Indigenous Ecology Lab
Start date:
University of British Columbia (Vancouver), BSc in Forest Sciences (Honours)
Indigenous food systems, restoration, seed ecophysiology, plant ecology, ethnobotany
Growing up in the Inland Temperate Rainforest rooted my curiosity for plants and restoration. This led me to study Forest Sciences, work in various ecological research settings, and eventually connect with Dr. Jen Grenz. I was inspired to go to grad school by all the trailblazing women scientists advancing ecology around me.
Studying in the Indigenous Ecology Lab is a privilege and an opportunity to deepen my learning through community-led research that supports climate-resilient and food-secure futures. I am continually inspired by others in this field (including my labmates) and love how my project means getting frequently covered in soil, spending time in community, being creative, and pushing boundaries.
The plant world, being in the mountains, painting, learning grass jargon
Alongside Cowichan Tribes and Penelakut Tribe, my research co-develops culturally appropriate methodologies for ecological restoration that support the reclamation and revitalization of Quw’utsun Peoples’ land stewardship and food systems. Our work engages two contexts where reclamation and revitalization processes are ongoing: i) restoration of the Quw’utsun (Cowichan) /Xwulqw’selu (Koksilah) estuary, and ii) Penelakut deer stewardship as a driver of cedar forest health in the Salish Sea. We employ an interdisciplinary approach, including open-ended interviews, ecological surveys and modelling, seed germination experiments, and art-based restoration planning to learn from pre-colonial baselines, assess lands in legacy-state, and re-story the future of threatened ecosystems through a Quw’utsun food systems lens.
Sachs, N., Martin, T., Grenz, J. (2025) Centering Indigenous Cultural Resurgence to Improve Ecological Restoration: Learnings from the revitalization of Cultural Keystone Places of the Quw’utsun Peoples. Ethnobiology Letters, 16(2), 58-73. https://ojs.ethnobiology.org/index.php/ebl/article/view/1920
To submit for publishing (working paper):
Martin, T. G.; Sachs, N. S.; McComb, S. (2023). Observing relationships between Indigenous led deer stewardship and cedar forest health in the Salish Sea.
Simard, S. W., Roach, W. J., Beauregard, J., Burkart, J., Cook, D., Law, D., Murphy-Steed, A., Schacter, T., Zickmantel, A., Armstrong, G., Fraser, K. M., Hart, L., Heath, O. R. J., Jones, L., Sachs, N. S., Sachs, H. R., Snyder, E. N., Tien, M., & Timmermans, J. (2021). Partial Retention of Legacy Trees Protect Mycorrhizal Inoculum Potential, Biodiversity, and Soil Resources While Promoting Natural Regeneration of Interior Douglas-Fir. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 3, 620436. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.620436