Bumble Bee Surveys in a New Light
For three years now, Tiffani has been invaluable in our effort to survey bumble bees in as many sites as possible across Ontario. These surveys are conducted in a narrow spring window when bumble bee queens are still emerging from hibernation and only beginning the...
Jewelled Geckos Successfully Reintroduced to New Zealand’s “Predator-free” Ecosanctuary at Orokonui
This past January Jonathan Choquette, lead biologist for the OPRREC program, was visiting the beautiful country of New Zealand for a conference. While he was there he took a day trip to the Orokonui Ecosanctuary - a 307 ha fenced predator-free wildlife sanctuary. The...
A Goodbye to the Green Island
I’m writing this blog not from the field, but from a wet and cold London café, a far cry from the white sand beach and crystal-clear waters where I snorkeled with sea turtles a few days ago.Days off on mainland Mauritius are not to be wasted! Left to right: Marie...
Love is in the air
It may seem like all is quiet in our Oregon spotted frog overwintering tanks, but love is in the air. As early as January, males will start testing out their mating calls to see if any females are listening. To successfully fertilize an egg, males must be attentive to...
Looking back on 2019
The 2019 season in 4 numbersThe Ojibway Prairie Reptile Recovery (OPRREC) team is back to work after a lovely, if too short, break. This pause in activity has brought a feeling of reflection to our team, so let’s take a look at some of the things that we have...
Louisiana Loggerhead Shrike Gets in on Bacon Mania
Look who’s bringing home the bacon! Louisiana researchers were astonished when they came across a very unexpected (and delicious) Loggerhead Shrike larder item…
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Jonathan Choquette
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.
Maja Hampson
Acting Lead Biologist – Fraser Valley Wetlands Program
Maja focused her career and Master’s thesis on captive wildlife, specifically big cats in captivity, until Andrea Gielens brought her over to the world of reptiles and amphibians. While Andrea is on leave, Maja will be leading the Oregon spotted frog, Western painted turtle and Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly recovery programs.
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.
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.
Tiffani Harrison
Alberta Program Coordinator – Native Pollinator initiative
Tiffani graduated from York University in environmental management. She is passionate about pollinator conservation and working with species at risk. Tiffani first became involved with Wildlife Preservation Canada’s work as a bumble bee conservation technician. Tiffani now manages the bumble bee citizen science and research programs in Alberta at Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park.
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.
Jane Hudecki
Conservation Breeding Coordinator – Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Program
Andrea Gielens
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.
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.
Jennifer Barden
Lead Reptile Recovery Technician – Ojibway Prairie Reptile Recovery
After living in Southern Ontario for most of her life, Jennifer moved to British Columbia and had the opportunity to work with the northern pacific rattlesnake in the South Okanagan, BC. This year she is back in Ontario working with the eastern massasauga rattlesnake as part of the OPRREC field team.