The main lab projects I was working on involved rearing mountain pine beetles and spruce beetles in logs at different temperature treatments. After periods of time I would peel the insects out the bark to gather data on their development and cold tolerance. These studies are important […]

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Maria Luna Santacruz (Urban Forestry)

January 19, 2024 | Author: Matthew

Co-op Student – Climate Action Program; City of Victoria For this Co-op term I have been working in the City of Victoria’s Climate Action Program. I have been working in various projects which include a business case for the cost of doing nothing about the climate crisis, gathering data on commercial and residential building energy consumption and related emissions, and extracting and summarizing data from a community engagement survey. For this term one of my main goals is to hone my skills on data visualization; as such I have further improved my Excel skills and learned how to use Power BI. […]

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Ainsley Hannah (Conservation)

January 16, 2024 | Author: Matthew

Environmental Co-op student; Teck Coal Ltd; Sparwood, BC This is my fifth and final co-op work term, and my third term with Teck Coal Ltd. I have been working as an Environmental Co-op as part of the Fish Team since January 2023. The Fish Team is responsible for fish habitat and population monitoring in and around Teck’s mine sites in the Elk Valley. So far, I’ve spent this term working in the field on a wide range of projects including angling surveys, barrier assessments, and stream temperature monitoring. One of the main projects I’ve been working on is leading our team’s […]

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Abigail Brown (Conservation)

January 9, 2024 | Author: Matthew

Biological Science Technician; U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) In my work with the US Geological Survey, I have been working on an experiment exploring seed dormancy cycling in desert plants. This study aims to explore intra-specific variation of this trait within the Mojave desert, and the potential impacts of climate change on seed dormancy cycling. Dormancy is critical to seeds surviving extreme summer temperatures and long periods of drought, and to ensuring that plants germinate at times when conditions are most favourable to survival. This trait, while critical to the survival of entire desert ecosystems, has previously been vastly understudied. I am […]

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Grace Williams (Forest Sciences)

January 5, 2024 | Author: Matthew

Environmental Co-op Student; Hatch Ltd. For the past several months I’ve been working at Hatch Ltd. within the Environment and Sustainability unit in Vancouver, BC. As a fourth year student, I have held this position for both my third and fourth co-op terms, assisting with environmental permitting and other considerations for various infrastructure, energy, oil & gas, and mining projects. I provide desktop support for a number of projects from local works including the Patullo Bridge connecting Surrey and New Westminster, to international projects that have allowed me to connect not only with members of the Vancouver office, but the larger […]

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Maria-Belen de Schutter (Conservation)

January 5, 2024 | Author: Matthew

Engagement and Impact Assistant Co-op; UBC Centre for Community Engaged Learning Working for the UBC Centre for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) I have had the opportunity to develop programming for UBC students and community partners on various food, environmental, and housing justice topics. Here I helped facilitate partnerships between Metro Vancouver community organizations and created opportunities for students to venture beyond UBC and take on tangible projects in their communities. I learned how to facilitate large events and programming which brought together diverse groups of people in a collaborative manner and how to not only create a space for people to […]

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Kayleah Stapleton (Natural Resources Conservation)

December 11, 2023 | Author: Tripti

NSO Intern Position at British Columbia Conservation Foundation; Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program. I will be completing my third work term at the Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program (NSOBP), which is a project under the British Columbia Conservation Foundation. I have begun learning about raptor glove training procedures such as training cues and falconry equipment. The goal is to bring our ambassador owl to outreach events on my own to engage and educate the public about northern spotted owls. This October I was eager to assist with veterinary exams crucial to checking the health of these raptors and I was able […]

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Victor Lum (Forest Sciences)

December 4, 2023 | Author: Tripti

Business Co-op, Conservation & Energy Management Position at FortisBC Energy Inc. I am currently in my fourth co-op work term in the Business Co-op, Conservation & Energy Management position at FortisBC Energy Inc. in Surrey, BC.  Some of my responsibilities include initiating the first steps of processing rebate applications for multiple programs, sorting through mail-in rebate applications, and assisting with various tasks for the Conservation & Energy Management department. I am also taking part in an onboarding experience project where I get to review the current onboarding procedure for new employees and make recommendations to improve the overall onboarding experience for […]

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Jonathan Garsson (Forest Sciences)

December 4, 2023 | Author: Tripti

Jr. Forest Technician Co-op at Fortsite Consultants Ltd. For the past couple of months, I’ve been working at the Fort St. John office of Forsite Consultants Ltd. for my fourth Co-op work term. Forsite Consultants Ltd., or Forsite for short, is a large forestry consulting company that operates within the province of British Columbia and other various provinces around Canada. The Fort St. John branch of Forsite works closely with its partner British Columbia Timber Sales (BCTS) in supplying accurate information about cutblocks and setting it up to be auctioned off. I assist my supervisor and coworkers in day-to-day tasks relating […]

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Ruotong Liu (Wood Products)

December 4, 2023 | Author: Tripti

Production Coordinator Co-op with Builders Door and Window Supply At the start of my co-op term at Builders Door & Window, I was very lucky to work on a process improvement project that significantly impacted the company’s operations. In this project, I conducted time studies and wrote a process flowchart to analyze the whole manufacturing process. From this project, I found that the former labour time sheet which is used to quantify the total labour costs has a variance from reality. The management valued this result and responded to it with agility, adjusting the system and communicating the change to the […]

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