MABRRI is excited to introduce our current Student Research Assistants (RAs) and Visiting Student Research Assistants (VSRs) of Vancouver Island University. Our Student RAs support all aspects of project work and we could not do what we do without them! Supporting VSRs provides opportunities for collaborative research while strengthening global partnerships.
Anna is a Master's of Community Planning (MCP) student here at VIU. Her research focuses on adding units to existing homes in Victoria, BC through accessory dwelling units, secondary suites, and home conversions. Anna's background is in environmental science and science education. She received her BSc from Dalhousie University in 2019 with majors in Environmental Science and Sustainability. During her undergraduate degree, Anna worked with urban trees in Halifax and became interested in urban planning issues around nature and sustainability. Before starting the MCP program, she worked as a science educator and outreach coordinator with Nanaimo Science, where she shared her passion for accessible science education. Anna is fortunate to be involved in multiple projects at VIU. In addition to her work with MABRRI, She also works with the Deep Bay Marine Field Station on a MEOPAR knowledge mobilization project called Baynes Sound: Signs of Life, Signs of Change.
No bio has been provided at this time.
Freya Selander (They/Them) is currently completing their Master of Community Planning at VIU. They previously worked with South Africa National Parks, researching social ecological systems in the Garden Route Biosphere.
No bio has been provided at this time.
No bio has been provided at this time.
No bio has been provided at this time.
No bio has been provided at this time.
Sophia is in her second year of the Master of Community Planning program with a special interest in just and sustainable development. She holds a BA in Geography from VIU, which guided her educational path to understanding the relationships between people and place. She is looking forward to the experiences and knowledge she will gain as a student research assistant with MABRRI.
Licentiate in Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) – Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability (NUPEM/UFRJ) (2017). She is currently a professional master’s student in the Environment, Society, and Development Program (ProASD/UFRJ). She conducted research in Science Education at the Laboratory of Education and Scientific Dissemination (LABEDIC) through the Institutional Teaching Initiation Scholarship Program (PIBID). She also has practical experience in Environmental Education, working as a gardening and horticulture teacher in early childhood and elementary schools in Brazil.
She develops comparative research between Canada and Brazil, analyzing public policies related to school feeding programs and the integration of agroecology into the daily life of urban schools. Her work seeks to contribute to the promotion of sustainable eating habits, school-based food supplementation, and the creation of green schools. Her practice is grounded in the perspective of OtherKnowledges (CiênciasOutras), which recognizes the inseparability of humans, nature, and the cosmos, proposing decolonial paths of (re)existence and the production of knowledges rooted in the ancestral relationship with the Earth.