Nature Vancouver

Undergrad Scholarship – Tara Brudar Tara is an upper-year undergraduate at UBC, studying natural resources conservation with a primary interest in science communication. Through UBC’s Harley Lab, Tara leads ocean acidification outreach across the province, closely collaborating with local organizations such as False Creek Friends Society (FCFS) to increase knowledge-sharing and community engagement.  This summer, through UBC’s CCEL Connect to Community Grant, Tara is organizing a community-based project which seeks to advance ocean acidification (OA) knowledge, adaptation capacity, and community engagement in False Creek,…

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Undergraduate Scholarship – Agraj Rathi Agraj Rathi traded business strategy for conservation after discovering a passion for protecting wild spaces through Nature Vancouver’s citizen science projects. Now in BCIT’s Fish, Wildlife and Recreation program, he combines scientific knowledge with practical fieldwork while serving on WildResearch’s board and participating in CPAWS’ Young Leaders in Conservation Program. Drawing on his perspective as someone who grew up in urban India without access to wilderness, Agraj is passionate about making conservation more inclusive. Through…

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Undergrad Scholarship – Emma Kingsland Emma is currently completing an undergraduate degree at Simon Fraser University in Resource Environmental Management with a minor in Biology.  Emma was a Co-Lead on the Year of the Salish Sea Initiative which was created in an effort to improve the health and management of the Salish Sea and raise awareness about the importance of healthy marine ecosystems. Through her volunteer work Co-leading the Year of the Salish Sea initiative Emma was asked to serve…

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Undergraduate Scholarship – Caitey Gilchrist Caitey’s early years were spent catching insects and making puzzle pieces from Ponderosa pine bark. While she had an innate connection to nature, she also had a creative spark that drove her into a career in graphic design. After a decade of working in various marketing roles, she felt that something important was missing from her life, and decided to hike the West Coast Trail. After a week’s immersion in lush forests and estuaries, she…

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Undergrad Scholarship – Austin Molby Austin is a Vancouver local previously working as an engineer designing railroad parts across North America. After noticing the differences between engineering and environmental projects and his love for nature, he decided to return to school to get his bachelor’s in Ecological Restoration. Recently graduated, Austin wants to continue his education in the future with a masters in Civil/Environmental engineering to get skills in engineering solutions geared towards restoration in the hopes of allowing restoration…

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Undergraduate Scholarship – Matthew Syvenky Matthew is a 3rd year undergraduate student studying towards an honours degree in Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University (SFU). Matthew feels happiest while spending time learning and working outdoors to steward British Columbia’s ecosystems and biodiversity. Since Matthew started studying at SFU, he has become the youngest board member of the Cariboo Heights Forest Preservation Society and the Invasive Species Council of Metro Vancouver. Matthew served as Chair of BC Nature’s Climate Committee…

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Graduate Scholarship – Keila Stark Keila Stark is a PhD Candidate of Zoology at the University of British Columbia on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Territory. Her research aims to understand the effect of climate warming on biodiversity, with a focus on coastal ecosystems. Her work takes her to eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows along the BC coast, and to coastal areas around Baffin Island, Nunavut. She frequently visits the eelgrass meadow at Roberts Bank near the proposed Terminal 2 expansion site, and is a witness…

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Tara Brown – Nature Vancouver Graduate Scholarship Tara L. Brown is a 2nd year Ph.D. student in the UBC Faculty of Forestry, a certified Forest Therapy Guide, and a certified educator in sustainable development. She’s interested in forest-based interventions and human health and well-being. Previously, she co-founded startups and nonprofits that developed hands-on and digital STEM education programs in formal and informal K-8 spaces in the U.S. and Japan.  For her dissertation research project, she examines the effects of forest…

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Jay Matsushiba – Hugh Hamilton Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship  Jay Matsushiba is a 4th year student in Biological Sciences at Simon Fraser University and has recently completed a Geographic Information Systems Certificate (SFU). In Jay’s words, “My goal is to equip myself with the skills and experience to be able to make the study of ecology more powerful through the use of modern technology.” Jay has accumulated a great deal of volunteer experience in the past seven years with the Vancouver Aquarium and…

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Ally Truscott – 2021 Nature Vancouver Undergraduate Scholarship Ally Truscott is in her first year of studies in the Fish, Wildlife and Recreation Diploma program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). She is from Pemberton and what really impressed us about Ally is how much experience she has already accomplished. She has been an active member of the Pemberton Wildlife Association since 2019 and is now on the Board of Directors. In the last few years, Ally has participated…

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