Our People

Staff & Contractors

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  Rebecca Gidney

  Branch Manager

  Rebecca grew up on the Bay of Fundy in the ocean playground of Nova Scotia. She found a passion for conservation while volunteering with sea turtles on a tiny Caribbean island where she lived for 8 years before returning to Canada and working in the social service sector.  She holds a Community Studies degree from Cape Breton University and has spent the last...

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  Ulrike Sliworsky

  Bird Festival Coordinator

  Ulrike is a birder that lives in Creston. She has a science degree from the University of Manitoba with an Ornithology major. In addition to re-introducing endangered species such as Peregrine Falcons and Burrowing Owls, she has also banded waterfowl and songbirds. She has enjoyed participating in Audubon’s Christmas bird counts for over 30 years in various communities and is now the Coordinator/Compiler...

Board of Directors

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  Brian Churchill

  Branch Board President

  Brian has a MSc in Forestry Wildlife and had a career as a Wildlife Biologist for BC Government in Fort St. John followed by 15 years of consulting as an ungulate habitat specialist.  Brian has been involved in conservation biology and wildlife research projects including swans, mountain goats, caribou, moose, elk, deer and grizzly bear.

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  Caroline Collier

  Branch Board Director

  I grew up as an AirForce “brat” and moved all around Canada during my formative years. I developed a love of nature early on while playing along creeks and loving to chase butterflies. As a child I was familiar with the Monarch butterfly, which familiarity has grown in the last year. I have a keen eye for plants and love to garden. I...

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  Lindsay Donald

  Branch Board Director
  Regional Board Director

  Lindsay Donald is an international award-winning wildlife photographer. Originally from Scotland, he has a degree in zoology and animal behavior from the University of Hull in the United Kingdom. Lindsay started taking photographs to illustrate animal behavior for a research project in the late 1970’s. He has travelled the World in search of amazing wildlife images. In North America he travels from Florida...

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  Gitte Grover

  Branch Board Vice President

  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 worked for 21 years as a researcher with a forestry company (Alberta-Pacific) in Northern Alberta and was part of a team implementing innovative forest management systems. I am passionate about protecting the environment and Wildsight gives me the opportunity to...

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  Jessica Holden

  Branch Board Director

  Jess (she/her) grew up in the tiny town of Gold Bridge, BC – a remote community nestled between forest covered mountains and large lakes in the St’at’imc territory. With a childhood immersed in nature, her curiosities brought her to the University of Victoria where she pursued studies, and graduated with honours, from the biology department. Her education and experiences shifted her lens revealing...

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  Debby Johnson

  Branch Board Director

  My grandparents' caring interest in the wellbeing of nature influenced me to my core. I raised my family in the Creston Valley because it offers a wholesome, healthy lifestyle. Supporting an environmentally conscious culture is vital for retaining this valued way of life. My business, marketing, communications, and community development background can be an asset to the Wildsight Creston team. I want to...

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  Don Peel

  Branch Board Director

  R. Don Peel, PGeo. MSc, MEd, Hon. FEC. FGC. A lifetime career as a geoscientist, homeschooling my granddaughter (from Grade 6), completing a MSc (Earth Sciences-University of Alberta 2004), and a MEd (Peace Education-University of Hawaiʻi 2014) focused on sustainable development, has turned my passion towards crusading for a paradigm shift in public education, to stimulate full human potential. The future of humanity...

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  Jim Smith

  Branch Board Director

  I was privileged to have a unique, forty year career as a professional forester, practicing what I call “gentle forest stewardship”. Now, in my retirement, I continue to advocate for better forest management that respects all forest functions and values through my involvement in Wildsight.