Dr. Adam Ford, Professor, Department of Biology, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science.
UBC Okanagan researcher Dr. Adam Ford has joined some prestigious company after being elected as a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.
Dr. Ford, a professor in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, was one of 12 UBC faculty elected to the Royal Society—three elected as members of the College and a further nine elected as Fellows.
The appointment comes in recognition of a career spent safeguarding Canada’s biodiversity and its commitment to reconciliation. As the Canada Research Chair in Wildlife Restoration Ecology and director of the Okanagan Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience and Ecosystem Services (BRAES), his ongoing work sits at the base of some of major pushes in society.
“A lot of the conservation I grew up with was, ‘this species is going extinct, so let’s see what’s causing this, what’s making it decline?'” he says. “After decades of this kind of science, we know we’re losing biodiversity. The harder, and more useful, question is what we’re going to do about it.”
He and his team now work to find longer-term solutions to wildlife restoration and protection, working in conjunction with varying landscapes, industries and communities, often relying on partnerships with Indigenous communities to learn and invoke Indigenous-centred ways of restoration.
“The key is that collaboration,” he says. “When you put all those things together it yields incredibly positive impacts for people and nature, and we can really turn things around on declining biodiversity.”
His research has helped inform practices and policies from governments and NGOs that have led to improvements including greater numbers of caribou on the landscape, restored migratory behaviour over highways and safer roads for both people and animals.
The work, he says, has been a life-long interest.
“As a kid I liked to go fishing, which got me outside. I started thinking about trying to find where the fish are in the river, and realized that deer, coyotes and everything else have a reason for being where they are, and when. The whole thing started clicking for me—there’s a whole world of animals constantly interacting with the landscapes.”
And while the Royal Society recognition is an individual honour, Dr. Ford is quick to point out his career is one built on teamwork.
“It’s exciting to be named to The College, but it’s truly a recognition of the hard work of the people I work with,” he says. “Nothing I do is done alone—I wish this could be awarded to all of my colleagues and students.”
