Spring Interns Announcement

Compass has had two interns join us this spring, John Morra and Richard Farthing-Nichol. Both John and Richard are students with the School of Resource and Environmental Management (REM) at Simon Fraser University. As Lee, Sally, Holly, and other former staff are graduates of REM, Compass continues to maintain ties with REM and is pleased to support the program. We are very excited to be working with John and Richard and for the new perspectives they bring to the Compass projects.

Meet John Morra

John’s graduate research focuses on microplastic contamination, and more specifically on the influence of anthropogenic activity on the Fraser River on microplastic contamination in coastal Metro Vancouver. He is currently working under Dr. Karen Kohfeld, a paleoclimatologist, and Dr. Marlow Pellatt, a coastal ecologist with Parks Canada. While his research is focused on microplastics, his interests in the field of resource management are broad and include fisheries science, water security and management, Indigenous sovereignty, and co-management. John has a strong background in the natural sciences, having completed his undergraduate degree at Queen’s University in earth sciences and biology. He has previously worked as an environmental scientist for the federal government with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as well as Parks Canada. In his spare time, John enjoys swimming, cycling, reading, and exploring the backcountry. John is currently working with Michael on developing a Watershed Strategy for the Saulteau Nation.

Meet Richard Farthing-Nichol

Richard’s graduate research focuses on resource and environmental co-governance, particularly as it pertains to Indigenous self-determination and government-to-government relationships. He is working under Dr. Evelyn Pinkerton, a distinguished scholar in the field of fisheries co-management. Richard’s interest in governance structures and power relations is rooted in a social science background developed at the University of Manitoba, where he studied political science and history. He further explored those interests through policy work with the Government of Manitoba and, more recently, an internship with the Vancouver-based organization Coast Funds. In his leisure time, Richard enjoys exploring the backcountry, including both the mountains of B.C. and the rivers of his home province of Manitoba. With Compass, Richard is helping to develop a learning and evaluation framework for the G2G Nicola Forum.

About the School of Resource and Environmental Management (REM)

The School of Resource and Environmental Management was created in 1979 to provide advanced interdisciplinary graduate training in resource and environmental management and planning. REM provides graduate training in a variety of areas including policy and planning, law, economics, ecology, earth sciences, environmental impact assessment, negotiation, public participation and advanced planning methodologies including GIS, land suitability assessment, water analysis, statistical analysis, economic evaluation, ecological analysis, and energy system modelling. REM has over 100 masters and doctoral students, 15 full time faculty, and close to 600 graduates who are working in senior positions in various agencies throughout the world. REM offers a planning degree in resource and environmental planning that is certified by the Canadian Institute of Planners.

The REM internship program is a required course for all REM planning students. The objective of the internship is to provide professional experience for graduate students and to provide outside agencies with access to skilled professionals who are near completion of their graduate studies.