OUR TEAM
Lorien Nesbitt
Assistant Professor
Lorien seeks to create more liveable and equitable urban environments through her work. During her career, she has had the privilege to work with communities and organizations across Canada and internationally to achieve sustainability and environmental justice goals. Lorien completed her PhD in urban forestry and environmental justice at UBC.
Lorien's research focuses on urban forestry and environmental justice, using a social-ecological lens. Additional areas of research interest and activity include the role of urban forests in human health and well-being, nature-based solutions to climate change and climate justice, and the use of smart technologies in understanding and managing urban social-ecological systems.
In the realm of environmental justice, Lorien's current research is particularly concerned with understanding the nature and dynamics of green gentrification, i.e., the physical or psychological displacement of residents due to local greening activities, and holistic approaches to environmental justice, with a focus on stewardship relationships and uncovering the mechanisms of environmental injustice.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Urban forestry, environmental justice, urban green equity, green gentrification
Cecil Konijnendijk van den Bosch
Professor
Cecil has been studying, teaching, and advising on urban forestry for close to 30 years. His work has taken him across the globe, where he has worked with local and national governments in over 30 countries. At UBC, Cecil is the Program Director of the Master of Urban Forestry Leadership and professor of urban forestry (on leave). Cecil is also the editor-in-chief of the journal Arboriculture and Urban Forestry. In his free time, Cecil enjoys walks in nature, reading and writing, travelling, and the incidental karaoke session.
Cecil Konijnendijk van den Bosch
Professor
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Urban forestry, green space management, urban ecosystem services, green infrastructure planning
Tahia Devisscher
Postdoctoral Fellow
Tahia is a Research and Teaching Fellow at the UBC Faculty of Forestry. She studies how to manage forests and other greenspaces in and around cities to support human well-being and build social-ecological resilience to climate change. She is also interested in developing practical strategies to strengthen the relationship between urbanites and nature. In past work with the Stockholm Environment Institute, Tahialed research to support climate change adaptation working with local communities, NGOs and governments in more than 20 countries across the Global South. In most of her projects, she applies interdisciplinary approaches by integrating methods from quantitative modelling to participatory mapping, and qualitative assessment. Tahia has a PhD in ecosystems science from the University of Oxford.
Outside of research, Tahia is currently teaching three core courses in the UBC Bachelor of Urban Forestry program. You may also find her teaching yoga outdoors, or guiding a forest therapy walks. She is also in love with dancing, ocean swimming, kayaking, learning and exploring new places and topics.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Forest ecosystems, social-ecological dynamics, resilience, climate change adaptation
Angela Rout
Postdoctoral Fellow
Angela's research explores how to use new data resources to inform high-impact urban design decisions. Her research is informed by a background in architecture and public engagement. Her PhD research, at the University of Calgary, explored methods for using smartphone location data to design campus green spaces. Her current research at UBC combines human mobility data with ecological data from sensors to design resilient urban forests. In particular, she is examining how to design equitable urban parks that serve the needs of users while increasing urban resilience.
Outside of work, Angela likes to paint, swim in the ocean, and play video games with her kids.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Urban design, human tracking data, data visualization, human centered design
Jessica Quinton
PhD Candidate
Jess obtained her Master of Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University, where she completed an NSERC-funded thesis on the perception and management of trees in urban cemeteries. Through a Mitacs Globalink award, she traveled to Malmö, Sweden in 2019 to undertake a comparative study between urban cemetery tree governance in Sweden and Canada. She is currently a PhD candidate, funded by SSHRC, studying the link between urban greening initiatives and gentrification in Canada. She is also part of a wider SSHRC-funded project, led by Lorien, studying green gentrification and urban forest governance in Vancouver and Toronto, Canada.
Beyond her research, Jess enjoys hiking, reading, puzzles, baking, and visiting friends and family.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Green gentrification, environmental justice, urban governance
Sophie Nitoslawski
PhD Candidate
Sophie is a PhD candidate in urban forestry, whose work is funded by NSERC, UBC’s Faculty of Forestry, Mitacs Accelerate, and Green College. Prior to her PhD, Sophie worked as an arboriculture inspector and, more broadly, on capacity building and knowledge mobilization initiatives in the Canadian municipal sector. Sophie is interested in the many interplays between technology and urban forestry, and participates in a research-industry partnership project to explore digital technology applications for urban natures. Sophie also enjoys hiking, skiing, sketching in the woods, and flying her drone.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Smart cities, green infrastructure, urban forest management, urban technology
Zhaohua (Cindy) Cheng
PhD Candidate
Cindy is a PhD candidate in urban forestry. Her research focuses on exploring urban forest-based solutions for climate resilience and urban livability. Besides Cindy’s PhD, she is also a researcher at the Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning (CALP) and the Coordinator of the Bachelor of Urban Forestry Program at UBC.
Outside of work, Cindy likes exploring different green spaces in the city and trying delicious and diverse food!
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Climate change, urban forestry, community engagement
Leila Todd
PhD Candidate
Leila is a PhD candidate and a landscape architect. Her research explores the role of public green spaces in meeting urban forest canopy objectives in Canadian cities.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Urban forestry, landscape architecture, planning, park design
Kaitlyn Pike
PhD Candidate
Kaitlyn is a PhD student researching how urban forest governance capacity shapes green equity and community buy-in. Kaitlyn received her BA and MS degrees in Environmental Science at DePaul University in Chicago, IL, USA, where she worked alongside non-profit and municipal groups to evaluate their urban forestry programs. She was also active in several extra-curricular organizations, as Co-founder and President of DePaul Trees and Senator for Sustainability and Executive Vice President of Operations in DePaul’s Student Government Association.
In her free time, Kaitlyn enjoys bird watching, going on adventures, and playing video games.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Urban forest governance, green equity, community power
Johanna Bock
PhD Candidate
Back in Germany, Johanna completed her master’s degree in psychology during which she focused on developmental and health psychology. For her thesis, Johanna examined the importance of physical activity for positive development. Her thesis research and the work she did in several studies on stroke survivors carved out her interest in how different groups of people interact with their environment and how this can be used in the most beneficial way for their health.
Outside of work/school, Johanna has always played field hockey. She also loves being outdoors, walking, hiking, jogging, or (mountain) biking – anything that will get her moving and breathing fresh air!
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Well-being, green space use, healthy development
Daniel Sax
PhD Candidate
Daniel is a PhD student researching at the intersection of urban forestry, planning, and environmental justice. Following an undergraduate degree in Sociology and some time working as an arborist and horticulturist, Daniel joined the UBC Forestry community hoping to learn more about the relationships between greening, urban planning, and urban development. His Master's research investigated the presence of green gentrification in Vancouver and its impact on residents' engagement with urban agriculture and trends in large-scale redevelopment. His current research questions practices in urban greening and the extent to which novel methods of community engagement and co-production may lead to more equitable and just outcomes for residents.
Outside of work, Daniel enjoys gardening, contra dancing, and playing ultimate frisbee.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Environmental justice, urban planning, urban green, qualitative inquiry
Kit Wong-Stevens
MSc Student
Kit completed her BSc with honours from the University of Toronto in Evolutionary Anthropology, Forestry, and Socio-cultural Anthropology. Kirsten is currently a MSc student in urban forestry, studying experiences of extreme heat and use of urban forests for cooling, and urban forest/public health policy from an intersectional lens.
Outside of work, Kit enjoys cooking, hiking, reading, and video games!