Geoscience
Geoscience
My training in natural science began on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee at the University of the South: Sewanee (BS, 1989). It was here I learned to read landscapes through the study of botany geology. After this liberal arts education, I worked as an environmental consultant in Atlanta, Georgia (1989-1991) where I investigated hazardous chemical migration from industrial sites. Craving new landscapes to explore, I moved west to expand my knowledge of botany at the University of Wyoming (MS, 1995). Afterwards, I worked as a botanist/wetland scientist on environmental impact assessments in and around the Southern Rocky Mountains (1994-1996).
After this second stint of environmental consulting, I moved to British Columbia to pursue a PhD in biology (paleoecology) from Simon Fraser University (PhD, 2002). For this research, I used vascular plant ecology and pollen of tidal-marsh sediments to quantify relative sea-level change from the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. Following my PhD, I joined the US Geological Survey at the University of Washington as a Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow (2003-2006) where I continued my earthquake research, but now in and adjacent to the Puget Lowland.
I joined UFV in 2006 and developed a sequence of courses related to biogeography and raised funds to build a lab to support research. I investigated how wetlands record and archive evidence of past Fraser River floods, and how survivor trees record fire history in the Southern Okanagan. In 2008, I shifted focus northward to Rivers Inlet in the Great Bear Rainforest, where students and I worked alongside Wuikinuxv Nation environmental stewards to investigate how watershed dynamics may have contributed to collapse of its salmon fishery.
In 2012, I began to take on more administrative responsibility and served for two years on the UFV Faculty and Staff Association, first as Faculty Vice President and then as Chief Negotiator. Following this service, I developed pedagogy around project-based learning to teach research skills to more students. From 2019-2022, I represented the Faculty of Science on UFV's Senate, and from 2020-2022, I directed UFV's School of Land Use and Environmental Change. After a needed respite, I've returned to teaching and research through project-based learning, but with more focus on intersectionality and awareness of human relationship to land.
Professional Memberships
My current research interests relate to science communication through story and song to foster connection to land, create unity, and improve environmental stewardship. I have studied music alongside science throughout my career, and, for me, the two are inextricably linked. Using my understanding of vulnerable landscape processes in the Fraser Valley along with archival research and testimonials, I plan to compose music to reach people who might otherwise reject the science.