TEAM MEMBERS

DR. AUSTEN

I am an evolutionary ecologist fascinated by the lives of plants. Being immobile, plants rely on subtle variation among and within individuals to cope with an ever-changing environment. My research examines the origins, maintenance, and consequences of this diversity.

ASHLYN

Hello! I am entering my third year of biochemistry at Mount Allison University. This will be my first summer doing some field research, and I am super excited to get outdoors and look for some bees! This summer, I am a part of the pollination team, and I will be surveying the Lysimachia flower and its pollinators. On top of the Lysimachia project, I will be helping with the Continental Golden Rod Project, collecting ball galls from the plant and examining its contents. I am excited to work with bees and learn more about them, as their variation and ecological importance are fascinating. My current favourite bee is the Colletinae because they are just too cute!

CHLOE

I am graduating from Mount Allison in May 2024 with a degree in biology and sociology. In the summer of 2023, I worked as a research assistant in the Austen Lab where I helped conduct fieldwork for the initiation of a multi-year project assessing wild bee biodiversity in Sackville. It was tons of fun! I used the data we collected as the basis for an independent study during my last year at MtA. I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such a lovely group of people on such a cool project! And I love that a central part of this project is community outreach and sharing information about wild bees with the community, as mobilizing knowledge is such a critical part of conducting research of any kind and I think it's so rad!! My favourite bee to see out in the field is probably any worker of the genus Bombus because they're so tiny and cute!

EMMA

Hello, I am a Mount Allison undergraduate student majoring in Biochemistry. This summer I’ll be working in the Austen lab with one of my favorite critters; bees! The Sackville area is home to 200 species of bees and counting. I hope our work reaches the Sackville community sparking interest in this keystone species.

Bees provide an essential FREE service that sustains us both on an economic and ecological level. Although not all bees live in colonies with queens my favorite bee to see on site are queen Bombus.

GABE

Hello! I’m entering my third year of Biology at Mount Allison. This summer I will be part of the bee team counting identifying the wild bees of Sackville. This is my first time working as part of a research team so I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can about all the interesting bees here! I don't have a favourite bee yet but hopefully I'll be able to pick one this summer!

HANNAH

Hello everyone! I am a 4th year Mount Allison student doing my honours in Biology and a minor in Environmental Science. This is my first time working on a long-term research project, so I am quite excited to work with Dr. Austen and the rest of the team this summer. My honours thesis focuses on the diversity of wild bees in wetlands, and I plan to work hard to get the data I need. Through the summer I hope to learn a lot about identifying bees and observing the variation within Sackville. I don’t have a favourite bee species, but I am certain I will have one by the end of this summer.

JADA

Hi, everyone! I am entering my fourth year as a biology student at Mount Allison University. The past few years, I've spent my summer working in the Austen lab with bees and other pollinators. I am incredibly excited to be back in the field to help study Sackville's wild bees. I will be working in the lab to help identify bee specimens, and researching at the Sackville Retention Pond for my honours project on the specialist bee, the common loosestrife oil bee (Macropis nuda). I love bees because of their interesting behaviour and the wide range of variation between genera. One of my favourite things is to watch them and ID them. Some of my favourite wild bees are the tri-coloured bumblebee— Bombus ternarius— and the Milwaukee mining bee— Andrena milwaukeensis.

JASMINE

Hi everyone!

I am Jasmine. I am entering my fourth year at Mount Allison and I am a biology honours student. I am on the plant pollinator team for the summer and we will be working on a variety of projects relating to plants and the insects that pollinate them. I am super excited to be a part of the team this summer and look forward to working outdoors and learning lots about bees and other insects in the context of the local and regional ecology. My favourite bee right now is Augochlorini because its bright green, isn't that so awesome!

KENNEDY

Hi everyone! I just graduated from Mount Allison with a major in Biology, double minor in Environmental Indigenous Science and Psychology. I’m originally from Upper Stewiacke, Nova Scotia, and this will be my third Sackville Summer! This year I will be the Community Outreach Coordinator for the lab. I’m really interested in citizen science and involving the community in research and learning! I’ll be helping out with both the Bee Team and the Pollinator team so you’ll see me around this summer! Stay tuned to see what types of events we will be hosting this summer to engage Sackville with all things plants and pollinators!

MALACHI

Hello Everyone! I just graduated from Mount Allison with an Honours in Environmental Science. My honours work involved comparing bee abundance and diversity at the Lorne Street Retention Pond to garden sites in Sackville. I am so excited to be a part of this project for another year and see some more amazing bees! Choosing a favourite bee is difficult, but I think I would have to choose the cute and fuzzy Tricoloured Bumble Bee (Bombus ternaries) due to its beautiful colours.

ALUMNI

AMANDA

I am Amanda, a 5th year student researching Lysimachia terrestris for a hounors with Dr. Austen. While primarily focusing on my own research, I will also be assisting in lab work and community outreach for our wild bee diversity project. I am excited to work with Sackville's locals to expand our knowledge and understanding of our wild bee population and how to better support our native pollinator biodiversity. My favorite bee is whichever is buzzing closest to me at the time. The bee in the photo to the left is a Nomad Bee (Genus Nomada).

GWEN

LAURENA

I am graduating from Mount Allison University this May with a Biology degree. Last year, I worked in the Austen Lab completing my honours research where I was working on a native plant called Lysimachia terrestris. This summer I am returning to the lab to assist the current students' work on their own projects! I have always been interested in pollinators (specifically moths and butterflies) but last summer I worked in the field where I saw many different types of really cool bees as well. This summer I am excited to see a variety of different wild bees and learn more about native bee species that are in Sackville. My favourite bees are the oil bees (specifically Macropis nuda), a bee that we previously researched in this lab!

Hi! I am entering my third year as a biochemistry major at Mount Allison University. This is my first time working in a research lab, and I am very excited to start field work! This summer I will be surveying bees in community members gardens, as well as working with bees in the lab. I am excited to be working with bees because of

how much variation they have, in their appearance and habits, and I am looking forward to learning more about the local populations. I am very excited to be working with the Sackville community and sharing our research with the community!

LOGAN (he/him)

Hello! I just graduated from Mount Allison University in May with an Honours degree in Biology and a Minor in Community Engaged Learning. I am originally from Sackville NB and am very interested in conservation projects taking place within our local community. I have been very appreciative of the research opportunities I have had during my time at Mount Allison including work with the R-Peace Learning Centre, ACME Lab and Galápagos Islands Conservation Physiology Field School. I look forward to bringing my passion of plants, the great outdoors, and past research experience to the Bee Team for the Summer of 2023, buzz, buzz! When I am not conducting research, I can be found swimming at Silverlake, biking to the Midgic Airport and running through Waterfowl!