How Do I Do This: An Environmental Career Podcast

Before starting his career at MNRF,  Brian worked as an environmental engineer for six years. He then got his law degree and, for the past 28 years, has worked for the province of Ontario prosecuting natural resources offenses. In his spare time, Brian is also an avid bird watcher. Check out our website! Home (el4biodiversity.ca) Follow us on social media @el4biodiversity for more updates and even...

Check out our website! Home (el4biodiversity.ca) Follow us on social media @el4biodiversity for more updates and events! 

Check out our website! Home (el4biodiversity.ca) Follow us on social media @el4biodiversity for more updates and events! 

Jennifer Szczerbak is the Vice President of Land Development Ecology at RJ Burnside. She has experience conducting sub-watershed studies, environmental impact studies, and greenlands systems planning. In her work, Jennifer loves collaborating across disciplines and improving local biodiversity through restoration projects. Websites and Links mentioned: RJ Burnside Careers Page: https://www.rjburns...

Spending much of his childhood outside in nature, Christian Friis grew to realize the beauty and power of nature. While attending Mount Allison University, he volunteered for Long Point Bird Observatory. This experience would solidify where he would focus his career - bird conservation. Christian now works for the Canadian Wildlife Service, Ontario Region as a Wildlife Biologist, where he focusses...

Filip is a recent graduate from the Wildlife Biology Program at McGill University, where he first began participating in Northern Research within the Humphries Research Group. These opportunities to experience working in Arctic communities inspired him do an MSc with the Kutz Research Group, allowing him to gain experience in the domain of wildlife health.   Websites and Links mentioned: Research...

Bryan Poirier is the manager of strategic conservation policy in the Canadian Wildlife Service, a branch within environment and climate change Canada.  In that role, Bryan and his team work to ensure that biodiversity policy and considerations are incorporated into other government priorities and initiatives, including those related to climate change. Bryan is especially interested in the intercon...

Jenna did her undergraduate degree at Queen’s University in environmental studies and biology, and completed a research based Masters at Western University. She is also one of the founding members and a past board member of the Emerging Leaders for Biodiversity. Jenna has experience working with various species at risk and in land stewardship in Ontario. She currently works for the Nature Conserva...

Sherwin is an aquatic ecologist working with a team to implement restoration projects in the Credit River. With Credit Valley Conservation, Sherwin is a Program Manager of Aquatic and Wetland Restoration. Sherwin’s passions lie with improving & preserving our water resources, empowering others and- as a Chinese Canadian and a person of colour- improving diversity and equity in the environmenta...

Brenna holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and Environmental Governance from the University of Guelph and has been an ISA certified arborist for 6 years. She has been employed at LEAF (Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests) for over 7 years- currently working as a Residential Planting Programs Manager- and some of her past experiences include research in dendroclimatolo...

Toby caught his first bat at the age of eleven and hasn’t looked back. After teenage years chasing the bats of southern England, he studied biology at the University of Oxford and moved to Canada in 2013 for a Research Master’s investigating bat migration, supervised by Dr. Brock Fenton. Since then he has worked on bat conservation programs in Ontario and authored a field guide to the bats of the...

Jackie is senior research and policy advisor with the Greenbelt Foundation, and a previous Emerging Leaders for Biodiversity Board Member. Through her work, Jackie helps to review current knowledge and research, and help apply it to protecting the long term sustainability of the Greenbelt. As an urban forester and arborist, she helps to grow and manage trees and greenspaces across cities. Websites...

David Seburn is currently the Freshwater Turtle Specialist with the Canadian Wildlife Federation. Previously, he was a consultant specializing in the conservation of amphibians and reptiles. He has written more than a dozen scientific papers on amphibians and reptiles, and in 2020 was presented with the Blue Racer Award, from the Canadian Herpetological Society, for significant contribution to the...

Natasha is currently working to facilitate the protection of Boreal birds across Canada, during all parts of their life cycle, as a Boreal Conservation Project Specialist with Birds Canada. She believes that by studying birds, it can allow us to rectify the disconnect between scientists and the public, providing an avenue where we can have those difficult conversations about conservation that need...

Matt is a wildlife ecologist and a postdoctoral fellow at Wilfrid Laurier University, working with Environment and Climate Change Canada to understand the cumulative effects of disturbance on boreal caribou in Ontario. Matt is interested in how wildlife respond to landscape change and his graduate research focused on ducks. Matt is also the current President of the Ontario Chapter of The Wildlife...

Kathleen is an Interpretive Naturalist in the Discovery Program of Ontario Parks.  She has a passion for helping people connect with the natural world and loves when she can share her love of parks with others.  She's worked for Ontario Parks for 9 years in various roles including a Frontline Interpreter, a Resource Technician, and the Discovery Leader of MacGregor Point Provincial Park.  She...

Steve Hounsell is a retired biologist who spent his career with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and the former Ontario Hydro, where he managed their biodiversity programs. Steve, an ardent supporter of sustainability and the conservation of biodiversity, is the Chair of the Ontario Biodiversity Council, the President of Forests Ontario, and a Past President of Ontario Nature. Websites and Links men...

Larissa Nituch is a Science Operations Supervisor with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, leading the delivery of the provincial rabies research and control program. She has worked for MNRF for over 12 years in a diversity of roles related to wildlife research and monitoring, operations, and policy, and holds a Masters of Science from Trent University, focusing on disease in wild Amer...

Gary Pritchard is an Indigenous Restoration Ecologist and Indigenous Placemaker (Engagement Specialist) from Curve Lake First Nation, and incorporates Indigenous Knowledge Systems into ecosystem restoration and recovery. He has worked with, and traveled to, over 300 Indigenous Communities throughout Canada and the USA. Gary has extensive knowledge of conducting environmental assessments and implem...

Gary Pritchard is an Indigenous Restoration Ecologist and Indigenous Placemaker (Engagement Specialist) from Curve Lake First Nation, and incorporates Indigenous Knowledge Systems into ecosystem restoration and recovery. He has worked with, and traveled to, over 300 Indigenous Communities throughout Canada and the USA. Gary has extensive knowledge of conducting environmental assessments and implem...

Emerging Leaders for Biodiversity aims to connect youth and emerging professionals in Ontario with each other, opportunities in the environmental sector, and with the Ontario Biodiversity Council, all the while promoting biodiversity conservation.  While this year it might not be business as usual, our mission remains the same so make sure if you haven’t already, join ELB so you can get our newsle...

For the end of Season 1, I sat down with three of our board members, our Chair Thomas McAuley Basai, our Coordinator Kelsey Worboys, and our Treasurer Jackie Ho to look back and reflect on 2020 and what we have to look forward to in 2021. And a huge thank you to you our listener who has tuned in and come with us on this wild journey. It wouldn’t have been possible or any fun without you. And becau...

Jovana Shrestha is a  first year student at McGill University studying environmental biology. An aspiring wildlife biologist, artist, and conservationist! She created the Urban Wildlife Conservation Network in hopes of showing others that there are always opportunities to get involved in conservation, no matter where you are! A big thank you to Jovana for sharing her time and her passion with us!...

Brian is the Stewardship Coordinator at LEAF - Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests. He holds a Master's of Environmental and Life Sciences from Trent University and is passionate about connecting people to the natural world. Before joining LEAF, he participated in a behavioural study of sloths in Costa Rica and studied prairie songbirds in Alberta. He has also led Environmental Stew...

Shauna Fernandes is a Senior Planning Ecologist with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. Her role includes implementing the Authority’s ecology interests by providing professional and technical review of applications under the Planning Act, Conservation Authorities Act and Environmental Assessment Act including environmental background studies, environmental impact studies, Master Envir...