Welcome McKenzie!

Hello! My name is McKenzie and I am a third-year biomedical engineering student studying at the University of Victoria. Throughout my schooling I have enjoyed extra curriculars with an environmental focus including the Environmental Club at Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS) and the University of Victoria Environmental Engineering Club (UVEEC). Through the Environmental Club I ran and promoted electronic recycling drives, built a medicine wheel garden at the front of BCHS, and attended Envirothon 2022. In UVEEC, I am collaborating on the design of an underwater glider to collect conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) data in the Saanich Inlet. I work on the electrical team within the club, designing essential glider components. 

Figure 1. Visiting the Victoria Bug Zoo and getting a "hands-on" visit with a well-behaved Madagascar hissing cockroach.

 

Outside of school, I enjoy backpacking, art, and relaxing outdoors. Growing up in the M.D of Bonnyville, AB, instilled my love of nature. In the spring and summer, I would be surrounded by fireweed, paintbrushes, wood lilies, and dogwood; all of these flowers inspire my present art. The wildlife around my home was also very impactful to me. My favorite insect is the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail. As a child I would often see them around my house in the spring. I enjoyed their bright colouration and frequent visits to my butterfly garden. As I became older, I started backpacking in the Canadian Rockies. My visits to Alstones Lake, Jasper National Park, and Kootenay National Park made me fall in love with the mountains and realise that ecosystems like these need to be closely monitored and maintained to minimize human and pest impact. 

Figure 2. McKenzie enjoying time with their barn-cat-turned-indoor pet named Silver.

 Over the winter and spring, I am excited to work outdoors and take a research-based approach to help improve the environment and agriculture industry. It’s exciting that I will be learning about the impact that prairie pests have on the ecosystem, observe and collect data in the field that reinforces the learned information, and use both the learned information and my engineering background to analyse and interpret that data. Data from these projects can be used to inform decisions about prairie pest management in the future.

Welcome Jake!

My name is Jacob Landry-Doran and this is my first summer working with the Beaverlodge Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. I am in my last year of a B.Sc. in Conservation Biology. 

Figure 1. Sharing a moment with a great plains toad during the summer of 2024.

I previously worked for Natural Resources Canada, collecting and processing pitfall samples with invertebrate natural enemies in upland oil reclamation sites. I also have years of work and volunteer experience in entomological laboratories, including the Mori and Frost labs at the University of Alberta, and the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton. 

I’ve always had a passion for insects and have a personal collection of native beetles and invertebrates. This personal collection has changed my career path towards becoming more involved with these amazing creatures! It’s fascinating that creatures as small as insects can have such a large impact on the environment around us. 

Figure 2. A thumbs-up after a long day of pitfall collecting!

I am really looking forward to working with the Beaverlodge IPM team to learn about different pest management projects. I’m always excited to further my experience and knowledge about insect interactions, including how research and collections can aid in the management of agricultural plant pests. I’m excited to be a member of the team!