I brought a new group of students to the Sooke Reservoir this year. We experienced ‘hydrology’ first hand with a healthy dose of rain and sleet over the tour but it was still a great day bringing the classroom into the environment. If you are interested in seeing a student blog from the water resource management class about the trip, please check out: https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/myuviclife/2017/03/06/geography-field-trip-sooke-water-reservoir/

Photos by: Levi Hildebrand (UVic Geography Student)

The Big Island has 10 different Koppen climate zones, lava fields, snow peaked mountains, world class observatories, white, green and black sand beaches and an amazing variety of flora and fauna and so so much more! Hawaii Island is truly a physical geographer’s paradise. Seeing the lava firehose was unbelievable and swimming with green sea turtles was a dream.

Looking to study whales, field techniques in biogeography and investigate challenges of monitoring and managing freshwater resources in remote coastal areas? If so, come and spend three weeks in May with us on Flores Island and get credit for three courses!

Apply early! applications will start being reviewed on Feb 15th until full.

Look Mom my photo is in a calendar! I am very excited that one of my hummingbird photos was chosen to be a part of the Geography Departments calendar this year. This little male Anna’s hummingbird hangs out on the hill by our house. Victoria’s climate is so mild that these little guys stay around all year which I just love.

Come out next week and learn about the exciting field schools that the department is running this year! I will be teaching ‘Field Studies in Coastal and Marine Resources’ with a focus on Island Hydrology as part of the Coastal Field School Series, which also includes courses on ‘Field Studies in Biogeography’ and ‘Whale Geography’. These courses take place on Flores Island just north of Tofino (not a bad place to be for 3-weeks!). There are also other AMAZING offerings such as a new Tofino Field School with courses focused on Wildlife Conservation and Landscape Ecology. Looking forward to seeing you there!

My holiday break was filled with great family outings (snowshoeing, hockey games and west coast hikes!) and festive visits with friends.  I can’t wait for all the adventures that 2017 will bring!

Gave my last exam today and had a special visitor stop by. Wishing all my students a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you all for a fun and rewarding semester! Happy Holidays.

Students from GEOG 391 Mountain Meteorology spent a snowy day learning about avalanche forecasting and weather at Mount Washington. It was a fun day out of the classroom with a great group of students.

Fall term is right around the corner, but this weekend I pretended that summer was still in full swing. A sunny Saturday paddling trip around Saturna Island was what my husband and I came up with. We saw harbour seals and their 1-month old pups, porpoises, whales and numerous birds. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.