Photo by Lucas Jmieff
Photo: Lucas Jmief

Gitte Grover

Gitte Grover
Gitte

Branch Board Vice President

Creston Valley Branch

I was born in Marburg, Germany and immigrated to Canada after I obtained my Ph.D. in biology from the Justus-Liebig-Universitaet in Giessen. I am married and have 2 grown daughters that live in Terrace, BC. My husband and I discovered the beautiful Creston Valley in 2011 in the search for milder climate.

Previously, I worked for 21 years as a researcher with a forestry company (Alberta-Pacific) in Northern Alberta. I liaised with various universities and other research organizations to study the impact of forestry on biodiversity and ecosystem health, and we developed new paradigms such as ecosystem management modeled after natural disturbance. The research evolved into implementation of innovative forest management systems that included partial harvest with white spruce understory protection, structure retention, and single pass harvesting. I held the position of adjunct professor with the University of Alberta for over 10 years and was active in the academic community through guest lectures, graduate student supervision, field tours and many presentations at conferences and workshops. I was part of a group of forest managers that founded the Mixedwood Management Association to pool resources for research and development of boreal forest mixedwood systems, and I chaired this Association for many years.

I am passionate about protecting the environment and Wildsight gives me the opportunity to contribute.