I began studying in Thunder Bay, Ontario, earning a B.A in Psychology in 2011. After some time off, I moved to British Columbia to earn a B.Sc. in Earth and Environmental Science degree in 2016. I am completing a M.Sc. in Earth and Environmental Science degree.
UBC Okanagan – Master of Science in Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2016-current: Courses include Environmetrics & Directed Studies in Environmental Sciences: Stream Assessment. My research uses field and statistical methods to test the hypothesis that a first-order stream system can be rationally segmented into sub-reaches based on differences in biotic and abiotic parameters that are controlled by human-induced factors, which map on to land ownership patterns. The standard approach to study rivers is to identify relatively homogeneous sections called river ‘reaches’, typically segmented by hydro-geomorphic attributes complemented by several biotic parameters geared to assessing habitat potential or aquatic health. However, the conditions of rivers are being increasingly influenced by human factors, such as land-management practices on the areas bordering streams, and so, what might naturally be classified as a uniform river reach might be segmented into a series of ‘sub-reaches’, the boundaries of which align roughly with fence lines, property markers, road crossing or subdivision edges. The indicators of aquatic health, including pH, conductivity, turbidity, temperature, vegetation density and macro-invertebrate populations, will be statistically analyzed to test the hypothesis that Alderson Creek can be sub-divided into sub-reaches as a function of land-management practices. The study will reveal the degree to which our watercourses are being influenced and altered by the actions of humans, perhaps to the degree that ecological functioning is no longer dominated by natural factors but by socio-economic conditions controlled by land-management decisions.
UBC Okanagan – Bachelor of Science in Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2013-2016: Earth Science, Earth History, Mineralogy, Optical Mineralogy and Petrology, Geomorphology, Limnology, Global Biogeochemistry, Geochemistry, Structure and Tectonics, Hydrogeology, Exploration Geophysics, Stratigraphy and Sedimentology, Geologic Resources and the Environment, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Fluvial Geomorphology, Contaminant Transport, Soil Science, Mountain Hazards, Cartography and Remote Sensing, Physics, Calculus, Chemistry and English.
Lakehead University – Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, 2007-2011: Environmental Philosophy, Crust of the Earth, Planet Earth, Dementia Studies, Psychosocial Palliative Care, Emotion and Motivation, Treatment Drug & Alcohol Abuse, The Exceptional Child, Evolutionary Psychology, Introduction to Research Processes, Learning and Memory, Sociology of Aging, Introduction to Cognitive Psychology, Criminology, Statistical Methods Behaviour Research, Abnormal Psychology, Behaviour and Drugs, Child Psychology, Social Psychology, Philosophy, Women’s Studies, Social Welfare.