It is a custom that we academics call the assemblage of people we work with a ‘lab’, though I think it conjures the wrong picture in my case. I work with a wonderful group of junior scholars, and I am proud of what we have done together, and their journeys beyond my lab.
I am generally happy to hear from those interested in working with me, although I will be keeping my lab smaller than in the past while I serve as school Director from 2024-2027. Keep tab here on active funding announcements.
Currently, I am working with (supervising or co-supervising) the following people, at Dalhousie unless otherwise mentioned:
- Jessica Beaudette, PDF on TranSECT WP 5.4 (WEFT), co-supervised with Ian Stewart, 2025-
- Robin Willcocks Musselman, IDPhD, Experiences of managed retreat from coastal flooding, 2022-
- Keahna Margeson, IDPhD , OGEN fellowship (co-supervised with Patricia Manuel, Planning) 2021-
- Alexandre Legault, MREM, RA and summer intern on dykeland issues, including cultural ecosystem services and relevance to the Acadian diaspora, 2024-
- Athena Iraji Asiyabadi, MES, Coastal development patterns in Nova Scotia, 2024-
- Maria Duynisveld, RA on Australian repeat photography/photo-elicitation project, 2024-
- Sean Septon, Royal Roads M. A. Env Practice intern on TranSECT, summer 2025
LAB ALUMNI
Postdoctoral Fellows:
- Brooke McWherter, Postdoctoral Fellow, Mitacs Elevate – Advanced Grazing Systems, 2022-2024, off to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln
- Lara Cornejo Denman, Postdoctoral Fellow, ResNet, 2022-2024.
- Gillian Kerr, Research Associate (p/t), ResNet, 2021-2022, off to Smart Prosperity Institute
- H. M. Tuihedur Rahman, Postdoctoral Fellow on Making Space for Movement and Making Room for Wetlands (co-supervised with Danika van Proosdij, Saint Mary’s University), 2018-2020, off to another postdoc at McGill, then USask
- Wes Tourangeau, Postdoctoral Fellow on Reconciling Holistic Management Practice and Science, 2017-2019 – off to an LTA at SMU, then Lincoln University in the UK, returning to University of Windsor in 2024
PhD supervision:
- Yan Chen, IDPhD 2024, Social media data and computer vision in social impact assessment: understanding human dimensions and cultural ecosystem services in hydroelectric landscapes (co-supervised with Mike Smit, Dal School of Information Management)
- Kate Thompson, IDPhD 2024, The application of ecosystem services concepts in Canadian urban planning (co-supervised with Peter Duinker, SRES), now an assistant professor in Dalhousie’s School of Planning.
- Bernard Soubry, PhD (Oxford) 2021, Towards Taking Farmers Seriously: Contributions of farmer knowledge to food systems adaptation to climate change. (co-supervised with Thomas Thornton, Oxford/UAlaska Southeast), off to a postdoc at McGill and thereafter the IISD.
Thesis-based Masters supervision:
- Emily Key (Snair), MES 2024, Identifying rural residents’ views about integrating solar farms into rural landscapes of Nova Scotia. Now working as a policy analyst for the Municipality of Chester.
- Samantha Howard, MES 2023, Understanding psychological drivers of attitudes towards coastal climate adaptations in the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia (co-supervised with Brooke McWherter) starting with Public Safety Canada to work on flood insurance immediately after.
- Emily Wells, MES 2023, Mi’kmaw relational values: Lessons for environmental valuation from Indigenous literatures and L’nuwey along the Bay of Fundy Coast. Emily started in NRCan’s PARDP after graduation.
- Mehrnoosh Mohammadi, MES 2021, Landscape discourses of amenity and renewable energy development in viticulture regions in Canada . Mehrnoosh started work with Vollick McKee Peterson after graduation as an Associate Landscape Architect.
- Gardenio da Silva, MES 2021, Social impact assessment for hydroelectricity in Canada: a review of methods and monitoring. Started with Stratos consulting before defending, as well as RA work for Nedia, and switched to full time with Stratos after completion, though is now with IAAC.
- Krysta Sutton, MES 2020, Understanding perceptions of coastal climate change and nature-based coastal adaptation: Using communicative framing in experimental focus groups in Nova Scotia, Canada. Started working for Toronto and Region Conservation Authority after defense, then transitioned to the NRCan PARDP graduate program.
- Jaya Fahey, MES 2020, Space to Roost: Working with recreational beach users to set aside high-tide roosting space for migratory shorebirds in the Minas Basin of the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada. She worked for Bird Studies Canada throughout her MES and went to work for ECCC full time as a Program Officer, Funding Programs, before even defending.
- Farzana Karim, MES 2019 (co-supervised with Eric Rapaport), How do second homes and coastal short-term rentals affect municipal planning and decision making in the context of climate change?
- Ellen Chappell, MES 2019, Understanding attachment to utilitarian landscapes and wind energy support in the Chignecto area . Ellen stayed on as a statistical analyst until Health Canada hired her away, but she returned to higher study in 2023 by taking up a PhD at Radboud University, the Netherlands.
- Yan Chen, MES 2016, Understanding youth landscape perceptions and mapping landscape values via social media – returned to start an IDPhD with me and Mike Smit starting in 2018.
- Kristina Keilty, MES 2015, Understanding landscape values and baselines of acceptability on the Mactaquac Dam and headpond, New Brunswick – joined Summerhill Group as a Program Manager after graduation.
- Aiswarya Baskaran, MES 2015, Water-related ecosystem services and water quality: farmers‘ perceptions and practices – joined Sustainalytics as an Associate after graduation.
- Simon Greenland-Smith, MES 2014, Farmer perceptions of wetland ecosystem goods and services – worked for me until March 2018 on Wood Turtle Strides and other research, then he moved on to SeaBlue Canada, followed by the City of Ottawa and now ECCC.
- Kate Goodale, MES 2013, Biodiversity and farming: An evaluation of a voluntary stewardship program and exploration of farmer values – stayed on as a research associate on farm biodiversity and extension until Toronto and Region Conservation Authority hired her away.
- Ellen Whitman, MES 2013 (co-supervised with Eric Rapaport), Current and future wildfire risk in the peri-urban Acadian Forest Region – completed her PhD in fire ecology at the University of Alberta in June 2019, and is now working for the Canadian Forest Service in Edmonton.
Visiting Scholars
- Isabel Cotton, visiting PhD student from the Tyndall Centre, University of East Anglia, working on sense of place in the Bay of Fundy, April-June, 2023
- Qiqi Zhao, PhD, visiting student on the ResNet project funded by the China Scholarship Council, 2021-2022
Honours thesis supervision
- Samantha Howard, Environmental Science Honours, Understanding resistance to flood risk mapping: a test of climax thinking in southwestern Nova Scotia, 2020-21, came back as an MES the following year
- Andrew Willms, Environmental Science Honours, Quantifying the causes of human-black bear conflict in Nova Scotia, 2020-21
Non-thesis Interns and non-program Research Assistants:
- Patrick James, MREM, ResNet Intern/RA, Summer/Fall 2023, ResNet and NB’s AAFC Living Lab, including this great report on system dynamics in dykeland decision-making.
- Phuc (Polly) Nguyen, MREM, Knowledge mobilization on ResNet, summer/fall 2022
- Kiirsti Owen, PhD student at UNB but RA on the EDI survey of ResNet, 2021
- Brandon Champagne, MA student at SMU on dykeland landowners perceptions of dyke realignment (I was on his committee) but also RA on ResNet for Landscape 1
- Kiana Endresz, MMM summer intern on fisheries implications of tidal wetlands, 2020, off to a PhD on the same topic at UNB
- Dorothy Okene, MREM summer intern on rancher well-being and adaptive grazing, 2020
- MJ Valiquette, RA on a project with CBCL on communicating with municipalities about flood mapping, fall 2019, heading to NRCan’s PARDP after graduation.
- Rachel Cadman, worked on systematic literature review on the HM project between her MREM and her IDPhD, spring/summer 2019
- Camille Caesemaecker, Visiting student from Agrocampus Ouest, France, interned fall 2018 as part of Master of Science in Agronomic Engineering working on mapping dykeland values using Instagram
- Carolyn Mann, research associate 2017-2018, Systems thinking and training in holistic grazing management – heading off to be an NRCan Policy Analyst
- Sarbpreet Singh, MREM intern summer 2018, Rotational grazing and climate discourse in producer magazines
- Taylor Owen, RA 2015-2017, Energy exposure and attitudes, first NS Energy now with Halifax Regional Municipality on the climate file.
- Mhari Lamarque, MREM intern summer 2016, research associate 2017-, Assessing outreach and education at Ducks Unlimited Canada – Mhari and I still work together on program evaluation work (e.g Wood Turtle Strides) and other things
- Jingwen (June) Qin, Mitacs Globalink intern summer 2016, Social media analysis of urban landscape use and preferences by Chinese students.
- Carlisle Kent, MREM/MLIS intern summer 2015, research associate 2016, Holistic grazing management: scientometrics and rhetoric – Senior Records Analyst at the Town of Richmond Hill
- Ruoqian (Joy) Wang, Mitacs Globalink intern summer 2015, Using Google Earth to assess scattered tree patterns in Australia – she returned for an MES with Karen Harper on forested wetland dynamics (2016-2018)
- Izzy Morin, RA fall/winter 2014/15, Coding landscape elicitation data from floating focus groups on the Mactaquac hydroelectric headpond.
- Larissa Holman, MREM intern summer 2014, Hydroelectric dam removal: science and visualization using storymaps – RiverWatch Coordinator
- Logan Loik, MREM intern summer 2014, Climate adaptation options in Nova Scotia dykelands using Q-method – RiverWatch Interpretive Guide
- Christiane Verstraten, MREM intern summer 2011, Farmer perceptions of wetlands – a photo-elicitation study – Program Coordinator at the Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association
- Jillian Baker, MREM intern fall 2011, research associate 2012, Schools-based climate change education – a pilot using art to teach and assess – Cheticamp River Salmon Association Program Manager
