Environmental science alumnus turns co-op experience into career after graduation

Motivated to pursue experiences outside the classroom to broaden her skill set, new environmental science alumnus Savannah Shirley kept busy during her undergraduate years, getting involved both on and off campus.

On campus, she was a member — and eventually co-president — of the Environmental Science Student Union (EVSCSU). It was a time-consuming, but welcome, way to get involved and make friends after the isolation of online learning during the pandemic.

“I did some really cool things, like fun events for Halloween and going to Tofino on an experiential learning trip,” she says of her time with EVSCSU.

Outside of SFU, she got involved by volunteering at a local fish hatchery, where she assisted with organizing the hatchery and doing egg takes — taking newly-released eggs and washing them to prevent disease before placing them in trays for incubation.

In addition to her experience at the hatchery, Savannah also gained valuable work experience by completing two co-op positions, the first with Nature Trust BC for a four-month term. The organization conserves B.C.’s biodiversity through securement, restoration and management of ecologically significant lands. Savannah worked with the conservation crew, visiting properties in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island to conduct species surveys and study changes in diversity over time.

Her second co-op, completed at the National Hydrological Service of Canada (NHS), was a longer experience that turned into a permanent position after graduation. The NHS monitors the water level and flow of rivers and lakes and provides technical support and advice for international and domestic water management. Working with the NHS, Savannah was happy to have a diverse range of tasks that provided a balanced mix of field and office work. Often her work there involved visiting the sites of older infrastructure projects, checking their condition and status and looking for contamination and environmental hazards.

The work term was a big commitment, lasting 16 months. However, Savannah says its length gave her more time to settle in and develop the confidence to share her ideas.

Now graduated, Savannah has turned her co-op experience into a career protecting the environment in a new position with the NHS, where she works to mitigate environmental impacts from infrastructure projects in remote areas.