Every day is frog day!
World Frog Day is celebrated on March 20, but at WPC, every day is frog day! Especially when it comes to breeding season. Right now, the Oregon spotted frog, the most endangered frog in Canada is right in the middle of breeding here at WPC's conservation breeding...
What is causing wild bee declines?
Biologists have a great understanding of why some species are declining, but it is very hard to narrow down what may be the cause of the decline in many wild bee species. These are some of the factors that may be leading to several species of bees being in decline in...
A bumble bee’s journey
As spring arrives in Canada, we celebrate the warm weather and our opportunity to shed our layers and feel the sun's warmth on our skin. Animals and insects emerge and begin their busy spring activities as well and as the flowers begin to bloom, we notice the...
Butcher of the Alvar – ON Nature Spring 2021
ON Nature's spring magazine features WPC's Eastern Loggerheahd Shrike Recovery Program. Written by Luke Fuendling, the article explores the efforts to save a charismatic but critically endangered grassland songbird. Biodiversity is inherently valuable. A more diverse...
First nesting loggerhead shrikes in the conservation breeding program this season!
We’re getting a small taste of spring up here in Ontario: the sun is feeling warmer, the snow is melting, we’re hearing red-winged blackbirds and seeing turkey vultures soaring overhead. Loggerhead shrikes are among the first migratory songbirds to return to the...
What are the differences between honey bees and bumble bees?
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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.

Sarah MacKell
Lead Biologist – Native Pollinator Initiative
Sarah manages the native pollinator recovery programs across Canada. She is a native bee specialist, with an educational background in ecology and environmental science. Sarah is finishing up her MSc at York University, where she focused on native bee conservation in southern Ontario.

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 Spero (Hudecki), M.Sc.
Conservation Breeding Coordinator – Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Program
Jane holds a Master’s degree in Animal Biosciences from the University of Guelph, where she studied building collision injuries in migratory songbird species. Jane worked as a rehabilitation supervisor, where she was responsible for the care, treatment, and reintroduction of injured and orphaned wildlife, including many species at risk.

Hannah McCurdy-Adams (she/her)*
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.
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Stephanie Winton
Canada’s New Noah and Species Conservation Planning Assistant – Canadian Species Initiative
Stephanie is the 31st Canada’s New Noah and is currently assisting the Canadian Species Initiative to build capacity for species conservation planning in Canada. Stephanie holds a master’s degree in conservation biology from Thompson Rivers University where she studied the impacts of road mortality on a threatened rattlesnake species. She has extensive experience working in conservation and research for species at risk reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds in Western Canada.

Hazel Wheeler (she/her)*
Lead Biologist – Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Program
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.
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Michelle Polley
Endangered Species Techician – Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly
Michelle is a Conservation Biologist and Field Naturalist with a special interest in Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) and Herpetiles (reptiles and amphibians). Currently, she is the technician of WPC’s Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly program in Abbotsford, BC. She has worked with conservation projects for species at risk such as monarch butterflies and the turtles of Ontario.