Forester in Training May 2017 - Present
Upon finishing my MSc, I registered as a Forester-in-Training with the Association of BC Forest Professionals. My goal is to become a Registered Professional Forester, which is a regulated profession with the exclusive right to practice professional forestry in BC. Obtaining this designation requires a major effort, including two years of articling, extensive coursework, and self study modules, which are tested via exams and assignments. This path provides me an avenue to not only diversify my knowledge and skillset in all matters relevant to forests, but also to better contextualize my research within the actual challenges, information needs, and uncertainties of BC forest management. Given the rising complexity of forest management issues and the uncertainties posed by climate change for BC forests, I feel confident that my strong theoretical background will be an asset to the profession.
To complete the two year articling, my first job with an 8-month long internship at the UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest in Maple Ridge. I led a major forest inventory of the research forest that employed Lidar, orthophotos, and field sampling. I then worked for 2-months as a data consultant at the Center for International Forestry Research in Bogor, Indonesia. Finally, I worked at a local consulting firm Diamond Head Consulting, which does a wide variety of planning, forestry, and biology consulting and field operations. My main role was in consulting arboriculture so I also gained my International Standards of Arboriculture Certification and Tree Risk Assessment Qualification while working there and led dozens of arboriculture reports and contributed to urban forestry plans for the cities of Vancouver, Richmond, and Courtenay.
I am currently finishing up my last few months of articling time as well as remaining coursework and self-study modules during my PhD at UBC.
Home Building and general contracting
I funded much of my global travels and paid my way through university thanks to valuable skills I acquired building and renovating houses as a carpenter, painter, and general contractor. These remain as highly valued skills even as I have moved on to Research and Forestry. I simply love having projects so if I'm not renovating houses, you will find me at least designing a more efficient garden on my patio, framing artwork, or making some small home improvements in my apartment. One of my most recent projects was building greenhouses out of recycled materials.