Faculty

I am world traveler, educator, musician, and environmental researcher.  I am originally from Newfoundland and Labrador and have lived in southern Africa, UK and in many parts of Canada. Prior to joining UFV, I was assistant professor with the School of Climate Change at the University of Prince Edward Island.

I completed my bachelor’s at Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Master of Natural Resources Management at the University of Manitoba, including research on the remediation of contaminated sites. For my PhD, at Wits University in South Africa, I researched the coexistence and competition between large herbivores such as white rhino, zebra and wildebeest.

I have always had a passion for music and songwriting, and nature and the environment. I have released 6 albums under my stage name Dr. Zoo. The music combines contemporary folk with Celtic and African influences, and explores environmental themes, multiculturalism, embracing our differences, and coming together to create positive world change.

My goal as an educator is to create a supportive learning environment and focus students on the lifelong learning skills of reading, writing, critical thinking, and problem solving. I develop all my courses based on ‘Forbes Ten Vital Skills Employers Want’.  I strive to create practical lab or field experiences, and class activities to develop transferable skills, in organization, critical thinking, data management, teamwork, written, visual and verbal communication.

My goal is to mimic real work situations and create open-ended problems around various course modules and students gather information and work to solve it. I act as a facilitator and help students discover the answers to problems instead of simply providing answers. I find this approach allows students to think through a problem and use their logic and their own experience to come up with a solution.  Students who had C’s and B’s in traditional lecture and exams, consistently became B+/A students, and expressed they now “own” and “drive” their education and life-long learning.

GEOG 105 - Natural Hazards and Hollywood

GEOG 111 - Environmental Issues and Strategies

GEOG 257 - Environmental science and communications 

GEOG 331 - Environmental Assessment and Management

Climate change and developing sustainability competencies to solve ‘wicked’ problems. Developing intercultural, interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies though community service learning and study abroad. Linking music and environmental education. Conservation of large herbivores.