One of our best assets at VIU is our teaching staff. The Forestry Department is made up of professional foresters with a wide variety of backgrounds and expertise in forest land management that includes silviculture, engineering, wildfire, ecology, forest health, research, and GIS—as well as international and First Nations forestry. Our varied perspectives and expertise provide students with an excellent introduction to the original green science – forestry!
Allow us to introduce ourselves to you!
Andres Enrich, MF, RPF
Department Co-Chair and Professor
"Part of learning is changing your perspective about something. This change or transformation is a journey that can be empowering, frustrating or even amusing. As an educator, my greatest satisfaction is observing and guiding this transformation in our students over the brief time we get to share. Understanding how we learn can help us move past obstacles and get us closer to our goals."
Andres (he/him) is a Registered Professional Forester with a Master’s degree in Forest Management from the University of Georgia. With over 20 year’s experience in operational and strategic planning supporting industry and government he has practiced forestry in Coastal and Interior BC, the US South and Uruguay. His area’s of interest are inventory, mensuration, timber supply analysis and forest finance.
Contact info
Building: 470 Room: 224
Phone: 250.753.3245 Ext. 2232
email: Andres.Enrich@viu.ca
Stacy Cuzzocrea BSF, RPF
Department Co-Chair and Professor
“A Forestry Education doesn’t stop when you receive your diploma or degree. It is a lifelong endeavour and what I strive to provide at VIU are the building blocks of knowledge and skills that will carry students throughout their forestry careers. I believe students learn best in an environment that promotes creativity, collaboration and critical thinking.”
Stacy (she/her) is a Registered Professional Forester and holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry and is completing her Masters in Educational Leadership. Stacy has over 25 years forestry experience on the coast of British Columbia and has worked for large forest companies, government and has also been a forestry business owner. She has a strong background in operational forestry including road design, helicopter logging, silviculture and planning. As well she has worked collaboratively with various stakeholder groups, community advisory committees, First Nations and the Coast Forest Conservation Initiative. Her areas of interest include Silviculture, Forest Policy and Administration and Soil Science.
Contact info
Building: 460 Room: 328
Phone: 250.753.3245 Ext. 2340
Email: Stacy.Cuzzocrea@viu.ca
Chris Cole BSF, RPF, PEng
Professor
“I believe in promoting the values of Honesty, Respect, Trust, Kindness, and Hard Work when working and learning as a team in the multi-disciplinary field of forestry. Post-secondary education in forestry is the foundation of a life-long learning process where classroom/office and field work experiences blend to provide a window into the natural world. Through this portal your trained eye may never view a repeated episode, as you learn how natural systems change over time and keep you learning until the end... go for a walk in the woods as often as you can and challenge yourself to learn something new every day.”
Chris (he/him) is a Professional Forester and Professional Engineer with over 24 years of experience working in the forest industry as a consult and as staff for a major licensee. Part of this time was spent owning and operating his own business with heavy equipment and engineering staff to design and build bridges, roads, retaining walls, harvest trees, and complete all associated forestry and engineering work required to support these operations. Chris’s work experience covers both public and private land forestry at various locations across BC and has been primarily in the engineering and operation’s side of forestry.
Contact info
Building: 460 Room: 327
Phone: 250.753.3245 Ext. 2031
email: Chris.Cole@viu.ca
Lindsey Kanary
Professor
Contact info
Phone: 250.753.3245 Ext. 2260
Email: lindsey.kanary@viu.ca
Jocelin Teron, BSc, RPF
Professor
“Education, like forest management, is both an art and a science requiring adaptive approaches and critical thinking in addition to the fundamental theory. In a time of incredible change in the forest industry, I strive to foster responsible stewardship and life-long curiosity in our students.”
Jocelin (she/her) is a Registered Professional Forester with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Lakehead University, and actively working on a Masters of Education in Educational Leadership at VIU. Jocelin has been practicing forestry in coastal British Columbia since 2011, working on private and public forest land for consultants and licensees alike. Jocelin is a long-time volunteer with the Canadian Institute of Forestry and serves on the local Vancouver Island Section Council. She is based in the Comox Valley, on the beautiful unceded traditional lands of the K’omoks and Pentlatch peoples.
Prince of Wales Award for Sustainable Forestry - 2013
Contact info
Phone: 250.740.6362 Local: 6362
Email: Jocelin.Teron@viu.ca
Melissa Fietz, BSc, RPF, P.Eng
Sessional Instructor
"A forestry education is an exciting opportunity to delve into the sciences that compose the building blocks of forest management. I strive to ignite a passion for the learning material in the students and to promote curiosity, critical thinking, resourcefulness, and open-mindedness."
Melissa is a Registered Professional Forester and Professional Engineer with a Bachelor's Degree in Forest Operations from the University of British Columbia. Melissa's primary focus has been on engineering projects in the resource sector, specifically conceptual bridge and road site survey, design, inspection and construction supervision. Her 15 years of work experience covers various locations across BC and the Yukon, working an a consultant on both public and private forest lands.
Contact info
Phone: 250.740.6362 Local: 6362
Email: Melissa.Fietz@viu.ca
Meghan Hilborn, BSc
Department Technician
Meghan (she/her) is a graduate of VIU's forestry diploma program, going on to complete a Bachelor of Science in Forest Ecology and Management (Bio Conservation Minor) with Honours at the University of Northern BC. She has a passion for the complementary sciences of Forestry and Biology, possessing diverse work experience across the province with topics ranging from silviculture and layout to wildlife lab and field research.
Her research has focused on the diets and morphometry of grouse in central BC, and areas of interest include GIS, Silviculture, Ecology, and Botany.
Contact Info
Phone: 250.753.3245 Local: 2287
Email: Meghan.Hilborn@viu.ca
Bill Beese, MF, RPF - Retired Professor
Honorary Research Associate
"I believe that the foundation of effective teaching is a passion for the subject matter. Education should foster critical thinking, problem solving and a desire for continual learning. I'm excited to be at VIU to help support students in their pursuit of a rewarding career."
Bill (he/him) has over 30 years of experience on the BC coast in research, environmental consulting and policy development for several forest companies—most recently as Forest Ecologist for Western Forest Products in Campbell River. He is a Registered Professional Forester with a Master’s degree in Forest Ecology from the University of British Columbia.
His research has focused on silvicultural systems, prescribed burning, forest regeneration and biodiversity. He has served on numerous research advisory and review committees, and working groups on old growth forests and ecosystem-based management. He was recently a member of an international science panel advising Forestry Tasmania on implementation of variable retention in old-growth eucalyptus forests. Bill also co-authored two chapters in the book Forestry and Biodiversity (UBC Press 2009).
Awards
- Coastal Silviculturist of the Year in 2000
- Ecological Society of America’s Corporate Award in 2001
- BC Forest Professional magazine Best Article in 2008
Email: Bill.Beese@viu.ca