top of page
IMG_20190422_131133_edited.jpg
Initiatives: Welcome
Initiatives: Text

MY WORK

I believe that stewarding nature is deeply intertwined with healing and nourishing human relationships with nature, and that community-based movements carry the strongest momentum to ensure long-term stewardship.

To this end, I lead and engage with marine conservation, spatial planning and restoration projects that centre community voices, values, and knowledge.

Initiatives: Research

MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING IN THE SALISH SEA

Marine spatial planning involves two main phases: 1) knowledge gathering (e.g. document the ecological, economic, cultural, and social importance of a marine area to marine-life and coastal communities); and 2) knowledge mobilization and implementation to inform decisions and plans about how to protect places and values in the face of future pressures (e.g. climate change). To be successful, marine spatial planning processes must be meaningful, participatory, and accessible to diverse stakeholders (e.g. marine sectors, communities) and rightsholders (e.g. Indigenous and non-Indigenous governments) during both phases.

From 2017-2021, I led two knowledge gathering initiatives in support of marine spatial planning in Howe Sound/Átl’ka7tsem (one of three Squamish Nation place names for this region): the Marine Reference Guide and the Marine Conservation Assessment.

The outcomes from both initiatives include the creation of deliverables (e.g. online interactive maps, reports) that inform decision-making and education, and stronger relationships and collaboration across non-profit organizations, local, First Nations, and federal governments, business and industry, and community groups.

IMG_20180808_114101_edited.jpg

Eelgrass Transplant on 

Bowen Island/Nexwlélexwem

Video made by

Bob Turner

Feb 2021

Howe Sound/Átl'ka7tsem Marine Reference Guide - promo video

Video produced by Fiona Beaty & Bridget John

Edited by Kieran Brownie

June 2021

Initiatives: Research
Screen%20Shot%202020-12-29%20at%206.14_e

HOWE SOUND/ÁTL’KA7TSEM
MARINE STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE

Founder & Project Director
2018-2021

Steering Committee member, 2022-Present
MakeWay Charitable Society

Initiatives: Research

NEARSHORE RESTORATION

Restoration aspires to return communities and ecosystems to healthy and resilient states following their disruption by human activities (e.g. pollution, habitat degradation). Importantly, Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer teaches that restoration should be a reciprocal effort that involves the repair of ecological systems and species, as well as human relationships and connections to the land and water. This guiding principle resonates strongly with me, and I seek to carry it through in my marine restoration and conservation endeavours.

From 2018-2021, I led and coordinated nearshore restoration initiatives in Howe Sound/Átl’ka7tsem, including seven eelgrass (Zostera marina) transplants and two subtidal debris removals. This work was part of a broader restoration project throughout the Salish Sea led by SeaChange Marine Conservation Society. Our approach has been to work with communities throughout the restoration process, from site selection to boots on the ground restoration to monitoring and enforcement.

In 2017 I collaborated with engineers, scientists, and lawyers to create a guide for habitat protection that reviews and synthesizes the complex physical, biological, and human systems associated with nearshore restoration.

eelgrass%20tunstall%20len_gilday%20(5%20
Initiatives: Research
eelgrass%20tunstall%20len_gilday%20(3%20

SALISH SEA NEARSHORE
HABITAT RECOVERY PROJECT

Regional Coordinator
2018-2022
SeaChange Marine
Conservation Society

Eelgrass Transplant on 

Bowen Island/Nexwlélexwem

Video made by

Bob Turner

Feb 2021

Eelgrass Transplant on 

Bowen Island/Nexwlélexwem

Video made by

Bob Turner

Feb 2021

bottom of page