Who the hell is this?

Okay, so you want to know who the hell I am, and why you should care about what I’ve got to say. Fair enough. I’d want to know who I was too.

Firstly, you should be aware how much I detest writing “about me” crap. Legitimately, pages like this are my nightmare. I’m not a neat and tidy person that can easily be summed up in a few words. I’m far too out of the box for that bullshit.

Secondly, yeah, I’m going to attempt to write something cohesive in spite of the above.

I had a successful career as a lifestyle and wedding photographer. I was a busy mom, and by all outside accounts, I was happy and content… except I wasn’t. I had a crazy longing for more so I upended by life and went back to school. At 38 years of age I became a biology undergrad. Having such a scientifically minded kiddo had reminded me of how much I loved biology as a kid, and it was something I had to do. I had to know if I could. Turns out I’m amazingly good at school when its something I actually care about. I graduated as one of the university’s “best and brightest” (still can’t believe I received that email). And for someone who barely survived her education previously, that is like seriously amazing forking shirtballs!

I did a lot of literature reviews, wrote about narwhals and orcas. Did some bird surveys (migratory songbirds in the early Spring). Studied entomology and discovered I adore teeny tiny things. Did a lot of Winter animal tracking. And finished off my undergraduate career with some groundbreaking field and lab work investigating the effects of parasites on minnows (discovering I am nutty for animal behaviour studies).

The Summer following my biology/philosophy degree I worked at a remote field station in Cypress Hills. With my teammate/supervisor we spent our nights mistnetting for three species of bats and our days running them through physiological heat trials – measuring respiration and observing behaviour. And it was then I knew I had found my heart in the field working directly with wild things.

I am now a masters candidate in Environmental Education and Communication – because lets be honest: if we can’t communicate our research findings, what the hell is the point? No one except others in the same scientific fields is going to read the brain numbing findings as they are currently published (dry and with inaccessible language). We need a new paradigm, and that’s something worth diving deep on. I am researching the current climate within scientific education, and trying to find ways to make things better. Scientists are extremely passionate about what we do, yet we are disabled by an emotion-phobic system which forces us to write using boring jargon at a level only our peers can access. It doesn’t work. And I’m determined to find a better way: one that allows for our love to shine through and help inspire others.

And yes, there is a whole lot more to me too. I spent over a decade training animals; I ran a school training psychological assistance dogs (at the time the only one in the world). I was the president of the Green Party of Saskatchewan. I am unschooling mom to an amazing kick ass agender kid. I am neurodivergent and yeah… I’m one of those social justice warriors so many seem to enjoy hating on – and proud of it. I’m a feminist, and pansexual. And spent my youth on the stage; acting, singing, dancing, and yeah, I spent some of my childhood modeling too. I’ve done a lot of things during my turns around the sun. It’s a little overwhelming to think about it all, honestly. But it’s who I am. I live big and with love. I go all in and do everything I can.

And yea… I’m the Biology Bitch!