Erica Oberndorfer

Cultural Botanist
Agriculture and Agrifoods Canada
Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador

Research

Oberndorfer, E. [PhD thesis, 2016] The shared stories of people and plants: Cultural and ecological relationships between people and plants in Makkovik, Nunatsiavut (Labrador, Canada). (Carleton University). (https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2016-11681)

For more context see:

• Makkovik People and Plants (Project page)
• Makkovik People and Plants (Facebook page)

Background

I was born in Hudson QC, and spent happy early years there and in the Laurentides. My undergraduate degree is a (Hons.) Bachelor of Arts and Science from McMaster University in Hamilton, which is also home to the Royal Botanical Gardens and where I had my introduction to field botany. My MSc (Saint Mary’s University, Halifax) with Dr Jeremy Lundholm looked at the plant ecology of coastal barrens in Nova Scotia. After my MSc, I was fortunate to do field work with the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre, and to work with Canadian Wildlife Service as an Aboriginal Liaison Biologist. I joined Dr Gita Ljubicic’s welcoming and supportive team as a PhD student in 2011, in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Carleton University, and graduated in 2016. From 2016-18, I was a postdoctoral fellow with the Labrador Institute. I now work as a Cultural Botanist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. I’ve been based in Goose Bay, Labrador—The Big Land—since 2012. 

I thank the many people and plants who have guided my learning through all these years.