Our People

Not to brag (totally to brag), but we have an amazing group of really lovely, smart people doing cool stuff. We are no longer actively recruiting students for the immediate term, but always keen to hear from excited potential lab members. Email the PI ​to express interest in joining. Please reach out before October if you are interested in entry for the following year so we can discuss finding funding for you. If you have a community partner you are already working with, please reach out right away so we can discuss how we can collaborate.

Students

Graduate students

Sarah Bird
My ancestry is of mixed-European descent, with my paternal grandparents being of English and Danish descent and my maternal grandparents being from Zimbabwe and South Africa, but of mixed-European descent (some Dutch, the rest is uncertain). I grew up on Algonquin territory, near Ottawa, Ontario, and have since spent much time on the territories of the Syilx, Squamish, Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples in British Columbia .

I’m inspired by Earth’s biodiversity and opportunities to learn about and from the world’s ecosystems. In my work, this means working towards conserving and restoring these ecosystems for future generations. I’m a generalist, with a particular passion for the ecology of plants, soils, insects, and related “uncharismatic” terrestrial organisms. My PhD research is focused on the diversity of springtails (order Collembola) in oak meadows. Beyond my research, I’m an avid gardener and crafter that loves to try new things, and spend time outdoors, paint, and take photos.

Diana Bertuol Garcia
I am a Brazilian biologist of Italian and Portuguese descent. I was born and raised in the state of São Paulo in southeast Brazil, which encompasses the traditional territories of the Guarani, Kaingang, Krenak and Terena. I love all-things Ecology and am always excited to share that love beyond academia. In the past, I have researched how to develop effective partnerships between scientists and decision-makers in Brazil, and worked several years in secondary Biology education, using problem- and inquiry-based learning strategies to engage students with the natural world. After a few years strolling around Chilean Patagonia as a field instructor for a conservation NGO, I am now excited to come back to research and conduct my PhD research in Environmental Studies at UVic. My research interests span ecological restoration, community ecology, and how ecosystems withstand environmental change. For my thesis, I am studying how the diversity and characteristics of plants in grasslands can influence the capacity of these ecosystems to respond to extreme drought, and what are the implications for their restoration in the face of climate change. When not on the job (and I am grateful that a lot of times also on the job), I love to backpack and get acquainted with the local flora and fauna. You will always find me with my binoculars and a field notebook at hand.

Sam Ahler

​My name is Sam Ahler, I use they/them pronouns right now, and I was born in what is now Wisconsin—the traditional territories of the Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Potawatomi, Dakota, and Ojibwe Nations. I am of English and German descent and my family immigrated to North America in the 1720s. I have Bachelor’s Degrees from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies, with a minor in LGBTQ+ Studies. I worked in oak savannas, tallgrass prairies, and on temperate lakes.
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As a PhD student in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of Colorado - Boulder, I work with Katharine Suding and Nancy Shackelford in the mixed grass prairies along the Front Range of Colorado. I now live and work in the traditional territories of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute, Apache, Comanche, Kiowa, Lakota, Pueblo and Shoshone Nations. In collaboration with the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield Farms, I study the impact of small-scale environmental conditions on grass establishment, growth, and survival. In addition, I study vegetative—or clonal—methods of reproduction in grasses to better understand individual and population persistence and the mechanisms linking population-level dynamics to ecosystem-level processes.

Sylvie Hawkes
Hi! My name is Sylvie, I am a settler of Scottish, German and English ancestry. I grew up across Alberta between Treaty 6 and Treaty 7 territories, most recently living in St. Albert on Cree, Blackfoot, Metis and Nakota Sioux territory. I moved to Vancouver Island to complete my BSc with a double major in Environmental Studies and Geography and continued to work with NGOs in the field of restoration and conservation upon graduation.
 
I am fascinated by wetland diversity and function and passionate about the intersection of community, art and ecological resilience. I am a first year MSc student in the Restoration Futures Lab, under the guidance of Nancy Shackelford and in partnership with the Galiano Conservancy Association.  My research is focused on understanding the impacts of degradation and restoration on greenhouse gas exchange in wetlands and improving our understanding of community values regarding wetland-land-use-change in southern BC. 

In my free time I love to dip my toes into different creative and active hobbies. My favorites at the moment are knitting, painting, cooking and hiking with my pup Huckleberry. 

Kristen Miskelly
Hello everyone! My name is Kristen Miskelly. I live and primarily work within the unceded Coast Salish territories of Scia'new First Nation (also known as Beecher Bay), T’Sou-ke, W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples that includes the Nations of BOḰEĆEN (Pauquachin First Nation), SȾÁ,UTW̱ (Tsawout First Nation), W̱JOȽEȽP (Tsartlip First Nation), W̱SÍḴEM (Tseycum First Nation) and MÁLEXEŁ (Malahat) First Nation, the territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking Peoples including Songhees and Xwsepsum(Esquimalt), and Quw'utsun Peoples (Cowichan Tribes).​

I come from European ancestry, with English roots on my maternal side and German heritage on my paternal side. As a settler on the lands of the Coast Salish Peoples, I am committed to ecological restoration that respects Indigenous knowledge and the deep relationships between people, plants, and place.

I am a biologist and native plant specialist experienced in native plant ecology, propagation, and ecosystem restoration on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I co-founded Satinflower Nurseries: Native Plants, Seeds & Consulting, a business based in Victoria, British Columbia, that inspires and empowers people to connect with nature through native plants.
My academic journey began with a focus on grass taxonomy during undergraduate studies at UVic, followed by a Master of Science in paleoecology at the University of Victoria, where I studied the preglacial flora of southern Vancouver Island
 I am currently pursuing a PhD with the Restoration Futures Lab in the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria, where I am working on a range of seed-based restoration topics. Through my work, I am to integrate research, education, and practical restoration strategies to promote biodiversity, ecological stewardship, and community knowledge-sharing to inspire greater engagement with native plant restoration.

Rekha Marcus 
Hi! I'm Rekha (she/her), and I am a Masters student in Environmental Studies of mixed Indian and Scottish + Irish settler heritage. I was born on the traditional territories of the Acjachemen (Juaneno) and Tongva (Gabrileno) people (southern California), where my family has been for 7 generations, and I grew up on the traditional territory of the Huetar and Cabecar peoples (San Jose, Costa Rica). Having the privilege to learn from such beautiful lands from a young age sparked in me a passion for conservation, and I continued on to complete my BSc in Zoology with Honours from UBC Okanagan, on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the syilx Okanagan peoples.
Currently, I am grateful to be living on the traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. I am working under the supervision of Dr. Nancy Shackelford and Dr. Gerald Singh on a project related to estuary conservation on the Pacific Northwest coast. I'm particularly interested in the intersection between climate change and conservation planning, and am working to better understand how climate change is going to affect estuaries and the birds that inhabit them, both seasonally and year round. Through my research as well as my personal life, I am guided by values of community, collaboration, care, and reciprocity, and invest in relationship building with the land and the people around me as a fundamental aspect of my work. In my personal time, I enjoy bouldering, hiking, crochet, and attending all the fun music events Victoria has to offer!

Indigo
Hello! I am Indigo (they/them) a settler, transgender MA Geography student on unceded Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̠SÁNEĆ territories. I am originally from Lubbock, Texas which encompasses the traditional territories of the Nʉmʉnʉʉ Sookobitʉ (Comanche), Ndé Kónitsąąíí Gokíyaa (Lipan Apache) and Mescalaro Apache. I did a MS Horticulture degree at Oklahoma State University (territorial lands currently inhabited and preserved by the 39 sovereign tribal governments within Oklahoma) where I studied native grasses mixes for turfgrass use with the focus on buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides) and blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis). I have spent my professional career promoting native plants and ecological services in underutilised horticultural locations, such as roadsides. My research interests include Indigenous methods, decolonization, feminist political ecology, queer ecology, restoration ecology, restorative horticulture, horticulture in underutilized spaces and human-environment interactions.
 For my research, I am interested in identity and how identity interacts with perceptions of place/space, especially when it concerns human-plant interactions. My current research explores how forest bioeconomy projects may benefit the ʕaaḥuusʔatḥ (Ahousaht Nation) and how Canadian government approaches to forest bioeconomy differ from the values and approaches stewarded by ʕaḥuusʔatḥ Haw’ił (hereditary Chiefs) and musčim (people). This work was co-developed with the Maaqutusiis Hahoulthee Stewardship Society and takes a relationship-first approach to research.​

In my free time I enjoy spending time in nature, cultivating plants, inline skating, playing boardgames, and putting together jigsaw puzzles while listening to music/podcasts. Thanks!

Ania

​Hi everyone! My name is Ania, and I am a first-year Environmental Studies Master’s student. I was born and raised in the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Anishinaabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee, and Wendat Peoples in Toronto, Ontario. My family ancestry is a big mix, with my grandparents coming from England, India, and Germany.

I grew up exploring the forests, rocks, lakes, and wetlands of Ontario’s Canadian shield, where I developed a deep passion for ecology. I completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology at Queen’s University in 2022 and since graduating have been working on diverse projects for various non-profits, from old-growth forest research to food sovereignty work.

​I have now stepped into research in partnership with the Council of the Haida Nation that focuses on the restoration of degraded habitat in logged forests of Haida Gwaii. Specifically, this research aims to learn from Haida Gwaii’s woodpeckers and historical forestry practices to inform holistic restoration that reflects cultural and ecosystem values.

In my free time I love to paint, cook, garden, make pottery, sing, and spend time in the forest!

Principal

Nancy Shackelford
Hello! I am an Associate Professor in the School of Environmental Studies and the Academic Director of the Restoration of Natural Systems Program. I was born and raised in West Texas, in traditional Jumano and Apache territory. I've been an uninvited guest in these territories for around eleven years. My experience with restoration is diverse, from the scrubby woodlands of Texas, to the grasslands of Colorado, to the amazing cedar and fir forests on our local coastline. I have a deep, abiding, unshakeable love for data, knowledge, and leveraging our shared work to continually enhance restoration outcomes. I gravitate towards terrestrial restoration in experimental and observational science, but am continually expanding my integration of the social, human sides of restoration.

"The School of Environmental Studies at UVic recognizes that the field of environmental studies has historically been overwhelmingly white, resulting in what Dorceta Taylor calls the “Green Insiders Club.” This white colonial dominance has significantly weakened the discipline and the broader environmental movement it contributes to. We are committed to unsettling and unlearning these practices....to amplify, work with, learn from and centre traditionally marginalized perspectives and experience."

Really, most (all?) of Western science can fit this kind of description, and ecology is no exception. We strive to have an inclusive, diverse group in the RFL that captures a range of perspectives and backgrounds. Depending on the day you look, we are closer or further from that goal. Regardless, if you have anything you want to voice, suggestions, frustrations, anxieties within the topic of colonialism, diversity, and engagement, send me an email.
We work on the traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples. The Songhees and Xʷsepsəm/Esquimalt, as well as the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples have deep, historical relationships with the land that continue to this day. Most of our group are uninvited settlers here. We are committed to deepening our understanding of how we can assist in the movement of reconciliation, dismantling the systems that continue to cause harm, and honoring the traditional stewards that have shaped this land.