2020 ONLINE WETLANDS INSTITUTE SPEAKER SERIES – LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE!

The BC Wildlife Federation is hosting an online webinar series regarding wetlands education over the next two months, but there is limited space remaining to participate! Those interested are urged to sign up promptly before spaces fill.

BCWF Wetlands Education Program Presents Wetland Institute Speaker Series

Join BCWF for a series of free, weekly webinars highlighting expert speakers and environmental professionals from around BC. Topics will support wetland practitioners in conservation, restoration and education around wetlands.

For more details on each webinar and to register, see the links below.

Wetlands and Watersheds, Water Quality and Pollution
(Sept. 30, 9am to 11am)

Guest Speakers: 

Heather Larratt is a Biologist, and Founder of  Larratt Aquatic Consulting. With over 40 years of experience in environmental regulation and reclamation, we are excited to have Heather join us as a speaker! Heather will be speaking on using wetlands as bioreactors and constructed wetlands.

Denise Clark is a Fisheries Technician with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. She worked as an instructor at Thompson Rivers University for 8 years and completed her M.Sc. on wetland health under Brian Heise. Denise will be speaking on wetland invertebrates, as well as invertebrate sampling methods, and water quality.

Wetland Mapping (QGIS and TEM)
(Oct. 14th & 15^th, 9am to 5pm)

Guest Speakers:

Steve Morgan (Founder of Cumberland Wetlands Working Group) Topic: Using QGIS to map wetlands

Ryan Durand is a Registered Professional Biologist (RPBio.) with Ecologic Consultants Ltd. He has been working in ecology for over 20 years. Topic: Imagery Interpretation & TEM

Wetlands as Eco-Assets
(Oct. 21st, 9am to 12pm)

Guest Speakers TBA

Wetland Monitoring and Maintenance
(Oct. 28th, 9am to 12pm)

Guest Speakers: 

Elke Wind is an Amphibian Biologist, and founder of E. Wind Consulting where she focuses on conservation, assessment and management of amphibian populations and wetland restoration and contruction for the last 20 years. Elke will be speaking on  amphibian monitoring and trapping in the field and sharing a case study on an  amphibian monitoring project and helping influence local legislation

Neil Fletcher is the Manger of Conservation Stewardship at BCWF, and has been working in the Wetlands Education Program for over ten years. Through his work across BC, Neil brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his presentations. Neil will be speaking on post-restoration monitoring and maintenance techniques.

Wetlands and legal frameworks
(Nov. 4th, 9am to 12pm)

Guest Speakers: 

Deborah Curran is the Associate Professor and Executive Director of the Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria where she teaches land and water regulation and law. As an author of numerous environmental law resources for government and articles to research journals, we are excited to host her! Deborah will be speaking on one of the resources she developed for environmental stewards: Green Bylaws Toolkit for Conserving Sensitive Ecosystems and Green Infrastructure

Dave Newman is the Director of Infrastructure Services for the Town of Gibsons. He graduated from Camosun College as a Civil Engineering Technologist, and will bring over a decade of experience working with the Town of Gibson. Dave will be speaking on the relationship of Natural Capital and Green Infrastructure

Brittany Lange is an Environmental Planner with the Regional District of Central Okanagan.  In her position she works to develop and implement policy and planning programs to improve environmental protection and sustainability within the Regional District of Central Okanagan. Brittany will be speaking about Regional Floodplain Management Plan and sharing case studies on her experiences with environmental planning.

Wetlands and Climate Change
(Nov. 10th, 9am to 12pm)

Guest Speaker:

Nelson Jatel is the Water Stewardship Director of the Okanagan Bain Water Board, and he will be speaking on the  Okanagan Wetlands Action Plan and the relationship and value of wetlands and the risks associated with climate change.

Cultural Value of Wetlands and Archeological Assessments
(Nov. 18th, 9am to 12pm)

Guest Speakers TBA