I am a PhD candidate and Public Scholar co-supervised by Dr Lori Daniels (Tree-Ring Lab) and Dr Shannon Hagerman (Social-Ecological Systems Research Group). My research interests include community-based wildfire management and fire ecology, and my current research focussed on Indigenous wildfire recovery in British Columbia. In partnership with the Secwepemcúl’ecw Restoration and Stewardship Society and its member Secwépemc First Nations, I am documenting how these communities and their territories (in particular understory plant communities) are recovering from the 2017 ‘Elephant Hill’ wildfire and working to advance Indigenous leadership in wildfire management and restoration. Originally from Australia, I have close to a decade of professional work experience in ecological consulting, carbon forestry and sustainability education.

RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS

Dickson-Hoyle, S., Ignace, R.E., Ignace, M.B., Daniels, L.D., Hagerman, S.M. and Copes-Gerbitz, K. 2022. ‘Walking on two legs: a pathway of Indigenous restoration and reconciliation in fire-adapted landscapes’. Restoration Ecology. 30(4): e13566. Joint Special Feature on the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration with British Ecological Society journals.

Hoffman, K.M., Cardinal Christianson, A., Dickson-Hoyle, S., Copes-Gerbitz, K., Nikolakis, W., Diabo, D.A., McLeod, R., Michell, H.J., Al Mamun, A., Zahara, A., Mauro, N., Myers Ross, R. and Daniels, L. 2022. ‘The right to burn: barriers and opportunities for Indigenous-led fire stewardship in Canada’. FACETS 7(1): 464-481.

Copes-Gerbitz, K., Dickson-Hoyle, S., Ravensbergen, S., Hagerman, S.M., Daniels, L.D. and Coutu, J. 2022. ‘Community engagement with proactive wildfire management in British Columbia, Canada: perceptions, preferences, and barriers to action’. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. 5: 1-16. Special Issue: Fires in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI): An emerging global phenomenon threatening modern society.

Dickson-Hoyle, S., Beilin, R. and Reid, K. 2021. ‘A culture of burning: social-ecological memory, social learning and adaptation in Australian volunteer fire brigades’. Society and Natural Resources. 34(3): 311-330.

Ravensbergen, S., Copes-Gerbitz, K., Dickson-Hoyle, S., Hagerman, S.M. and Daniels, L.D. 2020. 'Community Views on Wildfire Risk and Preparedness in the Wildland-Urban Interface'. Report to the Union of BC Municipalities, First Nations’ Emergency Services Society, BC Community Forest Association and BC Wildfire Service. February 2020.

Dickson-Hoyle, S., Kovacevic, M., Cherbonnier, M. and Nicholas, K.A. 2018. 'Towards meaningful youth participation in science-policy processes: a case study of the Youth in Landscapes Initiative'. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 6(1): 67-83.