About Us
This website is the result of a year-long collaboration of the following individuals. Each person brought a different skill set to this project and collectively, we were able to create a robust and current online platform to engage B.C. citizens about reptiles and amphibians, the conservation of these species, and the habitats in which they live.
Dana Eye
Dana received her BSc. and MSc. at Thompson Rivers University. Dana has worked with a vast array of wildlife including birds, snakes, amphibians, and small mammals. She has a passion for reducing human wildlife conflict in communities and spreading awareness about misunderstood species. Her favourite B.C. Herp is the Northern Rubber Boa.
Marcus Atkins
Marcus received his BSc. at the University of Victoria and MSc. at Thompson Rivers University. He has worked with a variety of research groups studying organisms large and small including deep sea hydrothermal vent communities, grizzly bears in the Great Bear Rainforest, and rattlesnakes in the Okanagan. His favourite B.C. Herp is the Tiger Salamander.
Leigh Anne Isaac
Leigh Anne is B.C.’s Small Mammal and Herpetofauna Specialist and is a Registered Professional Biologist. She obtained a BES from York University, an MSc and PhD from the University of Victoria and is an Adjunct Professor at Thompson Rivers University. Leigh Anne is a current member of the Northern Leopard Frog and Sharp-tailed Snake Recovery Teams as well as the B.C. Bat Action Team. Leigh Anne lives in Ktunaxa ?amak?is (Ktunaxa Nation Territory) and can be found hiking in the mountains, gardening, volunteering with Girl Guides of Canada and tending to her chickens. It’s tough for Leigh Anne to pick a favourite herp but if pressed, she takes a shine to chorusing Pacific Treefrogs, basking Western Painted Turtles and the beautifully coloured Western Terrestrial Gartersnake.
Karl Larsen
Karl is a professor in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at Thompson Rivers University. He decided to be a herpetologist when he was approximately 5 years old, and for the last 30-some years he and his students have conducted ecological research on amphibians, reptiles and mammals (with one bird study thrown in for good luck).
His favourite B.C. herp may just be the Western Terrestrial Garter Snake, as it truly is “Canada’s most interesting snake” (Gregory 2018). The Western Rattlesnake is a very, very close second.
Jade Spruyt
Jade received her BSc. in Ecology from the University of Calgary, then moved to British Columbia to pursue a MSc. at Thompson Rivers University. She has worked with a variety of wildlife across western Canada including newts on Vancouver Island, ground squirrels in Saskatchewan, and snakes in the Okanagan. Her favourite B.C. herp is the Rough-skinned Newt.
Edyta Marcisz
Edyta completed her MSc. in Environmental Sciences at Thompson Rivers University (Kamloops, BC) in 2021. She enjoys working with a variety of furry wildlife in the region and her primary research interest is the ecology and conservation of Bighorn Sheep. Her favourite B.C. Herp is the Rough-skinned Newt.
This project was supported by the Conservation Economic Stimulus Initiative (CESI) with funding provided by the Province of B.C., administered by the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, and in collaboration with Thompson Rivers University
Devin Martin
Devin received her BCS at Thompson Rivers University. She started her own web development company, Darko Studios, in 2020. Her background includes a variety of mentoring & facilitation positions as a TRU Study Abroad Ambassador, CanCODE instructor with the TRU Faculty of Science, social media manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Southern Interior, and facilitator for Transitions Youth Employment program in Kamloops, B.C.
Through the development of this website, Devin has learned a great deal about B.C. reptiles and amphibians. She can now confidently say her favourite B.C. herp is the Great Basin Spadefoot.