Emily currently works at St. Clair Region Conservation Authority as Stewardship Communications Technician. She helps create wetland, forest and grasslands in the St. Clair watershed and even helps with Species At Risk Work!
Emily also has a TV show on Rogers TV called Learn with Ranger Em, definitely check her out there!
Ranger Em - YouTube
St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (scrca.on.ca)
Check out our website!
Home (el4biodiversity.ca)
Follow us on social media @el4biodiversity for more updates and events!
Emily currently works at St. Clair Region Conservation Authority as Stewardship Communications Technician. She helps create wetland, forest and grasslands in the St. Clair watershed and even helps with Species At Risk Work!
Emily also has a TV show on Rogers TV called Learn with Ranger Em, definitely check her out there!
Ranger Em - YouTube
St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (scrca.on.ca)
Check out our website!
Home (el4biodiversity.ca)
Follow us on social media @el4biodiversity for more updates and events!
Hi everyone. Welcome to Emerging Leaders for Biodiversity. How do I do this in Environmental Career podcast? I'm Alex Laier.
Kandyce:And I'm Candace Apick and we're the new host. Join us as we explore the wild world of environmental careers.
Alex:Hear from top professionals and industry up and comers about their journeys and how they're making an impact in the world of biodiversity.
Kandyce:So sit back or go for a hike and enjoy. Well let's get started. If you don't mind introducing yourself with your name and your pronouns, please.
Emily:Yes, my name's Emily Fee, Brie and I go by. She and her.
Kandyce:Awesome. Thank you. For everyone listening, do you wanna explain a little bit about yourself, who you are and what you do?
Emily:Yeah, so I am just a gal who's very passionate about the environment and all things nature. And I have been since I was a little girl. And I knew very young that I wanted to get into the environmental sector. I mean, actually when I was young, I wanted to save the world, which is a very pressure-filled job. So I was happy that when I went through high school and university, I discovered a love for education and outreach. So that's what I mostly focus on in my jobs these days. Currently I'm at St. Clair Region Conservation Authority as the stewardship communications technician.
Kandyce:Awesome.
Emily:Yeah. And then I have my Little Side Hustle, which is my Rogers TV show called Learn with Ranger m and I get to interview different people whether they're individuals making action towards sustainability or different things revolving around the climate or environment or different organizations as well. And yeah, just make little episodes for people to watch Awesome. That's awesome. They're all very informative, which is great. Mm-hmm.
Alex:So how'd you get started? Is Ranger m and one do such a cool program? I feel like that's like everyone's dream is to host their own nature program.
Emily:Yeah. Still very humbled by the whole experience. But I. Was working at catfish Creek Conservation Authority at the time, and I was doing education programs. And there was this gentleman who was doing education programs before I worked there a while ago, and he went by ranger ed. Then since I took over the education programming, all the kids were like, where's ranger ed? And I was like, oh, well it's me now. I'm Ranger m And then, so they just kept calling me Ranger m and then when Covid hit, I couldn't do education programs anymore, so I was trying to make online videos for kids to watch whether it was like with their class or just at home. So I, I titled them Learn with Ranger M and then a friend who worked at Rogers TV said that they could. like a TV show with Rogers. So at first I kind of just like focused on doing programs similar to what I would do at Catfish Creek for kids. And then when season two happened I kind of went out and broadened my wings and I was able to talk with more organizations and other individuals.
Kandyce:Awesome. That's great. I love the story of how Ranger m the name came about. I didn't know that.
Emily:Yeah. That's great. Yeah. It always makes kids a bit more comfortable when they can call you like a nickname. Not like Miss Fee Brie. So thought it'd be fun. I'm not a real ranger.
Kandyce:close enough though.
Emily:Yeah.
Alex:Pretty, pretty much
Kandyce:I guess we should chat about what, a typical day for you looks like both at St. Clair and as Ranger Ram, how often do you have to do Ranger Ram things?
Emily:It depends. So Ranger M is completely voluntary, so I don't put any money into it. And like Rogers doesn't put any money into it. It's like a community project. So I have to do it all on my own time which is fine. I like doing it But it, it does make it hard sometimes because when I wanna interview other people, they normally work Monday to Friday, eight, four to five, nine to five kind of thing. So like I do have to kind of work around my own schedule. Ma pretty easy so far. But yeah, so at St. Clair I, again, the stewardship communications technician, so I work mostly with landowners and farmers, and I try to encourage them to participate in our healthy watershed program. So if they wanted to put like habitat improvement projects on their property, like wetlands or tree planting stuff like that, I try and find them funding so they don't have to pay for the wetland. And then there's other things they can do too, like soil erosion projects and stuff like that. And then I also help out with communications, so like writing newsletters, social media posts and stuff like that. And then when it's needed, I help the biology department with their species at risk programming. And then education programming if necess. Awesome. So I guess that's not a day, a day in the life though but that could really range. I could spend a good chunk of a day going to like, check out Farmfield, see if like wetlands would do well there. Or just seeing kind of what a farmer is interested on putting on his property or their property. And then I try and spend a bit of time on social media every day. Farmers are really big on Twitter, so Oh, really? Spend more time on Twitter. Yeah. Yeah. There's a huge like group of them all on Twitter.
Alex:would not have expected that.
Emily:Yeah, no, I think a large following of St. Clair's is farmers on Twitter. Yeah, I'm sure there's lots
Kandyce:of farmers
Emily:in St. Clair's watershed. Yes. Yes. That it's like 80% of their, yeah. Yeah.
Kandyce:Do you wanna tell us a little bit about St. Clair Conservation Authority? Sure.
Emily:Yeah. It's from basically Strathroy to Sarnia and then out to Dresden, and then to lake Huron on the other side. The main river that runs through St. Clair is the Siham River, which is a really big treasure for southwestern Ontario. It's home to a lot of species at risk. And it's nice, it's kind of like side by side to the Tems River. So both very great rivers. And yeah, as I said, most of the industry in our watershed is farming or agricultural. And then industry as well is a big one cuz Sarnia is in the watershed. But it's really nice because St. Clair has like hereon on one side and then the Siham River empties into Lake St. Clair and then into Lake Erie. So we kind of, you know, get to work with three lakes, which is really nice. Yep. The middle man on all the lakes. Yeah,
Alex:definitely. Obviously outreach is part of your position now, but are a lot of people aware of incentives out there to improve wetlands on their property or available funding? Is that common knowledge or? Sit people down?
Emily:Both. I find lots of people do know about it, but not maybe like the full extent. Like we do try and cover a hundred percent of our wetlands or tree planting projects that we do. Where I think some people just think that we do have like, like minor incentives, like, not that we try and cover all of it. And then we also work with different people too, right? Like another big one we partner with is Alice alternative land use services and they actually offer like a financial incentive for every acreage that acre that is retired for a farmer. So that's really nice for them to partner in on these projects as well. But yeah, that's kind of what a large portion of my outreach is about is making sure kind of farmers know that these exist. It's nice that we get farmers who participate in it, you know, and then five years later they want to participate in it again. But we do also want new farmers to participate most definitely.
Kandyce:Do you wanna tell us about how you got started on your journey? What was your schooling and I guess those starter jobs that got you there.
Emily:Yeah. So I, I've always been passionate about the environment. So I knew I kind of was gonna go to university for environmental sciences or something of that sort. But I double majored in environmental sciences and then a program called environment Sustainability and Society. And this was from Dalhousie University in Halifax. And then I minored in biology just to cover all the bases, But that double major was pretty cool because I got the science background through the environmental sciences and then that environment, sustainability and society program really allowed you to kind of. Dive in deep to like the political side, the economics behind the environment and how we can reach both, you know, success in the environment and success in our economy. So it was a really cool program and, it allowed a lot of people to double major in it. So you got to work with people in a lot of different majors. So like people in architecture, people in political science people in arts were all taking this program as like a double major. And it was really neat cuz you got to work with them and learn different sides of the opinions and perspectives of our environment and our climate crisis.
Kandyce:It's awesome that you're working interdisciplinary with all of the different other majors. Cuz I feel like with a lot of other environmental programs, there's not really that opportunity to intermingle and learn the different perspectives of everything.
Emily:No, and I think some people think environmental science is just like so stagnant that they don't wanna just take that. So it was very nice that this program allowed a lot of different people to find a niche in it. But before that I did in high school I did an environmental leadership program. So it was a full semester in high school where we got to do. Four different camping trips. We got to learn how to chainsaw. We got to work with conservation authorities on like building wetlands or helping plant trees. One thing is we did help with it's called bioengineering. So along a creek, we put in this faine it's called of willow branches and red dog red osher dogwood branches, and it would help stabilize the B creek. And anyways, it really got kind of like that introductory into what I could be doing the rest of my life. Yeah. And that pushed me to go to the university for Environmental Sciences. And then once I graduated, I actually worked at that Conservation authority, so that was Catfish Creek Conservation Authority outside of St. Thomas or near Elmer. Right. So yeah, I've kind of dabbled in a bunch of different contracts. As one does in the environmental sector. So I worked at Catfish for three different contracts. I did, I worked at a shrimp farm in Walmart. Yeah. It was like one of the, I don't know, one of the only freshwater shrimp farms in Ontario or something like
Alex:that. I, I was gonna say, I, I don't think I've ever seen a shrimp farm.
Emily:Yeah. So it, it was like indoor cuz you know, landlocked Ontario But and they like climatized the shrimp, like it was seawater shrimp and they climatized that as little babies and then they were freshwater shrimp. Wow. That's crazy. It was pretty neat. I got to do more of the water quality and like animal welfare part of it, but Right. It was very neat. That is very neat. Yeah. And then I worked for here on Stewardship council as well with outreach and then species at risk technician.
Kandyce:And that would've been like mostly the Godrich area kind of thing? Y yeah. Yeah. Nice. Mm-hmm. that high school program that you were involved in sounds amazing. That was at like a high school in the Elmer
Emily:St. Thomas area. Elmer, yeah. So I went to East Elgan Secondary School for high school and it. A pretty unique program. There's kind of a a newer one now, I don't know, at a certain school in London, or it's just like TEMS Valleys, but they call it help and I can't remember what the H stands for, but then it's like environmental leadership program, And it's based on this one that was created at East Elgan. Very cool. That's
Kandyce:awesome to be getting all of that hands-on experience ahead of time, especially if you know that that's what you're interested
Emily:in. Yeah, it's, we
Kandyce:did like pre-planting in high school, but
Emily:nothing Mm-hmm. I didn't get that. No, it's, it's truly cool. And it's still running today. The original teacher just retired, but there's a new teacher and yeah, it's about, I think 20 kids each year get to do it. That's awesome. Yeah. I know. Every, every school should have one. Yes, I agree.
Kandyce:definitely
Emily:one day we'll get there. Yeah.
Alex:So you kind of touched on a little bit, but part of our field is bouncing between contracts for a while mm-hmm. until you finally get established. Do you have any advice for someone currently between contracts?
Emily:Yeah. I would say don't be afraid of using your contacts or like using who, you know, you know I got my Catfish contract through the e l P program that I did and I approached them saying like, Hey, I just graduated university. Let me know if anything comes up. And then the here on Stewardship Council job, I actually started as a volunteer and so it truly goes to show that sometimes things do come out of volunteering and in the environmental sector, volunteering is. Widely appreciated to save some money but yeah, if you just start volunteering, it could become something. And I know it takes up time, but don't be afraid to volunteer. It can truly become something. Yeah, I think leading on those contacts and people can really help out and keeping up to date with your resume and kind of putting a bit of yourself in your cover letter. I know like it's hard cuz we wanna be professional, but adding a bit of personality can really go to show who you are and kind of maybe be that extra step that that company's looking for.
Alex:It's funny, I feel. Nearly every guest we've had so far has said exactly that. Try to personalize it. Yeah. Somehow, or give it like your own twist and not sound like a robot.
Emily:Yeah. I just rewatched legally blonde and you know, she put hers on pink paper and perfumed her paper and she got the job, so. Yep. Maybe that's the key.
Kandyce:could be the key awesome. I guess what is one of your favorite parts of your job?
Emily:I love the outreach and communication side of my job. I love to meet with people. I like to share my passion with people and obviously I do that through like Ranger m it's very easy, to. Has along my passion when I get to talk to people and learn what they're doing for the environment or our communities. And I like doing that through newsletters or social media or making videos and stuff like that. But that's one of my favorite parts, just like sharing your passion and then creating something that you can share with others and grow their passion. I love when I was teaching kids like I would tell them fun facts and let's say they didn't like snakes before they came, but then, you know, you tell them a bunch of cool facts and they're walking away saying, snakes are the coolest thing ever. So I'm telling their grandma all about them.
Kandyce:Oh yeah. Their aunts and uncles. Oh
Emily:yeah. I mean, it's, it's harder for adults to get over their fears than kids for sure. Like I, yeah. they'll be like, no, I'm so scared of snakes. I'm like, oh, okay, well you don't need to touch them or anything, but did you know this? And then by the end, they're holding a snake and it's like, great But the parents are like, nah, Yeah, Get that thing
Kandyce:away from me.
Alex:I've definitely had that happen to me in the field with someone's like, what you got there? And as soon as they see the snake, they book it. Yeah. Gone.
Emily:Sorry,
Kandyce:What are some of the more difficult or less attractive parts of your job or parts of being Ranger m There's always kind of something that's a little less glamorous, like mm-hmm. answering emails and all
Emily:of the boring stuff. Yeah.
Kandyce:Yeah.
Emily:I'll start with conservation authorities. I've worked with three now and, you know, it's all the same that they depend heavily on funding. Yes. I experience that more at St. Clair now because I part of the biology department and for the most part, the biology department is fully funded by grants or self-generated revenue. And it just adds a certain level of pressure to your job, right? Like, you have to make sure that it's funded or you don't have your job. So, yeah. A large part of my job is grant reporting because we need those grants to fund my job and to fund the wetlands and tree planting and stuff, which beyond grateful for. But it is a bit tedious sometimes just to report on grants. But yeah, you know, in the name of the job I also think that there's like, you know, a perception of conservation authorities that it's just like them saying no to development or regulations and permitting and stuff like that, but there's a lot more to cas. And that's kind of like just not frustrating, but like you kind of wanna keep sharing that. They offer an amazing education program, they. Do offer money for tree planting and wetlands and Tallgrass Prairie or they help out with our species at risk in Ontario or they do a lot of different partnerships. Or source water protection. I mean, like drinking water's pretty nice, right? So yeah, there's like a lot of good things to conservation authorities and yeah, just sharing that message. Yeah. And then for Ranger m I mean like, it's my little baby, so I love it. But sometimes it is hard to fit the scheduling in. This last year actually a lot of people were just so busy. It was actually hard to get some interviews in. But I think people are just finally catching up from the two year hiatus we just had. Yeah, so But yeah, besides that, I'm pretty happy with Rain Room. There's not too many complaints.
Alex:Do you get a hand with the networking or finding people in the field to reach out to, or are these all just personal contacts or are you kind of sitting and researching various people?
Emily:Most of it has been just me reaching out to people. A good chunk have been people that I have met through work or through my personal life. And I've wanted to showcase some of their work. Since I worked at Catfish, I did quite a few episodes with them, and then St. Claire, I've done a couple on them with even more on the docket for next year. And then, you know, if anyone were to watch the show and think that they have a good idea, I'm more than welcome to those suggestions. I've gotten them in the past and they've turned out to be good episodes, so yeah.
Kandyce:Awesome.
Emily:Yeah.
Kandyce:I think it is very important especially in a rural environment a lot of people do view conservation A authorities as the bad guy. And it's awesome that the outreach can open people's eyes to all of the other things that conservation authorities can provide because we're not just the bad guys.
Emily:No. And I understand the frustration too, like, you know, building a shop can be stressful and, a ca is basically like probably the last thing people go to, and it's just that final hurdle. But they're also trying to protect your home and, your property. It's just, a balancing act, I guess. Yeah. And providing so many other services Yeah, like don't hate us just cause of one thing. please love us.
Kandyce:Even the mental health aspect that I feel like a lot of people overlook, like the number of conservation areas that are in any area and the people that walk their dogs in them every, oh my God, go for it. I totally missed that. Yeah, the trails they offer I dunno, we love it. Yeah, we
Emily:need them. It was really cool. I don't know when but I got a presentation by a bunch of different cas and they spoke about how many people had started walking in the trails because of Covid. And it was amazing the increase that happened for trail users. And it's like, yeah, people needed something to do and needed to know it and those trails were there. And for a while
Kandyce:during Covid, that was the only acceptable way to socialize with people that we love and that we hang out with. So I feel like a lot of these places have become people's favorite spots, even, mm-hmm. even though they may not have known about it before covid, which is
Emily:Yeah. Crazy. Yeah. But no, and there's like, there's very passionate people four conservation areas. Like there's friends of the Cold Stream, which is a ca and you know, there's different ones obviously all over the province, but they root for these cas even more so than CA employees, sometimes they're like, this is our place,
Kandyce:I guess you had already said that you have always had an interest in nature, but as a child, was there anything that stands out to you as a memory that completely sparked your interest in nature or love for environmental things?
Emily:Yeah, I went camping a lot when I was younger. My grandparents had a trailer, so we went camping every year. But I actually remember the first time I went to Algonquin with my family and I got to sit on you know, the side of the cliff with my dad. And just like looking out over the valley was really neat and beautiful And I also remember I have, this is, I don't know, this is probably a sad memory, but I have this huge willow tree in my parents' backyard. And I remember my neighbor like hired a company to like ruin the branches a bit cuz they were like leaning over their property. I don't know. Anyways, I thought they were cutting it down and I remember calling my parents crying and saying, they're cutting the willow down, And my parents are like, no, they're just pruning it. But the sadness I felt for this one tree, I was just like, oh. So, yeah, two prominent core memories. I've loved nature ever since. I've loved like meeting new animals discovering my love of sharks while I was out east. And then working for here on stewardship council and discovering my love of turtles and snakes. And then this past summer, getting to work with St. Clair to do fish surveying. And I'm just like, I was like, oh, fish are kind of like, you know, whatever. But now I like, love to try and idea fish and it's just great. It is lots of fun. Mm-hmm. have you gotten to do much work with muscle? No. I did an episode of Range Room With the Muscles. Yes. And that's actually probably one of the first episodes where I really learned along the way, a lot of the episodes I kind of had a grasp of already knowing what it was about, but I didn't know anything about muscles well besides like very basic stuff, but it was very neat. I actually really learned along with that one. That's awesome. And mm-hmm.
Kandyce:Yeah. I think the Siham River is like the most diverse for freshwater muscles, isn't it?
Emily:Yeah. So freshwater muscles are in peril, like one of the most at-risk species in Ontario and the Siham River is one of the key bio diversity, areas. Yeah. Yeah, it's one of the last remaining like nesting sites for a certain species too. It's very important for muscles.
Kandyce:And muscles also help clean our water. So they're very handy to have within our rivers and waterways.
Emily:Yes. Yeah. And to give a fun fact while here talking about muscles do not eat our freshwater muscles. One, they're not as tasty as our seawater muscles. Uh, And two, these buggers have been cleaning the water for decades of all the nastiness in our water. You do not wanna bite into that. That's a very good point. I hadn't thought of that. And since most of our muscles are actually at risk, it's against the law technically. Oh yeah. They found I was like 99 or a hundred year old muscle in the siham. Wow. Oh, that's not easy.
Alex:So they lived that long, I assumed like a couple years at most.
Emily:No, yeah, they can live decades. And this was like the oldest one they had found, I think. Wow. In Siham. Mm-hmm. How do you age A muscle? You'll have to watch Ranger MP to find out. Okay.
Alex:Well, I was kind of curious about, obviously you're doing the program on TV through Rogers. How much creative license do you get with your episodes? Is it fully you doing everything behind the scenes or do you submit an episode for approval and kind of go down that chain?
Emily:So I work with actually just one gentleman from Rogers tv. And I create. The scripts. And he shows up with me and we film the episode and then he edits them and puts them on the air. I write the scripts and then normally I reach out to the the, the company as well and we discuss what we want to talk about. And then we just show up on the day, film it, and then Scott from Rogers edits it and it live streams on tv and then it also goes onto YouTube after that. So it's really nice because Rogers is a subscription, so you can still watch it on YouTube. Yeah. That's awesome. That's super
Alex:cool. Yeah. Have you ever had anyone spot you on the street from the show?
Emily:Yes. I was at Costco one day waiting to get my pop and this guy turns around and he's like, are you ranger him? And I was like, yes. Oh my God. He's like, oh, I really enjoy your show. I'm like, thank you. I didn't even know what to say. I was like, oh my god, And I'm like running out of Costco to my partner in the car with our pops in hand. I'm like, you wouldn't believe what happened to me.
Kandyce:That's great. A celebrity. We're speaking of a celebrity today.
Alex:I was gonna say, you leaving Costco? Like, yeah. Well
Emily:I'm flying high right now. That's awesome. Mm-hmm. Hell, that is, hasn't happened since We had
Kandyce:talked about. The contract hopping as you could refer to it as which is super, super common in this environmental field. But do you have any advice that you would give yourself looking back to make that a more smooth or more comfortable experience
Emily:hopping between contracts? Hmm. I feel like I have been very grateful in my contracts. I haven't had too long of breaks between them, but I got to a certain point where it's like, I appreciate every position that's posted, but you also have to, think of yourself, right. And you don't have to go just for like those I dunno
Alex:like those two month contract Yeah.
Emily:Positions, kinda things. like there's a point where, you know, you've got, you can think of yourself as like you are available for those longer contracts, those permanent jobs. Go in with like confidence. And I, on the other hand, I also have to say like, don't settle as well. Like, you, you just, you deserve a job that's healthy for yourself and your mind. And sometimes those short contracts can be stressful and, burnout like working at a ca I know we wear a lot of hats. We get a lot put on us and you know, you have to think about yourself too. And I had to make that decision one time. It was very difficult, but I put myself first and I left a position when I didn't have a job ready to go, but I needed to move on. And yeah. It's sometimes daunting. Cuz you never know. when the next job will come around. But you've gotta put yourself first and really make sure that you make a good fit for yourself and for the company.
Kandyce:Yeah. That's awesome advice. Yeah.
Alex:Less serious question. We all have fun field stories. What's the weirdest or strangest thing you've happened upon Hmm. In the field? Or maybe you just busted out of the woods and scared a bunch of people one day or something.
Emily:I think one of the coolest things I saw, which like, I don't know, isn't like totally rare, but I saw an eastern hawk, no snake, you know, go through. Its whole dramatic. Stages, you know how it does So it was just like, I, I adore these species. I think they're the most adorable. A snake if you can call a snake. Adorable with, they're upturned nose and everything. So like seeing it one wild, because they're pretty rare to find wild, unfortunately. And then two, to see it go through its whole defense strategy. So it flattened its head out, it like fake striked, you know, like a cobra. And then found out that wasn't working. So it played dead and stuck out its tongue. And actually we were doing. Population accounts. So like we had to weigh it, so I got to lift it up playing dead It's just like flopping over my hands and it was just so funny. So dramatic so, so dramatic, but so cute. And then another experience was I was tree planting one summer actually in northern Ontario. And I saw black bears and it was just cool and surreal because, you know, you're by yourself with nothing but a little shovel, but they just minded their own business and went along and it was neat. That would be very cool. I mean, they were kind of far away. So Yeah,
Alex:That's a
Emily:cool one though. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I saw my first porcupine this summer too, but that wasn't in the field that was camping, but I have yet to see a
Kandyce:live porcupine. Yeah. See people like deceased ones on the side of the road and stuff, but like, It's on the to-do list. I wanna see. Yeah,
Emily:They're cool. I thought it was a little black bear actually. And then they're quite big. Yeah.
Alex:Yeah. They, they're like hefty. Yeah.
Emily:I like maybe half of that at his quills. I don't know.
Kandyce:ooh, another totally off topic question. If you had to pick a favorite field snack, what would it be? Like on a very hot field day what do you crave?
Emily:ice cream. Ooh, Something that I don't need clean hands for Something in a wrapper. Maybe But yeah, I love ice cream. Soft serve ice cream, ooh, perfect. Maybe I'm the ride home or I just love trail mix that has like chocolate in it though. That's, that's vital. It means chocolate. That's a good call.
Alex:It's funny, you see the rappers, I've seen people, in the field, they just kind of forget where they are. So they're doing some. Field work that is something disgusting, like there's sexing ducks or whatever, and then they don't wash their hands, they're just eating their sandwich and they're like, oh, forgot where you're Yeah,
Emily:I know. Hand sanitizer.
Kandyce:What is an example of positive change that you're hoping to create throughout your like career
Emily:well, as I said, my biggest dream when I was a little girl was to save the world So here we are. So, I mean, there we go. I, I will save the world. No But I, I just love. Seeing people grow their passion, and I just can hope I can do that through communications or education or Ranger m I just love to see, especially little kids just fall in love with nature. You know, these kids that come from the city and they don't play in the mud very often, and then they're digging through the muck to find benthic, macroinvertebrates. You know, I just love seeing them experience and love nature, and I hope that I can continue finding a space for that to happen for kids or for adults. That's awesome. Yeah. Mm-hmm. great answer.
Kandyce:Another thing that came up, I know that you get to do lots of like ecosystem restoration kind of stuff. In your position at St. Clair, what is your favorite kind of restoration?
Emily:Hmm. It's actually one I don't do at St. Clair. Oh, I, I love when I did the bioengineering when I was at Catfish or in that E l P program, it was just so neat. Cuz they did it in sections along the Catfish Creek in one of their conservation areas. And you can just literally see the succession of the different ears with these bioengineering, the machines and stuff like that. And it was just so neat to actually see the creek become healthier or become more diverse and
Kandyce:yeah stream restoration is wild. It's so cool. providing a river stream or creek with like that natural meander feature. Yeah. That it's like trying to do on its own, but you can help encourage it, which then makes it healthier. Mm-hmm. that is very, very rewarding. Has,
Emily:yeah. And there's like so many. Different benefits from it. You know, like you're putting in vegetation, you're creating habitat, you're creating food from just that vegetation. You're helping with the meander ring, you're helping prevent widening and therefore temperature increasing of the water. It's just endless. And I love that That, that would be really
Alex:rewarding to see year to
Emily:year. Yeah, I know.
Kandyce:Awesome.
Alex:Yeah. Was there if someone wanted you wanted to touch on or talk more about?
Emily:I'm trying to grow Ranger Ram a little bit. Ooh. Yeah, so I'm trying to find different things to add each year to the different seasons. And I'm also trying to dabble in social media as well, not dabble. I am on social media, but I'm on Instagram and Twitter and even TikTok but I'm trying to make environmental education even more accessible on those platforms as well. because the episodes are fun, but they are longer. So not everyone just like has the time to watch them. We're busy bodies these days, so just making shorter videos based on them. But yeah, you can find them at Ranger m underscore. Awesome. Yeah. On
Kandyce:Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
Emily:and TikTok. Yes. And YouTube. Great. Yeah. Great.
Alex:Aside from a bigger social media presence, are you hoping maybe it'll turn into bigger budget for more shows? Maybe additional features?
Emily:Ranger m with this Rogers TV show is limited to London and area we such just like the broadcast area. If somehow like could grow a bit more, I could reach out to people. That maybe can only participate if they get paid or something like that. So just trying to find different ways around it. Cuz as I said, like I don't get paid for this and as much as I would love to put all my money into my passion, yeah, I mean like some money would be nice if it was for the, that kind of situation, you know? Yeah, for sure. So that's kind of what my thought process is and I feel
Kandyce:like it's a lot easier to get people to participate if it's just for like a short, a shorter little video or something.
Emily:Yeah, for sure. That as well. Mm-hmm.
Alex:Kind of going back to the start you said you had a friend at Roger's TV in the beginning, but did you pitch the idea that he pitched that idea was like, joint, I know nature, you know, tv Let's
Emily:He saw a video I made for Catfish Creek Conservation Authority. Like I had just shared it on my Facebook or something, and he had seen it and said like, oh, this could, this could just become like a TV show, like Learn with Ranger M could be like a regular TV show on it. And he just brought it to his boss. And then that friend is now my producer for Learn with Ranger m. Awesome. Yeah. Going into season four, Great. Yeah. Yeah. So I didn't really pitch, I never even thought that it could be a thing. I was just trying to find something to do with my job, right? Like covid, everyone's job changed at the beginning and one of my biggest parts was education and outreach. And if I can't do education and outreach, am I gonna have a job? So I was like, oh, okay. I'll just make some videos that kids could maybe interact with. And yeah, now it's a TV show and it's three seasons in and we'll see what happens, you know? Awesome.
Kandyce:That's awesome. Yeah. Mm-hmm. came about organically.
Emily:We love
Kandyce:that. Yeah.
Emily:I can still remember the first time I saw my name, like Ranger M on the TV and I was like, gosh. This is, this is a different experience.
Alex:I would be forever chasing that high in your shoes, to be
Emily:honest. I know My mom took a picture and everything. Oh, that's great. It's real when your mom takes a picture, so yes. Good. Good.
Kandyce:Ooh. What's a hobby that you like to do outside of environmental things? I happen to see a few cameras in your background.
Emily:Yes. I really do love photography and it's. Nice because I like actually nature photography. You don't have to worry about people smiling or blinking. So I like to go on hikes with my dog and just take a bunch of pictures of mushrooms and leaves. But yeah, I like to camp go for hikes, photography. I'm also like a, I like to craft so I scrapbook or do little crafty things around the house. Oh, awesome. That's great. Yeah.
Alex:Do you think you need a master's degree to advance within your organization?
Emily:I don't, I don't have a master's degree. And not that, not to say I, I don't think you need one. I think further education is amazing and I'd love to go back to school, but I don't, I don't think it's solely necessary. I think experience is great and it can equal a master's degree in a sense that you get that hands-on experience. You get to learn from, you know, your elders, the people before you and learn that knowledge. In a hands-on environment compared to in a school environment. But I, I love both and as I said, I'd love to go back to school, but that's a future goal. Awesome. Yeah, I think that,
Kandyce:yeah, some people prefer to like go right into it right after
Emily:They're undergrad. Yeah.
Kandyce:Undergrad. And yeah, sometimes it is more valuable to get that experience and make those connections before. Mm-hmm. going back to
Emily:school. Mm-hmm. but then again you make more connections doing a master's program as well. So there's definitely pros to both yeah, I actually always thought I would do teacher's college. Oh, really? Yeah, I had honored it for a long time. And some cas if you become an educator for them, you do require teacher's degree or license, but some don't as well. It could open some doors. But it takes time out of your schedule and it's hard to find a balance of like, when can I take the time to do it and when can I focus on my career? And it's just hard to find when you wanna do that. But I also am enjoying my current path, so I don't really wanna go yet. So Yeah. That's awesome. I would definitely, but it's something I'll think about. Maybe
Alex:That's cool though. I, I didn't know that. I didn't know the CAS would. That was the requirement.
Emily:Some of them, yeah. Okay. Yeah. I think I've seen a couple both. Like don't require it and do require it. Yeah. And
Kandyce:I think it definitely compliment some of the skills that you gain on the job as well. Mm-hmm. help make up lesson plans
Emily:and stuff. Yeah. Yeah. That's great. Yeah.
Kandyce:I had a question that like popped into my brain. Oh. You said that you were tree planting up north how long
Emily:did you tree plant for? Yeah. I did it my first summer, like after my first year of university. And it was amazing. It was amazingly hard. So I just did the one summer and there was. Issues with getting paid and stuff like that. So in the end ruined it. But I look back on it and I really appreciate what I learned about myself doing it. And the job itself it's just so hard. It really builds a character. And it's nice going into field work because everyone's like, oh, we'll, we'll work during rainy days. I'm like, I worked in hail, rain and snow during tree planting, so it's okay So it's cool. And I saw a lot of cool things. I saw links I saw, oh, a black bear. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. So, Oh. And like moose and stuff like that. So, very nice. And, and did you have a place to stay
Kandyce:while you were doing it, or did you like tent camp? We
Emily:10 camped. Yeah. We, we started in like the Ottawa area, then went around Algonquin and then finished up in like Manitou area. So like northeast of Thunder Bay.
Alex:Okay. Kudos. He lasted longer than me. I want some friends and me and 40 other people quit in the first three weeks. Oh no. But the company was awful. Like they blatantly lied to us over the phone. They didn't have clean water for us. People were getting like beaver fever,
Emily:sick. Oh my goodness. That time. Yeah. It's like, I, I loved it, but it it, it depends on your company, like Yeah, it
Alex:really does.
Emily:It's very cool. Like I got to see a part of Ontario that like, I hope I can see again, but maybe I won't. And it was cool, but yeah. Yeah, very
Kandyce:cool. It's a very cool opportunity. I looked into it a couple summers but I never actually like took the Leap and did it
Emily:There's never a wrong time. I worked, there was one guy that was like 35 when I did it, and he seemed like he was gonna do it the rest of his life, so, well,
Kandyce:some people absolutely love it.
Emily:Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. He also, I think he hit his millionth tree when I was with them too. Wow. All right. That's a pretty cool accomplishment. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, like, I, I think I got to somewhere around 20,000. I don't know. I was quality over quantity. I had a very. Naive look at it. And I was like, I want my trees to live Which, which is good, which is like a good tree planter thing, but I maybe spent too much time on perfecting my trees. It's
Kandyce:not a bad thing.
Emily:they didn't fire me, so I wasn't doing terrible. Yeah. Okay. Listen, you're
Alex:fine.
Emily:But awesome. That was one that was a cool job. And I think people are impressed when they see that you tree planted, you know, they're like, wow, I was like, yeah. But I mean, like, I ended up in the hospitals
Kandyce:we've talked about on other episodes like how you. Display your ability to work in the field on a resume, but honestly like having tree planting experience just like solidifies it. Like you see that, they're like, oh yeah, she spent three weeks or four weeks out in a tent and tree planting all day and all of the weather. Like it just proves it.
Emily:Right. Yeah. Yeah.
Kandyce:I guess another thing that I'm wondering is, you did your undergrad at Dhue, which is out east in Nova Scotia. Mm-hmm. How long were you out there for?
Emily:Just the four years for my undergrad. I would move back out there in a heartbeat. Ooh. I loved the East coast. Yeah. I had never been. And I knew I wanted to go away for school. Not that I don't love my family, but I was like, I wanna go somewhere where they can't just like drop in And yeah, I was like, I need to go to a coast. I had never been to the East Coast and yeah, so I was just like, I'm going and I loved the program, the double major program, so I decided to go and when I graduated I did wanna stay out there, but I didn't have a job lined up, so I was like, okay, well I'll go home. And then I haven't been back, well I've visited, but unfortunately I would move back though. Mm-hmm. I loved it out there. And Dazi such a neat school. Yeah. I've heard great things about Dalhousie.
Kandyce:Was it difficult doing your undergrad there and then coming back to a different environment in Ontario? Like obviously the plants are a little bit different.
Emily:Yeah, ecosystem are a little bit different. Yeah. I had a good basic knowledge of Ontario obviously, but when you focus on the environment at an east coast school, you focus more on that environment. So when I came back, I actually did an interview with the federal government for a job, and they asked detailed questions about plants and stuff, and I was like, oh man. I knew I wasn't getting the job. I was like, oh, I like the worst feeling. I was just like, not prepared, I guess. So that's a good tip. Prepare for your interviews, I didn't prepare well at the beginning of my career, I was naive. Even the thought that you didn't have to like, not study, but like, you know, do some work for a job interview and that was an eye opener.
Kandyce:But yeah, and I feel like in my undergrad, at least, nobody really prepared you for that or like taught you what you should do before an
Emily:interview? No. Yeah. no. Everyone jokes and says that we need like everyday classes in high school and I'm like, no, we do.
Alex:if someone wanted to get involved else with St. Clair organization how might they go about that?
Emily:They could reach out through social media. We have an Instagram saint, like s t underscore, Claire underscore conservation. Or we have a Facebook page, St. Clair Region Conservation Authority, and they could DM us there. Or there is an email link on our website, s c rca.dot ca. Perfect. That's great. Mm-hmm. More than happy to help volunteers find something. Awesome.
Kandyce:Yeah. Are there very many volunteer opportunities coming up? I guess it's kind of winter when we're recording right now, but in the spring
Emily:Yeah. There should definitely be some opportunities coming up in the spring or in the fall actually a lot of our events run into too, so. Awesome.
Kandyce:And what kind of volunteer events are typically offered at conservation authorities in general?
Emily:Lots of different planting events. Normally or historically it was like tree planting, but a lot of people are getting into like tall grass prairie or shrub planting as well, so that's kind of a big one. Then sometimes cas host, like invasive species removal, events. So if they were going through to a ca or somewhere, maybe like on their own property and they were going to try and remove different plants think one that we've trying to focus on right now is Frag Mighty. So we did one in near, I Wash, we did an event and then another, we're gonna try and do some events at Wana, wetlands conservation area. Oh, awesome. Mm-hmm. they've, they have some frag Most definitely. It's a very good spot though, Yeah. Yeah. It's beautiful. And sometimes education opportunities for volunteering and stuff like that. Awesome. Well, thank you. Yeah,
Alex:I mean, getting slapped with a quiz though too. No one always expects that in an interview. It's not like the standard like conflict resolution question.
Emily:Yes. Exactly. Awesome. Well I think
Kandyce:we're over our time a little bit, so unless you have anything burning that you would like to chat about we can let you go
Emily:I don't think so, but thank you so much for having me.
Kandyce:Yes. Thanks so much for coming on the podcast. It's been a pleasure chatting with you.
Emily:Yeah, it's great meeting you. Yeah. Well thank you so much for having me. This has been so cool.
Kandyce:Thank you so much for tuning into Emerging Leaders for Biodiversity. How do I do this? An environmental queer podcast.
Alex:Be sure to follow us on social media and our website using the handle EL number four, biodiversity to get the latest news on upcoming events and other exciting opportunities.
Kandyce:We can't wait for you to tune in to our next episode.