Sarah Whitehouse will present her research: Sustainability in BC’s Ranching Community, during the MSc Showcase on March 5.
Sarah Whitehouse has a lofty goal — to help B.C. cattle producers become more resilient in the face of climate change, and to provide them with the tools they need to become better land managers.
Whitehouse, who began her graduate programming in January, completed her undergraduate degree in Environmental Chemistry with a minor in Environmental Economics and Sustainable Development in 2011. Her minor was a bit of a departure — an area of interest she fell in love with during her educational journey through the sciences.
Masters of Science in Environmental Science Showcase
March 5, 2015, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Terrace Room, Campus Activity Centre
Complete Schedule
“I ended up doing my minor on a whim. I had been taking a few courses on the side to get a better understanding of the business component — to learn how businesses value our natural resources and why — and I decided to stay an extra semester to complete the minor.”
Whitehouse completed three Co-op placements during her undergraduate years and had a job waiting for her at Highland Valley Copper upon graduation.
With experience in the lab as a chemical technician and in mill processing as a Metallurgical Technician, she now has a greater understanding of industry, and a clearer focus for her own career path.
Whitehouse, who will present her research during the Masters of Science in Environmental Science Showcase on March 5 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., is working under the supervision of Dr. Lauchlan Fraser, experimenting with a variety of grasses in the Research Greenhouse to determine which are best suited to sustainable land management and grazing.
Her graduate research is two-fold; while she will spend time in the greenhouse investigating carbon sequestration in grasslands and how it can be positively influenced by grazing, she intends to put the bulk of her work into developing an effective incentive strategy to promote better land management.
“The goal would be to establish a framework for policy makers to work with that will set ranchers up to receive carbon credits,” she explained.
Her decision to go back to school and begin work on her master’s degree was not one she took lightly, but the timing felt perfect, she said.
“This fits with my career plan. I’ve had experience in the workforce, but now I just wanted something that aligns with my values.”
Media Inquiries
Wendy Gardner, P.Ag., Ph.D.
Masters of Science Coordinator/Chair and Associate Professor
Department of Natural Resource Sciences
Office: 250-371-5570
Email: wgardner@tru.ca
