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Retired Staff Members |
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For her MSc Lynn is detailing the late Holocene glacial history
of the Manatee and Mosaic glacier area. Her recently acquired dendroglaciological skills include a new-found proficiency
with a chain saw and the ability to moraine scramble beneath teetering house-size boulders. To the amazement of all, Lynn prefers walking through glacial
streams rather than gentle glacier walks to 'get to the other side'. Lynn at the UVTRL
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Bethany comes to the UVTRL from her home in Nova Scotia. Having spent time
at the MADLAB, we discovered that she thinks of increment coring as a competition sport. Bethany spend the 2007 summer field
season with the UVTRL and seems to be adjusting well to a west coast life style. Her MSc research will be focused on
exploring dendroglaciological secrets in the Mt. Waddington area of the Central BC Coast Mountains.
Bethany at the UVTRL
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Aquila is building proxy climate records from climatically-tormented trees in the Northern Canadian Rocky Mountains. Aquila
ventured out with the 2006 UVTRL field team to visit some BC glaciers, where she was quickly
introduced to the fine art of moraine scrambling and bugnet increment boring. Word has it she enjoyed the latter
more than the former, and has set her sights on finding trees where the moraines are few and the bugs plentiful.
Aquila at the UVTRL
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Will is working on an MSc project investigating the invasion of subalpine
meadows in Kootenay National Park by subalpine larch. With the suspicion that ongoing climate changes may be playing a role. Will
has firmly established his position in the lab by breaking lots of corers this past summer.
Will at the UVTRL
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Sarah arrived in Victoria after a summer spent driving back and forth to the Yukon. Although she spent a week
with the UVTRL in the Northern Canadian Rockies, Sarah frowns upon mornings and seems friendlier in the afternoons. She will be investigating exposed subfossil forests in the vicinity of the Homathko Icefield for her MSc
thesis.
Sarah at the UVTRL
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Deirdre is examining the opportunities for Bigleaf Western Maple sugaring on Vancouver Island.
Although bigleaf maple sap runs at about 1-2% sugar, about 1% lower than eastern sugar maple, the flavour of bigleaf maple syrup often
wins in taste tests. Just ask Deirdre.
Deirdre at the UVTRL
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Trisha's research focuses on developing dendrohydrological insights from big sappy
Douglas-fir trees in the Greater Victoria watershed. Her preferred sampling time is early spring, when you can expect a spray of
sap to spill out of the tree. Having graduated from UVic a few years back, Trisha has returned to
discover that tree-rings rule, provided that you don't mind a little careful massaging of the data along the way.
Trisha at the UVTRL
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Kristina is afraid to admit it, but we know she secretly
wishes she was a dendrochronologist. Kristina has finished writing her thesis and is now waiting to explain to her examination committee why she
spent last summer counting flowers on mountaintops.
Kristina at the UVTRL
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Michi studies coral reefs not trees. Despite this, Michi is an
honourary member of the tree-ring lab. She makes great cookies and seems to enjoy hanging out with tree-ringers.
Michia at the UVTRL
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Kajo has defended her thesis and now works for the BC Government. Who
knew that she was destined to stay in the west. We will be retiring her hockey card once we tell her mom
that Kelly will convocate in June.
Kajo at UVic
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Andrea is leaving the UVTRL to start a graduate program at WLU in southern
Ontario. We worried a little about how someone from PG would fit into the KW Octoberfest scene, but she has assured us that
she has the necessary experience. Prost Andrea!
Andrea at the UVTRL
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After spending two years and two field seasons
with her UVTRL buddies, Sandy has been hiding from her supervisor in Prince George for the last two years.
The end is in sight, however, and we expect Sandy will soon be defending her MSc thesis based on the research she did at
Bridge Glacier.
Sandy at the UVTRL
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Krista joined the UVTRL last summer and spent a lot of time scheming on
how to justify a kajak-inspired trip to the north side of the Brooks Peninsula. During her explorations she discovered both CMT's and yeti evidence. Along with her assistant she gathered
tree-ring samples from a host of trees, and at least one awesome Sitka spruce. From her reading of growth-ring
increments, she hopes to date the CMT's and to discover when exactly it was that the last UVTRL crew visited the 'Brooks'.
Krista has lots of favourite trees, and likes to hug them all. In her spare time, Krista kills computers.
Krista at uvic.ca
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Kinga has been around UVic for a while, but is a recent recruit to the
UVTRL. When she isn't busy winning teaching assistant awards, being a
mum, or consoling forlorn students and administration, she burrows away
in the sanding room producing perfectly gleaming core samples. Her
favourite tree is one that she can climb with her kids.
Kinga at uvic.ca
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Rochelle came to the UVTRL after discovering that tree bugs offered a way to spend a
summer in Kamloops. Having learned how to sharpen a chain saw from a friendly logger, she promptly abandoned
both her field assistant and her increment borer, and filled her rental truck
up with excessively large Douglas-fir cookies that were promptly forgotten in the UVTRL
storeroom. She is no longer a government government employee and is now in search any large Western redcedar
trees that grow outside of Victoria.
Rochelle at uvic.ca
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Scott T. is wanted south of the border and by
members of the UVTRL for leaving behind his leaky Coleman stove. Last
summer found Scott dangling on the end of a way-too-long climbing rope chainsawing old logs buried in a moraine.
Having survived this adventure and several others, Scott returned to Victoria last fall to start one of
16 jobs he currently holds. We fully expect to hear that Scott has somehow managed to lash a portable
tree-ring laboratory onto his kayak and that he was last seen paddling up Knight Inlet in search of a new
dendrochronological frontier. Scott's favorite tree may just be one that he can eat.
Scott at uvic.ca
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Suspicions have been raised that Sarah is
anxious to move south of the border. Having spent the past three summers chasing subfossil logs around the BC
Coast Mtns, she is setting her sights on exposing the truth behind a dendroglaciological pleasure house in the Todd Glacier
valley. Piggy is well known for her appreciation of both chocolate bars and rainy BC Coast Mountains days.
Sarah’s favorite tree is a glacier-killed whitebark pine best known to her friends as "beefcake".
Piggy at uvic.ca
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Dr. Boon has seen the light and returned to her UVic roots. She no longer
craves the smell of Arctic glacers in the morning, but has come to appreciate that the
best glaciers in Canada reside in the BC Coast Mountains. We expect to see Sarah chasing
grizzly bears away from camp in the coming field season and to become very proficient
with a chain saw. Sarah is not too sure if she has a favourite tree.
Sarah at uvic.ca
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Karen has managed to combine her talents as an actress, artist and dendrochronologist
into a passion for rotting cabins and horses. Having spent a
delightful initial summer meandering through historic pathways in the Canadian
Rocky Mountains on horseback, she discovered this past summer that 70 lb packs are best
left on horses or strapped to the back of stubby field assistants. Karen remains hopeful
that her cabins are not left over props for a long forgotten Disney movie. Her
favorite tree is one with a rusty nail in the end of it, as long as it has a
dovetailed-notch too.
Karen at uvic.ca
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Sonya is a Quebec native who
ventured over to the west coast and discovered that the really big trees grow in British Columbia.
Sonya is a Leo, but is not as mean as a lion. She is finishing up her Ph.D., after spending
two summers in the Mt. Waddington area and one week in Hawaii. Obviously she quickly
adjusted to a west coast lifestyle. Although Sonya does not live in Victoria at the moment, her
lab mates appreciate that she has established a UVTRL branch office in Santa Fe and
are anxiously awaiting a branch meeting. Her least favorite tree is a certain mountain
hemlock that lives in the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Sonya at uvtrl.geog.uvic.ca
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Berto came to the UVTRL as an undergrad, and has not managed to
escape. He lives in Vancouver where he claims he attends
Simon Fraser University. Every now and then he shows up on our doorstep
with a pile of dead wood looking to steal our beer and get the
latest fashion tips. Berto's favourite tree is one that's easy, and his
ambition is to "get that meddling Sandy back!"
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Lex is an Ontario champion who thinks the best eating fish are to be found swimming
around the nuclear powerplants lining Lake Ontario. She has quickly settled into the
relaxed west coast lifestyle, and except for the tree species mountain hemlock, thinks
that this tree-ring thing might just work out. Over the last summer, Lex gave some thought to
learning to fly a helicopter - or at least that is how the helicopter pilot put it after
they had landed. Her research passion is for SAILs, and so she spends most of her time
digging through 10 m snowpacks in search of subnival geomorphic features.
Alexis at uvic.ca
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Laurel joined the UVTRL by mistake a few years ago and has still not left. She originally thought it was
the UTVRL (University TV Regulars Lounge), as she is such a big soap opera fan. In the mean time she was convinced to
work on tree-ring projects up and down the west coast of BC. After spending a field season in the remote areas of Mt.
Waddington she missed TV too much and will now only take on a tree-ring related job in the lab if it involves viewing a
monitor. Her specialty is of course scanning rings, with her currrent total being just under half a million rings scanned. This
places her third in the all-time scanning scoring lead, behind retired scanners Colin and Wanye Gretzky. No one will catch Wayne
Gretzky, not even Laurel. Laurel's favorite tree is only found on a cliff and usually has a rope anchored to it.
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Chris hails from British Columbia's interior,
where everything is BIGGER. Chris is still adjusting to coring small west coast trees
as he is more familiar with coring interior trees with post-hole augers and measuring their rings with
metre sticks. His Masters research was dendroglaciological in nature, which was fine with him, as it will allowed
him more time out in the mountains. Although Chris does
not own a Nikon camera, one day he hopes too. His favorite tree is a "Balsam".
Chris at uvic.ca
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Colin has been with the UVTRL since
it was smaller than a janitor's closet. He has tried to make a living understanding
the properties of yellow-cedar, and so far has not had any luck (making a living or
understanding yellow-cedar). Colin depends on Coca-Cola to keep him moving and
is particularly grouchy most of the time. His favorite sport is whatever he can find
playing on internet radio. Colin is mean.
Colin at uvic.ca
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Dave joined the UVTRL early in 1996 as an undergrad while studying
the endangered Vancouver Island marmot. He is currently finishing his Masters degree on
tree rings, lichen, and Septimus and Colonel Foster glaciers. Dave has a fondness for alpen glow, and the
quiet of the mountains. Dave's hobbies include trying to beat himself up while doing field work,
and trying to decide what kind of research to do after his Masters degree. He currently has
a short list of 23 options and will probably have more before he he graduates. Dave's favorite
tree is one that is dead and has been burried under a moraine for a long time.
Dave at uvic.ca
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Rod has put in a two year stint with the UVTRL
and like some criminals returning to the scene of a crime, he continues to be affiliated
with the lab. His specialty is old cabins in Jasper Natioanl Park and anything to do
with a rowboat. Obviously, Rod loves to row a boat and he can often be heard singing...
or at least muttering something under his breath when rowing. Rod's hero is Red Green and so
he tries to emulate the ways of Mr. Green by being in touch with nature and duct tape.
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Besides dressing up as a cowboy,
Don doesn't have a lot of hobbies. He frequently works in Banff, Kootenay, and Yoho
National Parks, but when working, he is still dreaming of being a cowboy. Dendrochronological
research is well suited to Don, as in all steps of the highly scientific process he is able to
dress up as a cowboy and garner the respect of all those around him. Don's pet dog is named Meg,
and she likes to follow him around and make sure his work is up to lab standards. Meg doesn't like cowboys.
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Bob is the most physically active member
of the UVTRL. Although he likes to say he is in his senior years, he is still the
fastest walking dendrochronologist on our team. His extensive knowledge of history,
the natural environment and duct tape make Bob a leader in his field. Actually,
since no one can keep up to the fast pace he sets, he is usually the leader in the field, on
the trail, over rocks and across streams.
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Besides having anexpensive palate when
considering red wine, Ze'ev also likes tree rings. He started working
with the fuzzy little lines in the fall of 1995. Ze'ev is specializing in
cocktail-party climatology, with an emphasis on El Nino, and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation.
His species of choice are Tsuga mertensiana, vitis vinifera and Oncorhyncus spp. Ze'ev hopes
to one day become rich and controversial.
zeev@uvtrl.geog.uvic.ca
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Jen is a veteran recruit to the UVTRL who also goes by the alias of "TONG". She specializes
in extremely tight-ringed white bark pine (ugh!!) and blowing bubbles. Late in 1998 Jen left for a year long "walk about"
through Australia and New Zealand, but after a year of bungy jumping and cattle ranching (or was that cattle jumping and
bungy ranching...?) Jen migrated back to the comforts of her adopted family in the UVTRL. Her hobbies include tieing vines
to her legs and flinging herself from high objects,befriending small australian cattle, and partaking in grad lounge
activies that would cause her parents to cringe (Hi mom & dad). |
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Wade volunteered in the tree-ring laboratory in early
1996,and has continued his strong affiliation with the lab by buying beer
for the rest of the UVTRL team. Wade was lucky to fulfill a dream by
actually arriving on the shores of Zebellos in the summer of 1996.
Besides having girlfriends at most Pizza Hut locations in British Columbia,
Wade works in the forestry industry in the Interior and has very clean
clothes. |
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Larrissa's strongties to nature have her working in the bush
nearly year round, but in her spare time she does volunteer field work
for the UVTRL. Larissa likes towork excessively hard at preparing gourmet
meals in the middle of nowhere with powdered food. Although this may seem
silly, the hungry members of the UVTRL team would disagree wholeheartedly.
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Maren has
a solid position in the UVTRL by continuing to to bake wondrous Skor
cookies and bringing them to the lab on a regular basis. She has dabbled
in dendro since the fall of 1995 and is well known for her statistical
abilities with large unwieldy data sets. Maren smiles a lot and is a good
dancer. |
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Kent has a very limited history with the
tree-ring lab. He has shown up to core trees and brought the lab very bad
luck. While Kent was on the payroll the laboratory lost four corers and
three spoons. Although Kent was very jolly while working through the heavy
rains on his first day on the job, he was fired later that day for eating
the last pirate cookie and retaliated by smashing a window. Kent will be
missed and the budget will never be the same again. |
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Gillian
was a last minute recruit to the tree-ring lab. Her spunky nature led to
many a tree being cored. Although she enjoyed the outdoors, a run-in with
an odiferous, dirty, rotten, gummy member of the upper elevation hemlock
family has forced her into a leave of absence from the UVTRL. Gillian's
plans for the future are to fix the leak in her tent and to go bulk food
shopping at Costco. |
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Chris
needed to get his feet wet in a 'real' scientific discipline and
volunteered to adventure into high alpine meadows in late October with the
UVTRL. This recruit was at once impressed with the amount of snow that
can accumulate at high elevations of Vancouver Island. His abilities and
his four-wheel drive kept him out of trouble and kept his feet firmly
sliding, skiding and freezing into the tree-ring world. |
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Giuseppe breaks tree corers and wears touques. That's all I
have to say about Giuseppe. |