With the help of Canada Summer Jobs and Employment Planning and Counseling, Kawartha Land Trust was able to hire five new additions to our team this summer! Read on to learn a little bit about them:
Lindsey Bergalt, GIS Technician
Lindsey is a Masters Student at Trent University that began working as a GIS Technician Intern with Kawartha Land Trust in January 2017, as part of the NSERC funded CREATE Enviro graduate program. She researches how private conservation contributes to protected area networks in Canada and the USA.
At KLT, she has helped the Land Securement Committee develop a strategy for proactive and strategic securement based on conservation principles. Originally from North Carolina, Lindsey graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2014 with degrees in Biology and Environmental Science.
Karen Gribbon, Database Management Assistant
Karen Gribbon is the Database Management Assistant at Kawartha Land Trust. She is in her third year at Trent University studying Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Karen’s love and appreciation of the outdoors has given her a passion for the protection of the Kawartha region and finds it a huge priority that the region’s natural beauty remains for future generations to enjoys. In her free time, Karen prefers hobbies that keep one’s mind sharp; Dungeons and Dragons / Pathfinder, tactical videogames, detail painting, reading fantasy novels, and even recreational programming in Microsoft Excel and various C languages. She is “ pleased to meet you all and looking very much forward to our upcoming (and hopefully beautiful) summer together.”
Kaleigh Martherus, Marketing Assistant
Kaleigh Martherus is the Marketing Assistant. Kaleigh is delighted to be a part of the team and thrilled at the chance to be involved with Kawartha Land Trust and what she calls an incredible mission to protect and preserve important ecosystems found in the surrounding area. She grew up just outside of Lakefield near the beautiful Otonabee River. After attending Adam Scott CVI for their French Immersion program and graduating in 2016 she went on to study at the University of Waterloo where she is currently enrolled in the Global Business and Digital Arts program. In her free time Kaleigh loves to paint with watercolours as well as hiking and canoe camping with her goldendoodle. She says that she looks forward to getting to know you all throughout the course of the summer.
Becki Rogers-Watson, Assistant Biologist
Rebecca (Becki) Rogers-Watson is one of two Assistant Biologists at Kawartha Land Trust. Also a Student at Fleming College and Trent University, she is working through her last year of Honours Bachelor of Science in Ecological Restoration. Her love of the environment has come from growing up in the Niagara region surrounded by stunning natural landscapes, as well as the amazing experiences she feels she has been afforded throughout her education. This past summer she worked as a research assistant in the Yukon which she feels allowed her to appreciate the hard work ethic needed to work in the great outdoors. Becki has found those experiences to be invaluable to the work she is doing with KLT in the Kawarthas. When Becki is not out working with KLT she can be found kayaking, hiking, or heading back to her hometown of Niagara to be a wine tour guide. Becki says she is “very excited to be a part of this great team.”
Mike Cook, Assistant Biologist
Michael Cook is also an Assistant Biologist. His passion for the protection and conservation of the environment has led him to Sir Sandford Fleming College School of Environmental and Natural Resources Sciences where he acquired a diploma in Ecosystem Management Technology. Michael’s education and professional experiences have given him a broad background in community outreach programming, environmental legislation, traditional ecological knowledge and environmental sciences. He has experience in both rural and urban landscapes as well as rare ecosystems such as tall-grass prairies and savannas. Being a resident in the Kawartha Lakes, Michael has developed a passion for water quality and conservation of the many aquatic systems and their watersheds found in the region.
Posted June 26, 2017.
