SPENCER BENNETT

Spencer Bennett is a Resource Management Officer for Bruce Peninsula National Park (BPNP). Having worked for BPNP since 2018, his work has been focused on the prevention and management of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) within both Bruce Peninsula National Park and Fathom Five National Marine Park (FFNMP). With expertise in plant identification, IAS management, and fish/wildlife identification & management. He has a passion for the natural world and all its wonders, while primarily focusing on botany and conservation efforts to protect sensitive species and habitats that call the Saugeen (Bruce) Peninsula home.

ERIN S DUNLOP

Dr. Erin Dunlop is a Senior Research Scientist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, based out of Trent University in Peterborough Ontario. Erin leads a research program focused on factors influencing the sustainability of fish populations in the Great Lakes and Lake Simcoe. Much of her research over the past decade has focused on the drastic ecosystem changes caused by dreissenid mussels and how those changes have affected lake whitefish, a species of cultural, economic, and ecological importance in Lake Huron.

LENORE KEESHIG

Lenore Keeshig (Anungo-kwe) is Wolf Clan, and a traditional Anishinaabe storyteller from the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation. For over 23 years, Lenore has provided land based educational programs highlighting the natural and cultural history of the Saugeen Peninsula and the Great Lakes from the Anishinaabe perspective. As a storyteller, Lenore has been able to connect traditional Anishinaabek stories to current geological research. She worked for many years with Parks Canada, and now sits as an elder advisor on SON's Parks Advisory committee.

RYAN LAUZON

Ryan Lauzon is a fisheries management biologist focused on Great Lakes fish populations and Indigenous-led stewardship. He works with the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, supporting evidence-based management, fish community assessment, and applied research to protect and restore culturally and ecologically important species in Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.

SHAWN MCKNIGHT

Shawn McKnight has worked in the not-for-profit sector for 25 years, developing a transferable, county based ecological restoration program. The past five years, I have been focused primarily on residential natural landscape.

NICHOLAS E. MANDRAK

Nick Mandrak is a Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He is Program Director of the Conservation and Biodiversity stream of the professional Master’s program at UTSC. Nick is a Research Associate of the Royal Ontario Museum and South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity. Nick has co-authored over 400 scientific publications and six books, including the recently revised, “ROM Field Guide to Ontario Fishes”. Prior to joining UTSC, Nick was a DFO research scientist working on endangered and invasive species, including Asian carps. Nick is also a Lake Huron resident, currently living in Grand Bend.

KAYLA MARTIN

Kayla is a first-year biology master’s student at the University of Waterloo with a focus on an aquatic invasive species, Hydrilla verticillate. After graduating from Wilfrid Laurier University’s Water Science and Environmental Health (BSc) program in 2022, she has worked for the University of Waterloo, where she is currently a member of the Ecohydrology Research Group. Her latest project was with the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The international team of scientists conducted a weeklong expedition onboard the R/V LAKE GUARDIAN where she collected sediment core samples from the bottom of Lake Erie. Kayla is active in Great Lakes conservation and education efforts. Her interests lie in examining our interactions with water, the environmental impacts and ways to achieve sustainability for future generations. Recently she was featured in the documentary All Too Clear which will premiere as a three-part series on TVO in October 2024. Certified in 2013, Kayla represents the upcoming generation of shipwreck divers and since 2014 has shared her passion at conferences across North America. She promotes preserving historic shipwrecks and low-impact diving as the Heritage Ambassador for Save Ontario Shipwrecks and serves on the board of the Ontario Marine Heritage Committee. She volunteers as a member of the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association Dive Team to recover lost airmen and their planes. Her goal with the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society is to create a 3D photogrammetry model of every known shipwreck in the Great Lakes. In addition to creating models, Kayla runs workshops to train others in the process. Kayla was selected as a 2023 Royal Canadian Geographical Society Expedition Grantee, where she led a flag expedition to document the OLIVER MOWAT, an intact Great Lakes Schooner in the waters off Picton, Ontario.

MIPTOON

BRIAN POPELIER

Terrestrial Ecologist and Land Stewardship Coordinator for The Bruce Trail Conservancy Conducts Ecological Land Classifications and biological inventories of BTC owned properties. Supervises and coordinates 214 volunteer Land Stewards on the management of over 3000 ha of BTC managed land from Niagara to Tobermory including restoration projects, encroachment, species at risk, and stewardship issues.

BEN MCLEOD

Parks Coordinator, Environmental Office, Saugeen Ojibwe Nation. As Parks Coordinator, I support SON's Parks Advisory Committee. We're now focused on a shared governance agreement for the part of the territory currently administered by Parks Canada. We're also breaking down barriers and building relationships with other conservation areas, to ensure that SON access and connections to these places grow.