Graduate Student

Research interests: Community-based wildfire management; eco-cultural restoration; fire ecology; collaborative governance; place-based learning and stewardship

As an ecologist, forester and interdisciplinary social-ecological scientist, Sarah is interested in how local social-environmental histories, practices and knowledge forms shape the ways in which communities understand, adapt and respond to changes in their local landscapes, particularly in the context of wildfire management. Co-supervised by Dr Lori Daniels (UBC Tree-Ring Lab) and Dr Shannon Hagerman, Sarah is working in partnership with the Secwepemcúl’ecw Restoration and Stewardship Society and its member Secwépemc communities to explore how collaborative research and Indigenous-led restoration initiatives can restore both ecological and cultural values in fire-adapted and fire-affected landscapes. Through a combination of collaborative ethno-ecological and qualitative approaches, Sarah’s research also seeks to support Indigenous collaborators and communities in (re)asserting traditional stewardship practices, knowledges and connections to land and place.

Sarah’s approach to research is strongly informed by her diverse interdisciplinary background. She holds a dual Bachelor of Arts (Human Geography) and Bachelor of Science (Botany), as well as a Master of Forest Ecosystem Science, from the University of Melbourne, Australia. Her professional experience spans carbon and agro-forestry, community-based conservation, and sustainability education. Immediately prior to commencing her PhD studies she worked as an ecological consultant throughout south-east Australia.