We’re pleased to introduce you to VAST’s new Intermediate Wildlife Biologist, Rain Forest Noakes.

Rain grew up in small town Sainte-Adèle, Quebec, prior to pursuing his post-secondary education in Montreal.

“I have a Bachelor of Science from Université de Québec à Chicoutimi and Masters of Environment from Concordia University, with a specialized focus on environmental impact assessment and biophysical assessment,” said Rain.

Rain decided British Columbia was where he belonged after three seasons working for Parks Canada out west, where he gained diverse experience in invasive plants management and database monitoring, ecological restoration projects, ecosystem health assessments, field surveying, and wildlife assessments.

“I just kind of fell in love with the west coast and B.C. itself. I’m fond of adventure sports so the terrain is just incredible out here for those activities. Plus, being a bilingual person there’s a lot of opportunities, career-wise.”

One of these opportunities lead Rain to a year-long Co-op with Teck Coal, where he worked on a badger project in collaboration with Denis Dean, Senior Wildlife Biologist at VAST.

“I mentioned to Denis my Co-op term was coming to an end and VAST made me an offer,” said Rain. “I’m excited and feel fortunate to be part of the VAST team. I’m a field-oriented person–I like to spend time in the field getting my boots muddy–and I’m interested in focusing my expertise on wildlife, so this job was a very good turn of events for me. I’m looking forward to growing my skills and contributing to the great work VAST is doing.”

Welcome to the team, Rain. We feel fortunate too.

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