Photo by Lucas Jmieff
Photo: Lucas Jmief

Rachel Darvill

Rachel Darvill
Rachel

Upper Columbia Swallow Enhancement Program - Project Biologist

Golden Branch

Rachel is a registered professional biologist who developed and currently coordinates the 5-year Upper Columbia Swallow Habitat Enhancement Program and Community Invasive Plant Program. She also developed and managed the hugely successful Columbia Wetlands Waterbird Survey for Wildsight. At the top of her class, she graduated with a Master of Science degree in Environment and Management in 2014, and has a Bachelors of Science degree (biology major, environmental science minor) from the University of Victoria.  She has worked as a field and conservation biologist with several universities and agencies on multiple projects over the past two decades. Her past work with birds includes research on Ravens using radio telemetry in the Alaskan Arctic and Washington State, working at a banding station on Triangle Island (largest seabird colony in western Canada), along with assessing seabird food habits and chick growth measurements on Triangle and Gwaii Haanas.  She has worked as a researcher on Grizzly Bear projects in Banff National Park and Haines, Alaska.  Additional wildlife research projects include tagging sea turtles in the Caribbean and tracking elephants in Tanzania. Rachel originates from the west coast of BC where her passion for birds, all biodiversity, and the outdoors began.  Rachel currently resides in Parson and in her spare time she loves to garden, snowboard and be outdoors with her family.

Rachel's work

Populations of birds that catch insects while flying have been declining for decades. Conservation actions must be put into place to help halt and reverse this trend. Read More 
Invasive species are considered to be the second largest threat to biodiversity worldwide, second only to habitat loss. To help stop the spread of invasive… Read More