The Overstory

Tri-Annual publication of Forest-Centric news produced by the Forest School at the Yale School of the Environment

The Student Experience at the 2024 Society for Ecological Restoration North America Conference

January 3, 2025

By: Sophie Roberts ’25 MFS

In late October, a group of Yale School of the Environment (YSE) students, staff, and faculty set off across the continent to Vancouver for the 2024 Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) North American Conference. This trip was possible thanks to the SER Yale Chapter faculty advisor, Marlyse Duguid, who taught a related ecological restoration course in the previous semester. Students who took the class or are active members of the SER community had the opportunity to join this interactive forum for the week, connect with other North American members of the professional association, and learn about the latest strategies for successful restoration. The conference was held along Vancouver’s waterfront, greeting us with beautiful Pacific Northwest views each day.

 SER.

Amanda Wik presents her poster during an interactive evening session. Photo: SER.

We were also happy to run into YSE alumni Amanda Wik ’24 MESc and Rob Anderson ’25 MESc, who both presented their fascinating research. Amanda is now an ecological restoration PhD student at UC Berkeley, and Rob conducts geospatial research at the Defenders of Wildlife in Washington DC.

 Sophie Roberts.

Rob Anderson presents his research on the conference’s main stage. Photo: Sophie Roberts.

In addition to reconnecting with friends and colleagues from the Yale community, we also met many students from other universities. For example, I met a student from the University of British Columbia, who will now be visiting Yale in January to join the Yale Chapter of the International Society for Tropical Foresters conference. We also spoke to a group of undergraduates from the University of Tennessee who are interested in applying to YSE’s graduate programs. Many of these conversations occurred at our conference booth, where we spoke with curious conference goers during session breaks and evening events.

 Steven Ring

Sophie Roberts and Jack Hatajik represent The Forest School, answering questions and discussing their experience with interested SER members. Photo: Steven Ring.

One of the highlights of the week was the student and emerging professionals mixer on the first night of the conference. This event was a wonderful way to speak to mentors, make friends with restoration enthusiasts, learn about other research programs, and be reminded what a small world it is through new and established connections.

 SER

Group photo from the student and emerging professionals mixer. Photo: SER.

To kick off research talks, there was an inspiring opening plenary that included an address from Jodi Hilty of Yellowstone to Yukon about the power of landscape connectivity and cross-regional collaboration.

 Sophie Roberts

Jodi Hilty of Yellowstone to Yukon delivers the opening plenary in the crystal pavilion. Photo: Sophie Roberts.

An amazingly wide variety of themed sessions followed the opening remarks. There was always something to feed our interests. I especially enjoyed the sessions about landscape level initiatives and sharing habitats to support non-human agency. While some of us attended forest-related sessions, other YSE students nurtured their passions for wetlands and chaparral ecosystems.

Many students also attended workshops, despite challenging weather, and had the chance to visit local project sites such as Iona Beach Regional Park. We were all inspired to bring more practical skills workshops into our chapter activities moving forward.

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Katie Davis ‘25 MEM enjoys the foliage of British Columbia. Photo: SER.

Perhaps most importantly, we were reminded in the closing plenary about Indigenous perspectives and practices in ecological restoration that, no matter where we are conducting restoration work, deep and long-term relationships with the land are key to lasting impact. We were lucky to be part of so many eye-opening conversations, and some of us even had the chance to ponder these thoughts over a walk to the nearby and world-renowned Stanley Park, one of Vancouver’s many beautiful public parks.

 Sophie Roberts

Vancouver’s renowned Stanley Park is an easy walk from the convention center. Photo: Sophie Roberts.

We left the conference feeling energized to grow our SER chapter at Yale, stay connected to the other student groups, and broaden student experiences to maximize our understanding of the beautiful landscapes that we are dedicated to sustainably manage and restore.

A nearly complete group photo of the Yale School of Environment SER attendees includes students, staff, and faculty.

A nearly complete group photo of the Yale School of Environment SER attendees includes students, staff, and faculty.

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