Me with Simon Greenland-Smith at the Dalhousie University Club Pub.
Back in 2011 when I was a new professor at Dalhousie, Simon Greenland-Smith–then an Environmental Science Honours student–came to talk to me about his farmer survey about riparian buffers. John Brazner, provincial wetland specialist and Simon’s Honours supervisor, introduced us. Thank goodness he did.
Yesterday, Simon had his last day at SRES, finishing two years as the Wood Turtle Strides farmer stewardship program manager, working for the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture but sitting two doors down in SRES. In between, Simon worked in my lab as an undergraduate research intern, transcribing photo-elicitation interviews I did with farmers in Cumberland County; carried out a novel Masters of Environmental Studies thesis using wetland walkabout interviews with farmers in the Annapolis Valley to show how ecosystem services valuations miss many social values; became my go-to survey administrator and statistician for a range of research projects (e.g. dams of all things); and, picked up where Kate Goodale left off with our farmer extension website BioLOG, adding educational materials and a range of videos to the mix. He has been a great citizen inside SRES and out, including his leadership in DivestDal.
I’m equal parts sad and proud to see him head off Monday to work on marine conservation targets as National Campaign Manager of the SeaBlue Initiative (bringing together the Ecology Action Centre, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, David Suzuki Foundation and West Coast Environmental Law). While we plan to keep collaborating, I wish him well in the new adventure, and hope to welcome him back to Halifax sooner than later.
