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
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
Email: Stacy.Cuzzocrea@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
Building: 470
Email: Jocelin.Teron@viu.ca
Lindsey Kanary
Professor
Contact info
Building: 470
Email: lindsey.kanary@viu.ca
Melissa Fietz, RPF, P.Eng
Sessional Professor
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 (she/her) 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
Email: Melissa.Fietz@viu.ca
Samuel Pountney, BSc (hons), MSc, PhD, Mem:MBA
Sessional Professor
"By the time it came to the edge of the Forest, the stream had grown up, so that it was almost a river, and, being grown-up, it did not run and jump and sparkle along as it used to do when it was younger, but moved more slowly. For it knew now where it was going, and it said to itself, 'There is no hurry. We shall get there some day.'" – A.A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh)
Samuel Pountney (he/him), is a fish reproductive physiologist and aquaculture specialist with a PhD in reproductive physiology from the university of Stirling, Scotland. With over 15 years’ experience in broodstock management, hatchery operations, and aquaculture system design, he has worked across research and commercial settings in Europe and Canada. Samuel has worked with the British Antarctic Survey, contributing to marine science in extreme environments, and has professional experience as a commercial diver supporting aquaculture and marine operations. His areas of expertise include reproductive performance, seed quality, stock health, and applied solutions to improve aquaculture production.
Contact info
Email: Samuel.Pountney@viu.ca
Terry Conville
Sessional Professor
Contact Info
Rick Chester
Sessional Professor
Contact info
Meghan Hilborn, BSc, FIT
Department Technician
Meghan (she/they/he) 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
Building: 460 Room: 331
Email: Meghan.Hilborn@viu.ca
Bill Beese, MF, RPF (Ret.)
Retired Professor and 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 help support students in their pursuit of a rewarding career."
Bill (he/him) has over 40 years of experience on the BC coast as a forest ecologist in research, environmental consulting and policy development for several forest companies. He is a retired Registered Professional Forester with a Master’s degree in Forest Ecology from the University of British Columbia.
His research focused on silvicultural systems, prescribed burning, forest regeneration and biodiversity. He served on numerous research advisory committees, working groups on old growth forests and ecosystem-based management, and continues to do peer reviews for scientific journals. He was a member of an international science panel advising Forestry Tasmania on implementation of variable retention in old-growth eucalyptus forests. Bill also co-authored book chapters in Forestry and Biodiversity (UBC Press 2009), North Pacific Temperate Rainforests (U. Washington Press 2013) and Ecological Silvicultural Systems (Wiley 2024).
Awards
- Coastal Silviculturist of the Year, 2000
- Ecological Society of America’s Corporate Award, 2001
- BC Forest Professional magazine Best Article, 2008
- Canadian Forestry Scientific Achievement Award, CIF-IFC, 2020
- Ecological Processes, Highly Cited Paper Award, 2021