Time flies! Three years at Glenbow Ranch
by Genevieve Rowe Our Native Pollinator Initiative is fortunate to work in several of Canada’s provinces, each with their own set of species, landscapes, and conservation challenges. Our team has spent the past three bumble bee seasons at Glenbow Ranch Provincial...
Sweating (and appreciating) the small stuff
A Taylor's checkerspot butterfly chrysalisMichelle Polley recently relocated to BC to work as an endangered species technician with WPC Lead Biologist Andrea Gielens and the Taylor's Checkerspot Recovery Program at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. Her job involves operating...
Major milestone in songbird recovery
Some incredible news was reported to the Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Team a few weeks ago. A conservation-bred eastern loggerhead shrike, born and raised last year at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere (one of the program’s partner breeding facilities in the U.S.) and...
Diversity on the prairie
Meet Matt Macpherson, WPC's Lead Field Technician for the Ojibway Prairie Reptile Recovery (OPRREC) team in southwestern Ontario. When Matt joins a project, he likes to do some preliminary research. Here, he shares his discoveries of the natural history of the Ojibway...
Endangered Species Week – Oregon Spotted Frog
To celebrate Endangered Species Week, WPC is putting the spotlight on endangered Canadian species who desperately need our help. This spotlight is on the Oregon spotted frog, which is listed as Endangered in Canada. One of the best starting points in saving an...
Taddle-Tales
Please excuse us, we have been a "tad" preoccupied over here at the Greater Vancouver Zoo! Our captive breeding population of Oregon spotted frogs have been busy, and we have the tadpoles to show for it...1,858 to be exact! Our females started producing egg masses in...
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Jonathan Choquette
Lead Biologist – Ojibway Prairie Reptile Recovery Program
Jonathan manages the recovery program for the Ojibway population of the massasauga rattlesnake in Southern Ontario. Jonathan is a habitat expert, studying both biology and landscape architecture at the University of Guelph. As an academic for many years, Jonathan has published numerous articles about the importance of habitat for reptiles and amphibians.
Hannah McCurdy-Adams
Reptile and Amphibian Program Development Coordinator
Hannah is developing the national reptile and amphibian initiative for Wildife Preservation Canada. She has worked with experts in the fields of road ecology, physiology, and genetics. Hannah has been involved in conservation projects for at-risk reptiles and amphibians in Canada for almost a decade.
Andrea Gielens
Lead Biologist – Fraser Valley Wetland Recovery Program
Andrea manages our captive breeding and release programs for the Oregon spotted frog and the coastal western painted turtle. Andrea has studied at-risk reptiles and amphibians in Canada and abroad, including a term at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey. Andrea also manages the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly recovery program on Denman Island in BC.
Jane Hudecki
Conservation Breeding Coordinator – Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Program
Genevieve Rowe
Lead Biologist – Native Pollinator Initiative
Genevieve manages the native pollinator recovery programs across Canada. She has worked with renowned experts in the fields of pollinator ecology, taxonomy and systematics, and has taken part in various species at-risk monitoring and recovery programs, both nationally and internationally.
Michelle MacKenzie
Endangered Species Technician – Fraser Valley Wetlands Wildlife, Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery
Michelle was born and raised in Alberta where she graduated from the University of Calgary with a bachelor’s degree in Zoology. She recently made the move to BC to continue to pursue her dream of being a conservation biologist. She is very excited to be working on the Fraser Valley wetlands wildlife recovery team as well as with the native pollinators team.
Hazel Wheeler
Hazel manages all aspects of our shrike recovery program, from captive breeding and release, field surveys, and landowner relationships in Ontario, to building partnerships with shrike researchers in the US to work towards species recovery throughout North America. Hazel has been working with at-risk birds for over a decade, including a Master’s degree studying the habitat of the chimney swift.
Matt Macpherson
Lead Field Technician, Ojibway Prairie Reptile Recovery Project
Matt is currently finishing up his Master’s degree in Biology at Queen’s University where he has been working on developing and improving conservation strategies for gray ratsnakes. Over the years he has worked on several different conservation projects primarily focusing on reptile, bird, and insect species-at-risk both in Canada and abroad.