About
In an age of global change, historical data is invaluable in allowing us to track and predict the threat to our ecosystems. However, this data is itself prone to extinction. The Living Data Project is a nationwide initiative to preserve and breathe new life into legacy datasets in ecology, evolution and environmental science, and to train graduate students in best practices in data management, reproducible research, synthesis statistics and scientific collaboration. We organize data archiving internships, student-dominated working groups, undergraduate hackathons, multi-university courses, and a national certificate program.
Certificates
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Internships
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working groups
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Organizers
Diane SrivastavaCIEE Director; Professor, Zoology,
University of British Columbia |
Mary O’Connor
CIEE Deputy Director; Associate Professor, Zoology, University of British Columbia
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Kelly HallerCIEE and LDP Program Coordinator,
University of British Columbia |
Sally TaylorHead Librarian, Woodward Library; Adjunct Professor, University of British Columbia
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Kerri Finlay
Director Inst. of Environmental Change & Society; Associate Professor, Biology, University of Regina
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Raymond Ng
Director Data Science Institute; Professor,
Computer Science, University of British Columbia |
Jason Pither
Co-lead Fostering Open Science at UBC;
Associate Professor, Biology, UBC Okanagan |
Jennifer Sunday
William Dawson Scholar & Assistant Professor, Biology, McGill University
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Laura Pollock
Assistant Professor, Biology, McGill University
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Timothée PoisotAssistant Professor, Biological Sciences,
Université de Montréal |
Sandra BinningAssistant Professor & Canada Research Chair, Biological Sciences, Université de Montréal
kaitlyn gaynorAssistant Professor, Zoology,
University of British Columbia |
bruno soaresAdjunct Professor, University of Regina, Institute of Environmental Change and Society
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Postdoctoral Fellows
David huntMcGill University and Université de Montréal
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Sandra emryUniversity of British Columbia
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Past members
Gavin Simpson
Organizer
Assistant Professor, Aarhus University Éric Harvey
Organizer
Assistant Professor, Université de Montréal |
Sarah Amundrud
Postdoctoral Fellow (2020)
Climate Data Scientist, Riskthinking.ai Joseph BurantPostdoctoral Fellow (2020-2022)
Tenure-track Researcher, Netherlands Institute of Ecology |
Ellen BledsoePostdoctoral Fellow (2020-2021)
Assistant Professor of Practice, University of Arizona Gracielle Higino
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Mike lavender |
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Organizer
Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia PIerre rogyPostdoctoral Fellow (2024-2025)
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Postdoctoral Fellow (2022-2023)
Fish Researcher, Wisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research Unit Dominique RocheOrganizer
Senior policy advisor, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada |
Postdoctoral Fellow (2021-2023)
Data Scientist, Enviromental Technology firm Erik DeanPostdoctoral Fellow (2024-2025)
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current interns
SUMMER 2025 COHORT
CINDY GAOMcGill University
Vascular plant diversity of the southern Gulf Islands, Saanich Peninsula, and San Juans |
ROBIN BRADLEYUniversity of British Columbia
Vascular plant diversity of the southern Gulf Islands, Saanich Peninsula, and San Juans |
YULIYA SHTYMBURSKAUniversity of Regina
BC Freshwater Salmon Database |
ENIOLA ONIUniversity of Regina
Acadia Wildlife Museum inventory |
SHRIRAM VARADARAJANMcGill University
Long-term monitoring of birds in Saskatchewan |
STEPHANIE FLAMANUniversity of Regina
Long-term monitoring of birds in Saskatchewan |
KATHERINE GYTEUniversity of British Columbia
Experimental Lakes Area Reservoir Flooding Experiments |
MARGARET SLEINUniversity of British Columbia
Archiving and metadata development of Micromollusc data from B.C. |
HANNAH FRIESENUniversity of British Columbia - Okanagan
Increasing the visibility of LDP rescued datasets |
past interns
Fall 2024 COHORT
Jess LerminiauxUniversity of Regina
St. Denis National Wildlife |
Faraz KhanUniversity of Regina
St. Denis National Wildlife – Data Hackathon |
Diana Bertuol GarciaUniversity of Victoria
Turkey Lakes Watershed and other Ontario aquatic systems long-term sampling database |
Lucas EckertMcGill University
Turkey Lakes Watershed and other Ontario aquatic systems long-term sampling database |
Ziqian HanMcGill University
Bottlenecks to Survival |
Abigail BrownUniversity of British Columbia
Inventory of Aquatic Biodiversity Data across Canada |
David ZilkeyMcGill University
Water health and data rescue for Canada's Watershed Reports |
Ming QiuUniversity of British Columbia
Data Curation for PFAS in Quebec Surface Waters |
Megan DuchesneUniversity of British Columbia
Rick Howie BC Interior Swan and Eagle Count |
Diego Beltran Segura
University of British Columbia
50 years of Darwin finch data
50 years of Darwin finch data
summer 2024 COHORT
Linday Trottier |
Benjamin Mumford |
Sasindu Gunawardana |
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McGill University
Vascular plant diversity of the southern Gulf Islands, Saanich Peninsula, and San Juans |
Université de Montréal
Vascular plant diversity of the southern Gulf Islands, Saanich Peninsula, and San Juans |
Trent University
Coastal Giant Salamanders in the Chilliwack River Valley |
Claire VossUniversity of Toronto
University of Toronto Vegetation Survey |
Maria Isabel Arce PlataUniversité de Montréal
Organizing and Analyzing Range Reference Area Data in British Columbia |
Alexandra McCallumMcGill University
Archiving and metadata development of Micromollusc data from B.C. |
Parker LundUniversity of British Columbia
Archiving and metadata development of Micromollusc data from B.C. |
Jessica OllinikUniversity of Regina
Long-term ice phenology records for Ontario Lakes |
Camille DesrosiersUniversité de Montréal
Archiving Silviculture Research in Newfoundland and Labrador |
Sandra Cuadros
University of British Columbia - Okanagan
Spruce budworm outbreak and the green river archives
Spruce budworm outbreak and the green river archives
Fall 2023 COHORT
William ou |
kennedy zwarych |
erica fellin |
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University of British Columbia
Georeferencing time series of Canadian vertebrates in the Living Planet Database |
McGill University
Ontario Forest Birds at Risk (FBAR) program |
McGill University
St. Denis National Wildlife Area |
mannfred boehmUniversity of British Columbia
Sharpsand Creek Experimental Forest Fire Data |
laura dufourMcGill University
The status and trend of bats in the National Parks of Quebec |
lucas mackenzieUniversité de Montréal
Flora and Fauna of Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve and surrounding areas |
sarah ravothUniversity of British Columbia
Marine radar counts of Marbled Murrelets |
mobina gholamhosseinUniversité de Montréal
Rocky Mountain National Parks |
SUMMER 2023 COHORT
ARENA SERRANO RAMOSUniversité de Montréal
Social and ecological data of sperm whales |
EMILY BLACK
University of British Columbia Greater Sage-grouse Lek data rescue |
YIDUO ZHANGUniversity of British Columbia - Okanagan Georeferencing digital historical topographic maps of New Brunswick |
JAWAD SAKARCHIUniversity of British Columbia Data cleaning and standardization of Ground cover data for ranges in BC |
JESSICA REEMEYERMcGill University Protocol for the development and digitization of MacDonald Natural History Collections |
ROLANDO TREJO PEREZUniversité de Montréal
Making 17 years of Nova Scotia Salmon Association water quality data open and accessible on DataStream |
LAUREN GILLUniversity of British Columbia
Archiving and metadata development of Micromollusc data from BC |
MAXIMILIANE JOUSSEMcGill University
Zoological Society of London: Canadian species extinction risk assessments |
Fall 2022 cohort
Kate SheridanMcGill University
Turkey Lakes Watershed long-term sampling database María de la Paz Mañé DuarteUniversity of British Columbia - Okanagan
Georeferencing time series of Canadian vertebrates in the Living Planet Database |
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Laura SuperUniversity of British Columbia
Dynamics of forest vegetation in Alberta National Parks |
Katlin McCallumUniversity of Regina
Morphometric data of Western and Semipalmated sandpipers |
Summer 2022 cohort
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Ashton SiesUniversity of Regina
Ecosystem Change and Introduced Species in Laskeek Bay |
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Charlotte Hagelstam RenshawUniversité de Montréal
Kawartha and Great Lakes Water Quality Data |
Marc Olivier BeausoleilMcGill University
Canadian Nocturnal Owl Survey Data |
Jose Rafael DimayacyacUniversity of British Columbia
Climate trends in Nunavut National Parks |
fall 2021 cohort
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Elizabeth HoughtonUniversity of British Columbia
Long-term Water Chemistry Data from Saskatchewan |
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Michael MensahUniversity of Regina
Rangeland Health Assessments of NCC Properties in Saskatchewan |
Sophia FanUniversity of British Columbia
Post-Natural Disturbance Ecology in Quebec Boreal Forests |
Carmen KotowichUniversity of Regina
Historical Data on the Reintroduction of the Swift Fox to Canada and the United States |
summer 2021 cohort
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Billi KrochuckUniversity of British Columbia
Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Nest Records (1940s-present) |
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Anna LippoldMcGill University
Ecosystem Change and Introduced Species in Laskeek Bay |
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Paola CarrionMcGill University
Canadian Migration Monitoring Network Historical Bird Data |
Fall 2020 cohort
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Andrea BrownMcGill University
Urban bird surveys in Vancouver BC since 1970s |
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Jenna LoesbergUniversity of British Columbia
Plant surveys Alberta |
Yue Yu
University of British Columbia
Historical pesticide application in Atlantic Canada’s forests |
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Pilot Projects
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jenny muñoz-ZapataUniversity of British Columbia
Marine bird surveys at Stanley Park (1995-present) Cassandra Konecny
University of British Columbia
Long-term arctic ecology experiment |
The Living Data Project is committed to the principles of inclusive, supportive and respectful interactions between project participants, including trainees, instructors and researchers from partner organizations. By participating in any Living Data Project activities, including courses, internships and working groups, you agree to:
- Respect and value the contribution of participants with different lived experience and perspectives, recognizing that people can respectfully differ on many different topics.
- Provide space for others to contribute ideas and questions, recognizing that the onus is on people who find it easy to claim such space to be the first to relinquish it.
- Work to actively include other participants, realizing that many marginalized groups can be excluded – even unintentionally - without conscious effort.
- Arrive with the assumption that all participants have good intentions.
- Never, ever, ever, engage in harassing or discriminatory behaviour and understand that such behaviour may lead to your removal from the program.
- Whoever violates these rules will be asked to stop immediately, and if inappropriate behaviour persists, procedures laid out by the the member’s home institution will take place.
land acknowledgement
The Living Data Project (LDP) is a collaborative initiative by researchers at institutions across Canada: University of British Columbia-Vancouver, University of British Columbia-Okanagan, University of Regina, McGill University, and Université de Montréal. We acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional, ancestral, treaty, and unceded territories of many Indigenous peoples, including the Coast Salish Peoples, xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Syilx (Okanagan), nêhiyawak (Cree), anihšināpēk (Saulteaux), Dakota, Lakota, Nakoda, Attawanderon, Mississaugas, kanien’kehà:ka (Mohawk), and Haudenosaunee, and the homeland of the Métis/Michif Nation.
We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Cette recherche a été financée par le Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada (CRSNG).
Cette recherche a été financée par le Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada (CRSNG).
We acknowledge the support of this research project the by the University of British Columbia, the Université de Montréal, the University of Regina, and McGill University.
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