Environmental Sciences, Ecology, and Geography
Varty, Stephanie
BSc, 2012
In 2012, I completed my undergraduate degree majoring in Environmental Sciences, and minoring in Ecology and Geography at the University of Toronto Mississauga in the Geography, Geomatics and Environment Department. Throughout my undergraduate degree, I worked in the City of Mississauga’s Forestry and Natural Areas Department and in an Ecohydrology Lab at UTM. During the spring/summer of 2012, I pursued a conservation internship with the Nature Conservancy of Canada while awaiting news on my master’s degree application. In September of 2012, I began a master’s degree in the Geography, Geomatics and Environment Department focusing on freshwater contaminant cycling in the High Arctic with Dr. Igor Lehnherr. During my master’s degree, I developed skills in science communication and outreach, lab analysis, and developed my love for the north through two field work trips to Ellesmere Island, Nunavut.
Following my education at the University of Toronto, I began working field and lab technician contract positions at multiple universities. In the summer of 2020, I found my current position as a wildlife management biologist working for the Eeyou Marine Region Wildlife Board, based on eastern James Bay in the Cree Nation of Eastmain. My organization is an institution of public government that works within the framework of the Eeyou Marine Region Land Claims Agreement, an agreement between the James Bay Cree of Quebec, Government of Canada, and the Government of Nunavut. In my position, I work with other entities to manage harvested species in the marine region, provide advice to other entities on wildlife and habitat management, and participate in research projects in the marine region. My favourite part of my job is that I get to live in one of the northern communities that I work with, where I am constantly learning and gaining different perspectives on wildlife and habitat management. My current position has sparked new interests including communicating science and understanding traditional ecological knowledge. I find myself frequently inspired by the land and the people that I am surrounded by.
INDUSTRY
- Environmental Science
- Wildlife Management Biologist
- Traditional Ecological