Meet the team behind the Birds & the Trees

Dr. Barbara Frei

(she/her/elle)

Barbara joined Environment and Climate Change Canada as a Research Scientist in 2021. Barbara’s research has explored species-specific behaviour, habitat associations, population ecology, as well as broader themes including patterns of biodiversity, ecosystem services, landscape ecology, climate change and migration, and ‘bright spots’ in human-modified landscapes. She co-founded the McGill Bird Observatory (MBO) in 2004, serving as Director since 2012. Barbara is passionate about scientific communication, having training and taught hundreds of volunteers about birds and migration, given numerous public presentations on species-at-risk, a frequent guest on local radio, and reached out to teach children about birds via zoom classroom presentations and a guest appearance on children’s science TV show.

Dr. Carly Ziter

(she/her/elle)

Dr. Ziter grew up in southern Ontario, in a house surrounded by fields (usually corn, sometimes soy) punctuated by small woodlots. In her mind, this mix of farmland, housing, and forest wasn’t an “ecosystem”; it was just where she walked the dog. Now, she realizes that these human-dominated landscapes are hard at work providing a multitude of ecosystem services we rely on, and she's fascinated by how we can manage these areas better. When she's not busy researching the intersection of landscape structure, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, Carly can be found enjoying the great outdoors, knitting, or at the pottery studio.