Welcoming HAT’s 2024 Field Crew
The HAT Restoration Field Crew is back in full swing for 2024!
The 2024 shared field crew is an integral part of a collaborative pilot project with CDFCP members. This partnership supports organizations that do not have the capacity to host their own field crews and aims to increase stewardship of disappearing prairie-oak ecosystems in the region. Part of this funding is provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada, but HAT is seeking to raise $60,000 this season to cover the cost of fieldwork associated with this project.
On May 1st we welcomed familiar returning faces, including Chelsea Nuez, Hannah Hickli, and Lauren MacIndoe from last season, as well as our newest crew member, Danika Wraspir. The group has already been restoring these ecosystems at 4 sites by removing invasive species like Poison Hemlock, Scotch Broom, and Himalayan Blackberry.
For the next 6 months, the crew will have the opportunity to work alongside restoration specialists, community volunteers, and Indigenous-led restoration projects and gain valuable employment skills in the process.
Check out the crew’s introduction video here and about restoration video here.
Keep an eye out on HAT’s social media for updates from the crew in the field!
Donate now: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/habitat-acquisition-trust/campaign/fieldfundraiser/
Meet the 2024 Crew:
Chelsea Nuez
With Philippino and mixed-European ancestry, Chelsea was born and raised on K'ómoks territory and moved to lək̓ʷəŋən territory to attend UVic. After completing a degree in geography and political science, focusing on ecology and environmental justice, Chelsea worked various farm/nursery/parks jobs on the island and in Australia before landing on the HAT restoration field crew in 2023. She finds a lot of joy in working outdoors and loves applying her skills to meaningful stewardship and restoration work. In her spare time, Chelsea might be found hiking, reading, or coercing knowledgeable friends into teaching her about birds, bugs, and native plants.
Lauren MacIndoe
Lauren is of Scottish, French, and Italian descent and grew-up on the traditional unceded territories of the Anishinaabe Algonquin People. She has an Outdoor Adventure Naturalist diploma from Algonquin College and is a recent University of Victoria graduate with a BSc double major in Geography and Environmental Studies. Lauren has excitedly returned for her second season as part of the Habitat Restoration Technician crew, fueled by a passion to further her knowledge of ecosystem stewardship. In her free time, you can find her in her garden, racing sail boats, on her bike, or adventuring around the island.
Danika Wraspir
Danika (she/her) is a settler of primarily Belgian, Scottish, Czech and Italian descent. She was born and raised on dxʷdəwʔabš (Duwamish), dxʷsəq̓ʷəbš (Suquamish), and sduhubš (Snohomish) territories in what is colloquially known as Seattle, Washington. She began her decolonial journey after volunteering/participating in the annual 2018 Tribal Canoe Journey, paddling and celebrating Indigenous culture alongside Straits and Coast Salish communities. This pivotal experience inspired her to come to the unceded territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Nations in 2022, pursuing a BA in Indigenous and Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria.
Putting her love for the outdoors and community engagement into action, she became a regular volunteer with HAT, and eventually was hired as a seasonal field crew technician in 2024. When she’s not nerding out about plants she loves going to/in the ocean, cooking, and doing anything musical/creative. Fun facts: she has an affinity for snails and can do a mean loon call.
Hannah Hickli
Hannah has lived their life on the territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples and is of Romanian, Italian, and British descent. She has a degree in Biology from UVic, where she performed research on leafhopper ecology and genetics. She has spent her post-graduation years restoring Oak and Eucalypt savannah habitats and surveying the avifauna of Vancouver Island. This is their second season working on the HAT Field Crew, applying their passion for biodiversity conservation to removing invasives and making space for human and nonhuman inhabitants to thrive. You can probably find Hannah crouched over a bug, reading pulp sci-fi, biking to the beach, or birdwatching.
Welcome Chelsea, Lauren, Danika, and Hannah - we are so excited for the season ahead!