Nature Matters: wildlife, wild places, and your inner wild child

Dr Barbara Frei

Dr Barbara Frei is a Research Scientist with the Science and Technology Branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada and adjunct/affiliate professor at McGill, Concordia, and Carleton University (thebirdsthetrees.com). She broadly works increasing our understanding and conservation of nature where people live for the purposes of protecting biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and human well-being. Her research team works on a broad suite of topics including how migratory birds move through and spend time in urban areas, the threats to birds in urban areas and conservation solutions, synergies for carbon storage and biodiversity in urban greening, and equitable access to nature in cities. Barbara helped co-found and oversee the McGill Bird Observatory, which is celebrating its 20th year of monitoring, researching, as well as the public education of migratory birds on the island of Montreal. Barbara is passionate about scientific communication, having training and taught hundreds of volunteers about birds and migration, given numerous public presentations on species-at-risk, is a frequent guest on local radio, and reached out to teach children about birds via classroom presentation and in guest appearances on children’s science TV shows. She is also a #scimom raising two curious children that teach her daily about the wonders of the natural world around her.

Joël Bonin

Joël Bonin, associate vice-president for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) in the Quebec Region, has been a champion of conservation for over 25 years. Throughout his career at NCC, he has significantly contributed to the protection of Quebec’s biodiversity by overseeing more than 300 conservation projects leading to the protection of more than 300 square kilometres. Joël has also increased NCC’s stewardship activities on NCC-protected lands, all while developing and implementing an ambitious program to protect Quebec’s exceptional sites. A biologist by profession, since completing his master's degree at McGill University Joël has focused on the ecology of amphibians in southern Quebec. The author of several reports on the status of amphibian and reptile species in Quebec and Canada, he has also served as a member of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Joël has been a board member of Bird Protection Quebec, the Mont Saint-Hilaire Nature Centre/Gault Nature Reserve of McGill University and the Association pour la conservation du Boisé Papineau.

Dr Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne
 
Dr. Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne is the Director of Key Biodiversity Areas at Wildlife Conservation Society Canada.  Previously, Ciara worked as a researcher and consultant focused on understanding how people value and benefit from nature. Based in Montreal, she has engaged in research with colleagues in Canada and internationally on environmental management, system resilience, and futures thinking, and has authored over 25 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on these themes. Ciara has led the development of tools and methods to link scientific knowledge to the needs of decision-makers, with products that include an ecosystem services Toolkit for the Canadian government, and a mechanism for Technical and Scientific Cooperation for parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, developed in partnership with the Quebec Center for Biodiversity Science. Ciara completed her PhD in 2010 on the spatial analysis of ecosystem services and biodiversity across landscapes. This work was inspired by gaps identified in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, for which Ciara served as the coordinator of the Subglobal Assessment Working Group. Ciara also holds a graduate degree in tropical biology from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Dr Jessica Ford

Dr Jessica Ford is an amphibian biologist, with expertise in conservation science. She studies toad tadpoles, and how the environment reacts when they disappear. She has been deeply involved in conservation science, including raising endangered toad tadpoles for release.  Previously she analyzed data on how temperature and pollutants affected turtle development and adult size. 
Jessica is deeply passionate about making science and conservation more inclusive and diverse and is deeply committed to science outreach activities. She has written, illustrated, and developed a colouring and activity book for kids featuring "draw yourself as a scientist" activities and exercises based on the research of famous women and minorities in areas of science and engineering and mathematics. In addition to her interests and expertise in herpetology, conservation, and outreach, Jessica teaches at Dawson College.

Host and Moderator: Dr Christopher Buddle

Chris Buddle is a faculty member in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at McGill University. His research and teaching focus is ecology, entomology, and field studies, with a focus on the biodiversity of insects and spiders, in a variety of habitats, from forests to the high Arctic. He has published close to 100 peer-reviewed papers in his area of study. Chris is deeply committed to excellence in teaching and learning, whether through leadership on curriculum changes, or researching ways to engage students in learning. Chris is writer, poet, and artist, and he uses these skills to share stories about the plants and animals that lives in our midst.