Our Team
TONY BOWRON
Tony founded CBWES Inc. in 2005. In addition to the CEO & President duties, he teaches as an adjunct professor at Saint Mary’s University. He has been twice awarded the Gulf of Maine Visionary Award (2005 with Ecology Action Centre) from the Gulf of Maine Council for the Marine Environment in “recognition for innovation, creativity and commitment to research and protection of the marine environment.”
CEO, Coastal Wetland Ecologist
JENNIE GRAHAM
Vice-President, Senior Restoration Specialist
Jennie is one of the leading tidal wetland restoration project designers in Atlantic Canada. She has designed more than half of the largest tidal wetland restoration projects to be completed in Nova Scotia to date. She is also a trained GIS geomatics and modelling specialist, wetland delineator, has extensive field experience and training in the use of a range of ecological monitoring techniques and protocols, has a specialization in hydrology and plant taxonomy and is trained in electronic database development and data management.
KIRSTEN ELLIS
Coastal Adaptation Specialist, Cofounder of Rising Tide Nursery
Kirsten’s interest in ecological restoration was sparked during her undergraduate degree and spring-boarded her into a job working on numerous small-scale habitat restoration projects throughout the Maritime Provinces. She found the restoration of coastal habitats particularly rewarding and furthered her education to specialize in living shorelines and nature-based approaches to shoreline management and erosion control. Working with CBWES Inc. as the Coastal Adaptation Specialist, she is able to apply her extensive knowledge to help build resilient and sustainable coastal communities and ecosystems throughout Atlantic Canada. She is also the cofounder of Rising Tide Nursery, Atlantic Canada’s only plant nursery that specializes in native salt tolerant plant species.
JOCELYN KICKBUSH
With CBWES Inc. Jocelyn has continued her passion for fieldwork and applying nature-based solutions to solve the environmental issues that impact our communities. Her experience and expertise has encompassed a wide variety of projects that range from analyzing contaminants in wetlands to on the ground field sampling to collaborating and contributing to guides on applying Nature-based solutions. As a Wetland Restoration Ecologist for CBWES Inc., she can be found on tidal wetlands collecting samples, completing surveys, and installing wetland monitoring instruments - among other restoration field activities - and in the office working on communications, reports, and analyses.
Senior Wetland Restoration Ecologist
Samantha is an expert in the morphodynamic evolution of a restoring salt marsh as well as remote sensing and GIS. She uses this expertise to manage CBWES's Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) operations and conduct geospatial data processing as part of the coastal restoration monitoring workflow. Samantha loves being on the marsh doing many types of field work including RPAS flights, geospatial surveying, and equipment installation and monitoring.
SAMANTHA LEWIS
RPAS Operations Manager
SAMANTHA BATTAGLIA
Sam has professional experience ranging from designing and implementing green infrastructure systems, to creating climate change adaptation programs and public space master plans. As a project manager and restoration designer at CBWES she carries large-scale projects from concept phase through to implementation and uses her unique set of design skills to assess and integrate both ecological and cultural needs into restoration designs.
Project Manager, Restoration Designer
KATIE SONIER
Environmental Planner, Field Technician
Katie has a background in Environmental Planning and GIS. She has experience working in both the private and public sectors, and is passionate about environmental restoration and helping communities adapt to climate change using natural techniques. Katie uses her skills to assist the field team in monitoring our restoration sites, analyze data, create maps, write reports, and collaborate with project partners.
KAYLA WILLIAMS
Kayla has a background in plant biology and ecology. She has experience working in tidal marshes through her studies prior to joining CBWES Inc. and has a passion for fieldwork. Growing up in the Maritimes, she has been surrounded by wetlands her entire life and felt drawn to environmental work and restoration. Working as a Junior Vegetation & Wetland Ecologist, she can be found in the field installing instruments, completing vegetation surveys and collecting sediment samples, and in the office aiding with data processing, analysis, and report writing.
Junior Vegetation & Wetland Ecologist
TOM JOHNSON
Junior Geomatics Technician, Field Technician
Tom has a broad background with environmental organizations in the public, private and non-profit sectors. He brings a passion for wildlife and habitat ecology to our team, assisting with field surveys, equipment installation and monitoring. He also uses his skills in GIS to assist with geospatial data collection and analysis. Having begun his career with CBWES in the Rising Tide Nursery, Tom has a unique connection with the coastal and salt-marsh flora native to the Maritimes.
Associates
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Dr. Danika van Proosdij
GEOMORPHOLOGIST, PROFESSOR AT SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
Dr. Danika van Proosdij is the leading expert in Nova Scotian coastal geomorphology. She has over 25 years of experience and merges field studies of sediment transport and hydrodynamics with GIS and geo-visualizing technologies to assess and enhance the resilience of coastal ecosystems.
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Dr. Jeremy Lundholm
ECOLOGIST, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR AT SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
Dr. Jeremy Lundholm has studied the role of plants in coastal ecosystems since 1996, focusing on the mechanisms that allow plant species to coexist and the role of the environmental heterogeneity in the function of ecosystems. His work has influenced provincial and municipal government policy.
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Dr. Jonathan Fowler
ARCHAEOLOGY, PROFESSOR AT SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
A two time Commonwealth Scholar, Dr. Jonathan Fowler is an Associate Professor of Archaeology at Saint Mary’s University. He has over 20 years of experience working as a consultant, and he has authored more than 100 research reports, scholarly articles, and book chapters.
Students
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Emily Baker
Ph.D. (CANDIDATE) IN APPLIED SCIENCES
Emily’s research is assessing the ecological integrity and ecomorphodynamics of coastal habitats created using nature-based techniques (sand engines and living shorelines) in a Canadian context.
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Kailey Nichols
B.Sc. HONOURS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Kailey’s research strives to understand the effects of managed realignment schemes on salt marsh recovery by assessing the spatiotemporal patterns of vegetation colonization in the Bay of Fundy.
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Makadunyiswe Ngulube
M.Sc. (CANDIDATE) IN APPLIED SCIENCE
Makadunyiswe’s research focuses on assessing the protective and ecosystem services of a natural marsh and how these services compare to a degraded marsh, with the aim to help inform decisions on climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies along our coasts.
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Sarah Clements
B.Sc. (CO-OP) IN BIOLOGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Sarah is interested in conservation and the application of restoration for the conservation of species and ecosystems at risk.
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Maggie Davidson
STUDENT (CO-OP) IN NATURAL RESOURCES ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY
Maggie has had wonderful opportunities to work hands on with plants in greenhouses, on farms and through silviculture positions.
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Margaret Lee
B.Sc. (CO-OP) IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Margaret is interested in the formation, structure and dynamics of salt marshes to better understand their role in ecosystems and the advantages of restoring a failing salt marsh.
Honorary Field Assistants
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Piper
Piper is the youngest of our Honorary Field Assistants, but what she lacks in experience she makes up for in enthusiasm.
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Scout
Scout may only be six months old, but that doesn’t stop her from making sure even the dirtiest of jobs get done.
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Oliver
Oliver is the Senior Manager of the Honorary Field Assistants, with a preference for favourable weather and site conditions.
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Rupert
Rupert’s primary duties include finding the fastest way off the marsh, and eating things he shouldn’t.
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Sybil
Sybil’s favourite part of field work is jumping and swimming in any water bodies present onsite.
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Zen
Zen is small yet mighty, but sometimes he needs a little extra help from his friends.