Current Lab Members

ANNE SALOMON
Associate Professor, School of Resource & Environmental Management

anne.salomon [at] sfu.ca

Anne Salomon.

I am an applied marine ecologist and associate professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Resource and Environmental Management. My research is motivated by a deep interest in understanding how human activities alter the productivity, biodiversity and resilience of coastal marine food webs with the ultimate goal of informing ecosystem approaches to marine conservation. Broadly, my students and I study the cascading effects of predator depletion, marine spatial planning and ecosystem-based management, and the dynamics of coupled human-ocean systems. Ultimately, I strive to engage coastal communities and government agencies in collaborative research and encourage constructive dialogue between them to design effective marine policies that balance the needs of people and nature.

I currently direct the Coastal Marine Ecology and Conservation lab at SFU. See my full CV here.

SKYE AUGUSTINE
PhD Candidate

skyeaugustine [at] gmail.com

Skye Augustine (Hwsyun’yun) is a doctoral candidate from the Stz’uminus Nation and works for Parks Canada as the Clam Garden Project Coordinator in the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve (GINPR). In this role, Skye oversees Parks Canada’s clam garden restoration project – a five-year, collaborative study involving Coastal First Nations and various partners to examine the impact of clam gardens on intertidal ecosystems, combining traditional knowledge and scientific study. Skye first fell in love with clam gardens as a summer student and has continued this work as a collaborator on the Learning By The Sea program, as an Adjunct Faculty at Northwest Indian College where she works with undergraduate marine science students through the Salish Sea Research Center, and now as a doctoral student in the Coastal Marine Ecology and Conservation Lab.

See my full CV here.

KELSEY MILLER
PhD Student
kelsey.miller [at] science rendezvous.org

HANNAH KOBLUK
PhD Student
hmkobluk [at] gmail.com

Hannah is a coastal ecologist who was raised on the prairies, a third generation settler Canadian, and a proud female scientist. She has always been an outdoor enthusiast and is motivated by her love for the ecosystems and people of the coast. She completed her Master’s at SFU (https://summit.sfu.ca/item/18631) in partnership with the Heiltsuk Nation and was inspired to continue pursuing collaborative research that supports Indigenous resource governance. She is passionate about co-produced, community based research that upholds diverse knowledge forms as a path towards inclusive and innovative marine policy in the era of climate change. 

For her PhD, Hannah is a contributor to the Canada wide NSERC ResNet grant (https://www.nsercresnet.ca/index.html) that is centered on promoting resilience in Canada’s working land and sea scapes. Hannah is working in partnership with Coastal First Nations to investigate how access to seafood will be impacted by climate change and the recovery of sea otters along the coast. She hopes to use field studies, ecological modeling and scenario planning, in addition to Indigenous knowledge and archaeological data, to examine historical and ongoing changes in fisheries and values dependent on them to inform future policy for resilient fisheries.

KIM-LY THOMPSON
PhD Student
kim.ly.thompson [at] gmail.com

Kim-Ly will be joining the CMEC lab as a PhD student in January 2021. In this position she will be part of a CIHR-funded coast-wide research initiative supporting climate adaptation and resilience of coastal Indigenous fisheries. She is interested in community- and land-based adaptation actions and is particularly drawn to intertidal social-ecological relationships. 

Kim-Ly holds a BSc in biology and environmental studies from McGill University, and an MA in marine ethnoecology from the University of Victoria. Since 2015 she has worked with the Gitga’at First Nation (first as staff member, then as a Masters student and community-based researcher in collaboration with UVic) to monitor traditional food resources, with a focus on marine species. Most recently her work centered on co-designing and supporting a community-based monitoring program based in the observations of harvesters and knowledge holders to inform Gitga’at stewardship, land rights, education and wellness objectives. She is grateful for the opportunity to continue learning with and supporting her adoptive community as a doctoral student while sharpening her research skills.

ALYSSA ALLCHURCH
MRM Student
alyssa_allchurch [at] sfu.ca

Hi! My name is Alyssa, and I’m a masters student in the CMEC lab. I am a 4th generation settler of Ukrainian and English ancestry who was raised on the prairies in Treaty 7 territory. I now live and work on the traditional territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən, SENĆOŦEN, and Hul’q’umi’num-speaking peoples. I am a coastal ecologist and am deeply influenced by the ocean and our non-human kin who inhabit it. I am at my happiest when diving through a kelp forest and before my masters worked as a scuba diving and marine conservation instructor. My masters work is in collaboration with the Kwakiutl Nation, studying how Indigenous led kelp harvest can inform future mariculture and the ecological and biophysical impacts harvest has on kelp beds. I hope this work can begin to shift how settler scientists look at resource management and coastal research.

EMILY SPENCER
MRM Student
emily.r.spencer [at] gmail.com

I am a second-year master’s student in the CMEC lab, and of settler ancestry. I live and study on the traditional territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən, SENĆOŦEN, and Hul’q’umi’num-speaking peoples, and I am grateful to the elders and knowledge holders who have shaped my educational journey. I am trained as a marine ecologist, and my research aims to support Indigenous food justice and sovereignty through collaborative study. I currently work in collaboration with a clam garden restoration project in the Southern Gulf Islands and The Clam Garden Network. My master’s research investigates clam gardens as a climate change adaptation strategy for local Indigenous nations, and I also contribute to broader initiatives for knowledge mobilization and to support justice through policy change. I am most motivated to do work that will address community needs, and I have a deep love of people, beaches, and clams!

SARAH GUTZMANN
MRM Student
sarahbgutzmann [at] gmail.com

Hi there! I’m a Masters of Resource Management (MRM) student. I am a second generation settler of mixed Scottish, German, and English ancestry. I am privileged to live on xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), qʼʷa:n̓ ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen), qiqéyt (Qayqayt), and Stó:lō Nation territories, and research in partnership with the Kwagu’ł (Kwakiutl) Nation. I thank the original caretakers of the lands and waters on which I learn and grow.

I am inspired, reminded, and motivated daily to tread lightly on this Earth, and to honour my connections with fellow humans and more-than-human relations. I am an environmental scientist by training and am passionate about addressing social-ecological challenges through coproducing knowledge and supporting place-based decision making. When not working, you can usually find me exploring with my beagle, Tova.

CREDITS

Big thanks to Anne Salomon, Mark Wunsch, Rowan Trebilco, Tim Ennis, Jenn Burt and Amy Groesbeck for photo and video content for the site. Website constructed by Kyle Empringham, Josh Silberg, Gabby Pang and Markus Thompson.