Saturday, August 26, 2023 — 1:00pm – 2:30pm  
Branscombe House  

In this session, entitled “Caring for Whales, Protecting from Floods, and Listening to the Estuary,” Fraser Estuary Research Collaborative (FERC) scholars, Tirath Dave and Kim St. Pierre discussed their current Fraser Estuary related research and work. This program was curated and organized by Viola Provost.

Kim St. Pierre talked about her exploration of the growing issue of underwater noise pollution and ways to reduce threats and disturbances for endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales,a project supported by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund). Tirath Dave shared the work he completed on a feasibility study and comprehensive map detailing nature-based flood mitigation solutions along the Fraser, supported by the Sitka Foundation.

Tirath Dave, B.A.Sc, P.Eng (ON), is an Indo-Canadian settler who is goofy, forever curious, and open to learning. He’s currently in the midst of a mild career shift as he transitions from his background in geological and environmental engineering for large corporations to one that aligns with his values of community prosperity and balance with the land and waters that sustain us. Currently, Tirath is pursuing the Master of Land and Water System on Musqueam lands at UBC and working with the Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre (SRRMC) in the flood mitigation realm. Tirath enjoys ultimate frisbee, walks, camping, and music festivals.

Kim St-Pierre is a graduate student in the Master of Land and Water Systems at UBC. She is a french speaking white settler, born in beautiful Quebec City. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her dog, Mali, spending time outdoors, scuba diving, and martial arts. Her passion for the preservation and recovery of the Southern Resident Killer Whale was sparked while researching and writing an undergraduate thesis on cetacean culture. This interest prompted her to work on regulatory research to inform policy options to mitigate small vessel disruption of killer whale foraging in the Fraser Estuary as part of the FERC and in collaboration with WWF.

Viola Provost is a German-Canadian researcher and interdisciplinary artist. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia in the Business, Technology, and Sustainability (BST) Lab, researching the influences of Environmental Communication on Social Media. Viola’s work embraces the nexus of science, technology, and art, with a profound dedication to fostering co-creative dialogues between science and society. She holds a B.Sc. in Biology from Ludwig Maximilian University, Germany, and an M.Sc. in Freshwater and Marine Biology from the University of Amsterdam, along with a Major in Science Communication from Vrije University, The Netherlands. She exhibited her artworks at the Sansaro Art Box and at Die Färberei in Munich, Germany. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, diving, skiing, and playing the violin.