Wed, 15 Sep 2021
Tags: chinook / moose / salmon / scholarship

2021 Al Martin HCTF Conservation Fellowship Recipients Announced

The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation and HCTF Education are excited to announce the first-ever recipients of the Al Martin HCTF Conservation Fellowship (AMCF): Kaitlyn Zinn & Carl Jefferies.

The AMCF awards $10,000 annually to two graduate students who are wishing to pursue a career in fish or wildlife management and conservation in British Columbia.

The award is named in honor of Al Martin, a lifelong conservation giant who passed away suddenly in 2019. Al had an influential career with the BC provincial government that spanned three decades in fish and wildlife management and habitat conservation. After his retirement in 2010, Al continued to be a leader in the conservation community as a Board Director with HCTF and Director of Strategic Initiatives with the BC Wildlife Federation.

More About Al

2021 Recipients:

Kaitlyn Zinn

Kaitlyn is a PhD student at UBC’s Faculty of Forestry under the supervision of Dr. Scott Hinch in the Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory. AMCF funds will be used to support her research for her thesis “Effects of Recreational Catch and Release on Chinook: From Marine Environments to Spawning Grounds”. Kaitlyn’s long term goal is to be involved in salmonid conservation, contributing to the conservation of wild salmon stocks in British Columbia.

More About Kaitlyn

 

Carl Jefferies

Carl is a MSc student in the Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (NRES) program at UNBC under the supervision of Dr. Heather Bryan. AMCF funds will be used to support his proposed thesis “Towards a better understanding of moose declines in BC: Effects of climate and anthropogenic landscape change on moose body condition and physiology”. Carl’s long term goal is to contribute to the management of conservation of wildlife populations throughout BC by balancing ecological conservation with the values and priorities of stakeholders, particularly First Nations and citizen groups.

More About Carl

If you or someone you know may be interested in applying for the Al Martin HCTF Conservation Scholarship, check out the following links:

Applicant Info Apply Online

 

 

Mon, 29 Mar 2021
Tags: scholarship

Announcing the Al Martin Conservation Fellowship & Scholarship Program

Project #5-306: Horsefly River - Rainbow Trout Enumeration and Habitat Use Study

In celebration of the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation’s 40th Anniversary and the many individuals who have championed conservation efforts across BC in that time, we are proud to announce the HCTF Scholarship Grant Program. It is our hope that this new program will support students to pursue a higher education leading to a career in wildlife or fish conservation and carry on the tradition of conservation excellence here in BC. The first of these Scholarship Grants to be awarded will be the Al Martin Conservation Fellowship (AMCF), named in honour of our late Board Director.

Al was a giant in the conservation community and had an influential and lengthy career in fish and wildlife management and habitat conservation. His clear thinking, vision, and integrity commanded the respect of his colleagues, conservationists, politicians, and bureaucrats at all levels of government. Al passionately worked to sustain fish and wildlife habitats and populations for the enjoyment of generations to come. You can learn more about Al Martin’s impact of BC conservation here.

HCTF invites graduate students (pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree) to apply to the 2021 Al Martin Fellowship Program. The AMCF awards two fellows a $10,000 stipend, successful recipients must be full-time graduate students with solid academic standing registered in a recognized Canadian educational institute. They must be citizens or landed immigrants of Canada, wishing to pursue a career in fish or wildlife management and conservation in British Columbia. Fellowship Award recipients will have the opportunity to access Peer networking opportunities with HCTF’s conservation technical committees, a greater, real-world understanding of BC’s conservation landscape, and an expanded personal and professional network.

With the AMCF, HCTF strives to build a cohort of emerging leaders, connecting graduate students who will go on to do important work with BC’s conservation. We believe in nurturing and growing conservation leaders of the future and hope to announce other Scholarship and Fellowship opportunities as part of the new HCTF Scholarship Grant Program. If you interested in joining a community of leaders interested in BC’s fish, wildlife, habitat, and biodiversity conservation, Apply Now!

For more information visit our Scholarship Grants webpage.

Mon, 10 Jun 2019
Tags: Education

New Interactive Trail in Tsútswecw Park Tells Story of Landscape & Local Plants through the Voices of Secwépemctsin Language Students

BC Story Trail launch
HCTF Board member Ian McGregor is among the first visitors to the Story Trail in Tsútswecw Provincial Park

Today marks the opening of an interactive and interpretive trail in Tsútswecw Provincial Park built on the traditional territory of the Secwépemc people. The trail uses technology to tell the story of native plants and landscape features through the voices of local youth.

Members of the public are invited to celebrate the power of story, nature and culture, and discover the rich history of the land. Visitors will scan signage along the trail to hear students from Chase Secondary School’s Secwépemctsin language class share what they learned from their elders. You can listen to the Story Trail stations by clicking on the image below to visit the interactive map on the BC Parks Foundation website.

Visit the BC Parks Foundation’s website to listen to the story trail stations on their interactive map.

The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF) Education program helped support the Story Trails project by covering the class’s transportation costs to and from the park, providing honorariums for elders and having WildBC facilitators work with the students and teachers. The Story Trails project is one of multiple HCTF Education-supported initiatives at Chase Secondary. The school was chosen as a pilot for HCTF’s new high school LEAP (Leadership Environmental Action Projects) granting program. As part of the pilot, Chase’s Biology 11 class brought their stream and watershed studies to life through hands-on field experiences at nearby Chase Creek. Chase students also helped younger students at Haldane Elementary with garden box plantings and Earth Day events. A dozen Chase students were even trained as Park Ambassadors for the Adam’s River Salute to Sockeye event.

Chase Secondary Student Ambassadors

Chase Secondary School Salmon Ambassadors worked with younger students and HCTF Education WildBC Facilitator Brenda Melnychuk to educate Salute to Sockeye participants about composting and recycling.

BC high schools interested in provided similar learning opportunities for their students are encouraged to check out the new LEAP grant program. Grants of up to $5000 are available for science, environmental or career courses focused on opportunities for students in environmental and conservation sciences. This year’s application deadline is June 15th. For more information, visit https://www.hctfeducation.ca/c2c-community/leap-grants/

Mon, 10 Jun 2019
Tags: Education

6000+ Students Get Outdoors this Spring

 

What a fantastic spring it’s been for outdoor learning in BC! HCTF Education, in partnership with BC Parks, provided BC schools with more than $80K in GO Grants to give their students the opportunity to learn about BC’s incredible biodiversity. Over 6,000 students from classes around the province participated in GO Grant field trips this spring. They created wildlife habitat gardens, removed invasive plants, investigated water quality and much more while exploring some of the province’s amazing natural settings, including BC Parks. To find out more about HCTF’s environmental education programs and resources, visit https://www.hctfeducation.ca/c2c-community/partners-and-special-projects/

Thu, 9 May 2019
Tags: Education

Congratulations HCTF Education, Cmolik Award Finalist!

HCTF Education Cmolik Prize Finalists

Congratulations to HCTF Education for being named a finalist for the Cmolik Prize for the Enhancement of Pub­lic Education in BC. The prize recognizes recipients who have developed and implemented an invention, innova­tion, concept, process or procedure that enhances educa­tional practice in the British Columbia K-12 public school system.

 

“On behalf of the entire environmental learning community of educators who help the program to thrive and grow, we are very honoured,” says Kerrie Mortin, HCTF Education Program manager. “Our belief is that every student in BC should be able to learn and experience BC’s great outdoor classroom.”

HCTF Education helps to meet the needs and challenges faced by schools and teachers to implement environ­mental learning in the classroom. This includes providing field trip (GO Grants) and conservation high school grants (LEAP), school programs (Wild Schools and Environmental Exchange Box), access to a network of environmental educators (WildBC Facilitators), and educational resources. HCTF Edu­cation programs and support network continue to be a catalyst and voice for environmental educational initiatives that support changes across the diverse geographies and cultures of BC.

To learn more, visit hctfeducation.ca

Tue, 26 Feb 2019
Tags: Education

Educators Get Outdoors to learn about Environmental Education

In an event cosponsored by BC Parks and HCTF, educators came together at Strathcona Provincial Park to participate in HCTF Education workshop. Led by HCTF Education’s WildBC Facilitator, Luisa Richardson, the group’s goal was to learn and teach winter ecology activities they could do with their own students.

Using Get Outdoors and Below Zero activities at attune their senses to the snowy world around them, learning was brought to life through hands-on learning.

“All participants were enthusiastically and joyfully engaged. They were happy to receive activities that allowed them to teach youth about habitat, biodiversity and stewardship to lighten their foot print in snowy habitats protected places,” Richardson reported. “We were all surprised at how much harder it was to play predator prey simulations in snow. It drove home how much more energy animals need to find food, water, shelter in winter, and how much harder it is for them to survive.”

Events such as this one, bringing together HCTF workshops for educators is made possible by the BC Parks license plate funding program.