Postcards from the Field: Jane Gao

Shell Conservation Intern Jane Gao

Greeting from the West Kootenays!

Already my summer’s halfway over. It is amazing how much I have experienced in the past three months of this internship. I feel very fortunate to work in the rugged mountain wilderness of Darkwoods, a 550 square kilometre property which made Canadian history in 2008 as the largest single private conservation acquisition ever. My work with the Nature Conservancy of Canada has been very diverse. My main foci have been hydro-riparian mapping, Mountain Caribou habitat restoration, weed inventory and photo-monitoring.

The hydro-riparian mapping project has improved my GIS skills tremendously. I am even thinking about pursuing a degree in the GIS field. The Mountain Caribou restoration project has been the most interesting one so far. I get to experience two seasons in one day, as I often hike from lush interior rainforest at low- to mid-elevations to snow-covered alpine caribou summer habitats. I also often see tracks of wolves, Grizzly Bears, badgers, Moose, Elk and deer.

Darkwoods, B.C.

Since invasive plants are considered the second largest threat to our biodiversity, according to the International Union for Conservation Nature, I work closely with a local biologist on the weed inventory and control plan for the whole property.

Photo-monitoring is another very important piece of my work. I am mainly focusing on monitoring property corners, rare ecosystems, representative ecosystems and caribou restoration sites.

I feel this internship is a great way to apply my BSc in ecology and environmental science from the University of British Columbia while contributing to the conservation of this magnificent land. For the rest of the summer, I am looking forward to gaining more mapping, field surveying and mountaineering skills in the Kootenay area. I love the mountains, the wilderness and the local communities. I am hoping to settle down in this area and continue working in this field with the local biologists following completion of this internship.

Jane Gao