• Senior Lecturer in Plant Ecology, Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington

I grew up in Canada's high Boreal forest. I spent my childhood fishing, canoeing and helping my father in his organic vegetable garden. I loved plants and animals and was fascinated by how they coped with the harsh Northern winter. I did an undergraduate degree in Plant Biology at the University of Victoria, Canada. I became enthralled by the role of soil organisms in plant nutrition and ecosystem processes. I completed my PhD in Forest Science at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. My research focused on the role of ectomycorrhizal fungi in the spread of woody shrubs onto Arctic tundra with climatic warming. Concerned by the global issues of land use and climate change, I came to New Zealand in 2011 to take up a post doc at Landcare Research on the microbial ecology of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. I moved to a Lectureship at Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington in 2014. I live in Strathmore with my partner, our two boys and a very wiggly dog.

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