Hello everyone, my name is Amanda Shave and I am just starting work as the new Habitat Stewardship and Outreach Coordinator for MCSI.
Prior to this position I was working as an environmental policy analyst in Manitoba. I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Manitoba with work terms at Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada as a riparian health technician and at Ducks Unlimited Canada working on their Carp Exclusion Project at Delta Marsh, Manitoba. It was working and living in the middle of Delta Marsh during two springs and summers that my interest in birds started.
From 2015-2017 I completed my M.Sc. degree in the Avian Behavior and Conservation (ABC) lab at the University of Manitoba. I used light level-tracking devices and North American long-term breeding dataset to explore the impact of climate change on the migration and breeding timing of a long-distance migratory songbird, the purple martin.
My M.Sc. research and my future work at the MSCI have some interesting parallels. Both my research locally in Manitoba, and the long-term dataset would not have been possible without the help of citizen scientists involved in Manitoba and across North America. In Manitoba we were just getting a network of citizen scientists off the ground for the program starting in 2015, while across North America citizen scientist have been reporting breeding data for martins for over 20 years! The roles of citizen scientists in research is so important in growing the reach of data collection, knowledge and enthusiasm for nature and I look forward to working with all of you. If you are interested in volunteering for this program, or learning more about chimney swifts please contact me at mbchimneyswift@gmail.com or call 204-943-9029.
–Amanda Shave
