Serena Emerson (she/her) is an undergrad at Trent University studying conservation biology. She is taking on the role of Projects Coordinator with Trent’s chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration. She has an interest in native plants and pollinators and hopes to study their relationships in the future.
Abbey Danforth is an undergraduate student in the Environment, Resources, and Sustainability program at the University of Waterloo. She is passionate about aquatic ecology and understanding the impacts of human activity on our lakes and streams! Abbey is also a member of UW-SER.
Nick Weissflog I am really excited that we are into the second year of this conference! There is so much wonderful work being done in the province and I am glad I am able to contribute to getting more people linked up with one another so we can make all of our work more effective. I am grateful to all my co-organizers who also thought putting this conference on was a good idea!
Keira McManus is a master’s at the University of Waterloo studying restored tallgrass prairies, an ecosystem she has been exploring and admiring for the past 8 years. She spends her free time botanizing and climbing rocks. Keira is also the co-president of the University of Waterloo Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration (UW-SER).
Amara Johnston is an undergraduate student at the University of Waterloo. Amara loves wetland ecology and herptofauna, especially mudpuppies! Amara is also the co-president of UW-SER.
Tom Whillans is an ecologist with particular interests in fisheries, fish habitat, wetlands, co- management, community development, traditional knowledge, watershed restoration, historical ecology, biodiversity, restoration ecology and related environmental problems. His Ph.D. was in fisheries ecology, in the Department of Zoology, University of Toronto. From 1983 to 2022 he was a Professor in what is now the School of the Environment, Trent University, serving as Chair for nine of those years. He remains there as Professor Emeritus. He helped to develop and taught in 14 undergraduate and three graduate degrees at the university, including the B.Sc. in Ecological Restoration.
Most of Tom’s research has focused on problems in the binational Great Lakes basin and South America on issues relating to community-based ecological restoration. His research has related notably to community-based aquatic science, especially the rehabilitation of lakes, fisheries, wetlands and watersheds. He has served on the boards and management committees of various non-governmental organizations, including long-standing roles on the Committee of Advisors for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the Anishinabek/Ontario Fisheries Resource Centre, the Ontario Biodiversity Council, Haliburton U-Links and Watersheds Canada
Tim Alamenciak is a translational ecologist investigating the critical gap between scientific evidence and on-the-ground practice. My work integrates ecological restoration, computational knowledge systems, and community engagement through transdisciplinary research that supports evidence-informed decision-making — from landscape-scale conservation planning to the design of open digital tools for practitioners. He is a postdoctoral fellow at Carleton University and a research fellow with the DRAGEN Lab at St. Jerome’s University.
Cassidy Mailloux is a graduate student at the University of Windsor in the Healthy headwaters lab studying the Macrofungi of the Carolinian zone in Southwestern Ontario. She has worked as a Guide and Naturalist at the Ojibway Prairie complex for the past 8 years exploring a variety of ecosystem restoration methods and techniques. Through her work at the complex, she has been able to connect and share knowledge with others about her passion for the Carolinian zone and the unique/ rare flora, fauna and fungi found within. When she is not frolicking through these amazing ecosystems, she can be found playing and coaching the wonderful game of Lacrosse !
Ontario Ecological Restoration Conference 