About

 Heather is by training a plant ecologist, and by desire a poet, scientific illustrator and musician. While the “jack of all trades, master of none” notion might come to mind, Heather moreso embodies “jack of all trades, master of integrating disparate practices to suit her purpose”. As a very physically active person, field ecology is Heather’s preferred work, native prairie and parkland is her preferred ecological focus, and and conservation of species at risk and respect for “all our relations” is her goal. Time spent indoors is best spent drawing, writing, and recreating on the page her experiences in the field. Integrating the perceived oxymoron of art and science, Heather uses both to the end of documenting her experiences on the land on which she has the privilege to work. Heather uses printed and social media to share her work and encourage people to seek the beauty in the details to be found on native prairie and in the depths of the woodlands.

RECENT EXHIBITS & PRESENTATIONS              

• Wild Sage Salon - Cycling Through - Regina, SK

• Book Reading - Blue Grama - Grassland National Park, SK

• Field Sketching and Botanical Illustration Workshop - Cypress Hills, SK

• Seeking the Dawn Chorus - Sound walk, Truax, SK

• Finding Nature in Urban Environments - Sound walk, Regina, SK

• Wild Sage Press Salon - Moving On - Regina, SK

• Featured New Artist Exhibition and Book Reading - Esterhazy, SK

WORK PROJECTS                                                                                                       

• Species-at-risk stewardship management co-ordinator

• Develop management approach for species at risk on agricultural land

• Ecosystem monitoring and management planning for invasive species

• Ecosystem monitoring for baseline data and ecosystem health/recovery

• Natural regeneration monitoring in clearcuts in Coastal Douglas Fir zone  

• Forest silvicultural practices in Coastal Douglas Fir zone

• Ectomycorrhizal fungi background study

• Forest plant-microbe competition and carbon-nitrogen tradeoffs research in Northern Boreal ecosystem

• Effects of climate change on vegetation composition in Mixed Grass Prairie

• Management of invasive and encroaching vegetation in pastures

MEMBERSHIPS

• Guild of Natural Science Illustrators

• Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan - board member

• Nature Saskatchewan

EDUCATION              

• M.Sc. Univ. of Toronto: Effects of climate change on C3/C4 vegetation in Northern Mixed Grasslands

• B.Sc. (Adv. Biol.), Univ. of Saskatchewan:  Plant Ecology and Land Use and Environmental Studies

• Botanical Illustration Certificate - Cornell University