Southern Interior Land Trust
  • Donate Now
Southern Interior Land Trust
  • About SILT
  • Properties
    • Conservation Lands
    • Property Mapping
  • Projects
  • News
  • Contact
  • Links
  • Donate
  • e-News Sign-up
  • Donate Now

Home > Holdstock
30
Aug
Julien Gullo – 2022 Recipient of the John B. Holdstock Scholarship

By: Gordon Wilson

Holdstock scholarship

Comments: 0

Congratulations to Julien Gullo – 2022 Recipient of the John B. Holdstock Scholarship

Julien is a mature student majoring in Natural Resources Science (BNRS) at Thompsons Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops who has had a fascination with animals for as long as he could remember. He is passionate about the natural sciences and feels privileged to live in a region where the natural environment is abundant and accessible.

“I take my career path seriously and feel obliged to pay back the communities that have supported me, either directly or indirectly, in my journey,” he states.

Julien has volunteered for an array of projects, conducting yearly breeding owl surveys for Birds Canada, and coordinating volunteers for the SIMDeer citizen science project. His pastimes include backcountry skiing, hiking, canoeing and hunting that sparked his endless curiosity and lent themselves to working in field biology and community engagement. Julien is currently conducting research at John Prince Research Forest near Fort St James, BC with funding assistance from the Undergraduate Research Experience Award Program (UREAP) at TRU. He is investigating competitive dynamics between American Red Squirrels and Northern Flying Squirrels. Julien believes his success as an ecologist/ biologist is dependent on his ability to embrace both human and non-human communities to create and maintain balance for more sustainable relationships.

“I want to harness my creativity and passion for wildlife to produce both good scientific work and to help connect communities to their natural surroundings by generating interest in ecological topics while promoting environmental stewardship.”

 

With special thanks to the JB Holdstock Scholarship Committee members:

                  • Judie Steeves, Southern Interior Land Trust
                  • Deb Kennedy, The Nature Trust of British Columbia
                  • Dan Buffett, The Habitat Conservation Foundation
                  • Dave Henshaw, British Columbia Conservation Foundation Board Director
                  • Kevin Holdstock
19
Jul
Gillian Steele, 2021 recipient of the John B. Holdstock Scholarship

By: Gordon Wilson

Holdstock

Comments: 0

SILT is part of the coalition of non-profits involved in awarding the John Holdstock Scholarship annually, and this year’s recipient is Gillian Steele.

Angling and a love for British Columbia’s fish species has always been a passion for Gillian. Since birth, Gillian learned to appreciate and respect the natural resources of British Columbia. “My father introduced me to angling,” she explains, “and I have followed him along riverbanks since I could walk.
“Having now worked in the recreational sport fishing industry for many years, I have witnessed first-hand the changes, [the] mismanagement of fish and wildlife, and the toll our ever-expanding urban footprint is having on the environment. Angling and my experiences in the outdoors have shaped who I am as a person thus I will do everything in my power to solidify their continued existence in the future.”

Gillian is currently a Director of the Steelhead Society of British Columbia (SSBC), whose mandate is conserving wild steelhead and wild rivers in BC. The SSBC raises money to assist in funding projects directly related to wild steelhead management as well as to raise awareness of the continuing issues surrounding wild steelhead throughout the province. Says Gillian about the work, “I have been on the board of directors since 2014 and joined as a means to give back to a particular fishery that means so much to [me].” She goes on to explain, “one of the SSBC’s main focuses is the Thompson River and their remarkably unique population of summer run steelhead.

“It is situations and ongoing fights for the protection of species just like these that keep me involved but longing to do more. As an angler engulfed in the recreational angling industry, I feel it to be my own responsibility to make sure these opportunities are around for my children’s children.” With this, it seems elementary that Gillian would seek formal education in Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation discipline. “The intense and comprehensive program has been challenging but has opened my eyes to the complexity of natural resource management. My main goal after the completion of my education and into the professional world is to work toward preserving wild steelhead in British Columbia. Steelhead are my passion, have a special place in my heart, and are the fundamental driving force in my future aspirations.”

Well, thank you for your dedication to make British Columbia’s natural environment a rich and thriving one for generations to come, Gillian. Congratulations and good luck in your studies!

04
Aug
Angler wins Holdstock Scholarship

By: SILT Admin

Holdstock scholarship

Comments: 0

As one of the sponsors of the John B. Holdstock Scholarship, the Southern Interior Land Trust is pleased to announce that Katie Zinn is the 2020 recipient, chosen from a field of six this summer by a group of judges representing a variety of organizations.

Zinn is a fly fisher who has recently completed her thesis on the effects of reduced streamflow on hypoxia and habitat use of threatened Salish Sucker and juvenile Coho salmon.

She begins her PhD this fall at the University of B.C. in the department of zoology and is studying the effects of recreational catch and release on Chinook salmon.

She grew up spending summers on the Sunshine Coast exploring the intertidal zone and poking anemones and fishing off the dock.

Her undergrad degree is in Natural Resource Conservation with a specialty in Science and Management.

She has volunteered in the Pacific Salmon and Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, and she has also worked fighting wildfires out of Cranbrook.

It was an amazing experience to work in the East Kootenays, and it forced me to open my eyes to the freshwater world after growing up on the coast. Shortly after I got to Cranbrook, I was introduced to fly fishing. It’s easy to learn to fly fish when you are surrounded by world-class dry fly rivers. I fell in love with the sport and have been chasing fish with my fly rod ever since, she commented.

John Holdstock was a founding director of the Okanagan Region Wildlife Heritage Society in 1988 (now the SILT) until his sudden death in 2010. He was also a past-president of the B.C. Wildlife Federation and involved in a number of other outdoors organizations.

The signature on his e-mails was always:

The world is run by those who show up.

The annual scholarship is coordinated by the B.C. Conservation Foundation. Go to: bccf.com for more information.

Sidebar
Latest News
Waiting for Spring at Ginty’s Pond / Nʔaʕx̌ʷt 01 Feb 2023
Prevent destruction of habitat on the Grand Forks Grasslands 02 Dec 2022
Bourguiba Spring Property Acquired 02 Nov 2022
Julien Gullo – 2022 Recipient of the John B. Holdstock Scholarship 30 Aug 2022
Grasslands Restoration Begins with Young People 05 May 2022
Tuc-el-nuit Lake Shoreline Assessment Reports 01 May 2022
Recent Comments
    Categories
    • accordian
    • BioBlitz
    • Clean Nature
    • Ecology
    • Education
    • Environmental
    • Fish
    • Holdstock Scholarship
    • Land Acquisition
    • Non Profit
    • Organization
    • ORWHFS News
    • SILT News
    • Species at Risk
    • Volunteers
    • Wild Life
    • Wildlife
    Tags
    Amphibians Badger bighorn BioBlitz Bluetongue Board of Directors Bourguiba Cawston Cold Creek deer Den DL492 Donations Earth Day Earth Day 2022 Gilpin Ginty's Grand Forks Grassland Habitat Holdstock Lighthawk Love Olalla Love Your Lakes Pond Remembrance Reptiles Restoration scholarship sheep Sickle Point Snake Snake Den species at risk Species ID Wetland Wetlands wildlife
    Southern Interior Land Trust

    Formed in 1988 to purchase land for wildlife in the Okanagan Region, the board of the Southern Interior Land Trust Society, (formerly, Okanagan Region Wildlife Heritage Fund Society) aims to conserve and restore wild land as habitat for wildlife, since it is under increasing pressure from development.

    Quick Links

    • Home
    • About SILT
    • Contact
    • Silt Lands
    • Silt Links
    • Silt Projects
    • SILT Privacy Statement
    • ArcGIS Property Mapping

    GET IN TOUCH

    521 Vardon Lane

    Vernon, BC V1H 1Y4
    250-328-4699
    apeatt@siltrust.ca

    Copyright © Southern Interior Land Trust. All rights reserved.

    Powered By: Cutting Edge Concepts