Understanding how managed and harvested forests can still provide high-quality habitat for forest birds is key to ensuring both productive forestry operations and sustainable bird populations. We propose to use GPS-tracking technology to study how the Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) uses habitat on its Canadian breeding grounds, during migration, and on the wintering grounds. The […]

The Mixedwood Growth Model (MGM) is used by forest managers in estimating growth and yield outcomes for common boreal tree species in North America. MGM has been shown to effectively model both managed and unmanaged stands in Alberta and surrounding regions. Currently, climate effects are not accounted for in growth functions used in MGM. Recent […]

Public food forests can be an important way to increase urban resilience, sustainability, and food security. The food forest, or forest garden, is an edible landscape designed for food production. This research investigates how publicly-accessible urban food forests are currently being utilized to enhance food production and resilience. By reviewing existing examples, this research seeks […]

The current approach for testing compounds of interest in blood such as drugs or nutrients involves drawing blood samples into vials that then require refrigeration prior to testing. Since transportation to remote laboratories is challenging, people need to go into medical labs to have their blood tested. This research will develop improved techniques that enable […]

This project recognizes the significant business challenges First Nations forestry enterprises face which have the effect of limiting the benefits to First Nations from forests (Wellstead and Stedman 2010). There is limited awareness of the conditions that affect the success and failure of Aboriginal enterprises in the forest sector (Trosper et al 2008). Research on […]

This research project will explore what barriers — economics, policy, or otherwise — exist to restoring unhealthy Douglas-fir forests in central British Columbia. These forests have reached a state where it is currently not feasible for timber companies to make any profit from harvesting timber in those stands, which only serves to worsen the problem. […]

Although the benefits of using timber in mid- and high-rise construction (namely reducing the environmental footprint by sequestering carbon and cost savings through reduced construction time) are undisputed, there are perceived shortcomings with respect to a corresponding lack of appropriate design guidance for seismic loads. Overcoming these perceived shortcomings will allow timber, and its wood […]

FPInnovations has developed FPInterface, a software platform in which forest operations are simulated in order to estimate fibre supply costs, including harvesting and transportation. It currently has 7 sub-modules including MaxTour and FPAlloc. The goal of this project is to develop and validate optimization techniques in order to implement new sub-modules to FPInterface that will […]

In order to satisfy the housing demand in major Canadian cities, there is a renaissance in the use of tall wood-based buildings. Timber is the most sustainable and environmental friendly construction material with higher seismic resistance. In April 2009, the British Columbia Building Code was amended to increase the height limit of wood-frame buildings from […]

The proposed research project is to a) research and determine what are the best water monitoring components and scientific instruments that can be used in remote settings b) research the existing software which allows for simple interface with water monitoring data and the data user/contributor c) research and establish overarching system to pair water monitoring […]

Informed decisions on resource management and development require an understanding of how projects will impact the resource, other resources, and the ecosystem. Because the ocean and land are intricately connected along coastal areas, development projects in either will invariably affect the other. However, Ecological Risk Assessments do not consider the two in tandem because the […]