Applying an Indigenous worldview to our role in ecosystems management as we face a rapidly changing climate.
Dr. Jennifer Grenz
Jennifer has a BSc (Honours) in Agroecology and a PhD in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems from the University of British Columbia (UBC). Her scholarly interests revolve around invasive species management, ecological restoration, and science communication. Jennifer has nearly two decades of experience providing consulting services and on-the-ground management of invasive species for all levels of government as well as working with Indigenous communities on creating food security plans and land healing initiatives consistent with community values and needs.
Jennifer is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Forest Resources Management, jointly appointed between the Faculty of Forestry and the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at UBC. Jennifer’s current research focuses on applying an Indigenous worldview to invasion biology and ecology, challenging us to think differently about our role in ecosystems management as we face a rapidly changing climate. Her Indigenous Ecology Lab, within the Below Ground Ecosystems Group, is focusing on innovative plant-soil interactions and ethno-soil microbial ecology to improve the efficacy of ecological restoration, invasive plant management, and ecosystem resiliency. Dr. Grenz is also working extensively on major wildfire recovery, which includes applying an Indigenous food systems lens to these contexts. This work includes understanding factors influencing vegetation trajectories and plant invasion dynamics on post-wildfire landscapes and the development of management practices and monitoring tools to promote desirable plant species and prevent invasive plant colonization.
Jennifer is a proud nɬeʔképmx woman of mixed ancestry and member of the Lytton First Nation. Jennifer grew up in the Metro Vancouver region of BC and is known affectionately as one of the “coast cousins” by her relatives in the interior. From a family of lost relatives due to the impacts of colonization, she and her family have been reconnecting and reclaiming culture and relationships with people and lands. Jennifer is actively healing these ancestral wounds by immersing herself in learning the nłeʔkepmxcín language, helping to reclaim and revitalize nɬeʔképmx land stewardship practices, working to write an updated version of the nɬeʔképmx Ethnobotany book alongside Dr. Nancy J. Turner and her Elders, and helping with food security and wildfire recovery projects on nɬeʔképmx territory.
When she isn’t chasing weeds, Jennifer continues the traditions of her grandmother as a gifted textile artist and grower of foods and medicines.
