Coastal Habitats Hub

Menu

OUR TEAM & PARTNERS

About Us

The Coastal Habitats Learning and Knowledge Hub

The Coastal Habitats Learning and Knowledge Hub is a partnership between  WWF-Canada, the Hakai Institute, the RAD Network, the University of Victoria’s Blue Carbon Canada program, and McGill University’s Ecoflux Lab. The Hub builds on existing networks and initiatives to strengthen coordination, reduce fragmentation, and ensure that knowledge is accessible and actionable.

Supported in part by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) through the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund, we are one of multiple hubs working to scale up nature-based climate solutions across Canada. Other ecosystem-based hubs include:

Grasslands Learning and Knowledge Hub

Led by the University of Alberta

The Mother Tree Project & Program

Led by the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Stewardship

Forest Futures Canada

Led by the University of Ottawa’s Smart Prosperity Institute

There are also two Indigenous-led hubs:

Two-Eyed Seeing Co-Learning Hub

Led by the Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources

Indigenous Learning and Knowledge Hub

Led by the Restore Assert Defend Network

These hubs act as important partners and connectors

 

The Coastal Habitats Hub Team

World Wildlife Fund Canada

WWF-Canada provides leadership and coordination for the Coastal Habitats Hub. This includes supporting coastal restoration, stewardship, and advancing knowledge mobilization through training, webinars, workshops and other knowledge exchange events.

The Hakai Institute

The Hakai Institute brings their expertise in science translation, monitoring, and technical capacity building to the Hub. Hakai is supporting the development of the Web Hub and advancing tools and training to help practitioners apply coastal NbCS in practice. 

Blue Carbon Canada

Led by the University of Victoria, this NSERC Alliance research program is working to evaluate how Canada’s oceans can support natural climate solutions and strengthen ocean carbon accounting. The project is endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade (GO-BC programme) and provides much-needed national and regional assessments of blue carbon ecosystems.

The Ecoflux Lab

McGill University’s EcoFlux Lab explores the physical, biological and chemical processes that control trace gas, water, and energy fluxes between land surface and the atmosphere. Through the use of flux towers, they are working to quantify and model net carbon of tidal wetlands. 

Restore Assert Defend (RAD) Network

The RAD Network is excited to partner with the Coastal Habitats Hub to co-create pathways for collaboration that centre Ethical Space and elevate Indigenous voices, worldviews, laws, and research priorities. RAD also connects other ECCC-funded hubs, as well as with the Etuaptmumk Knowledge Hub.

faces of the Hub

Introducing the people behind the Coastal Habitats Hub

Marianne Fish

Marianne Fish

World Wildlife Fund Canada
Marianne co-leads the Coastal Habitats Hub, guiding its direction and supporting national coordination. She is a coastal ecosystems senior specialist with WWF-Canada and holds a PhD in environmental sciences. Her areas of expertise include marine and coastal adaptation, and capacity-building through knowledge exchange and outreach.
Margot Hessing-Lewis

Margot Hessing-Lewis

Hakai Institute
Margot is also a co-lead of the Hub and a marine ecologist with the Hakai Institute’s Nearshore group. She holds an adjunct professor appointment with the University of British Columbia and her work focuses on nearshore habitats. Margot works to guide the direction of the Hub, contextualize research to inform hub priorities, link networks, and connect practitioners across the coastal community.
Julia Baum

Julia Baum

Blue Carbon Canada, University of Victoria
Julia is the principal investigator of Blue Carbon Canada, providing the scientific direction of the national program. She holds many advisory positions, including as Special Advisor Climate for the University of Victoria. Her research focuses on climate change impacts in the ocean and natural climate solutions, and she is a Lead Author for the IPCC’s forthcoming Methodology Report on carbon management techniques.
Sara Knox

Sara Knox

EcoFlux Lab, McGill University
Sara is a co-PI of Blue Carbon Canada, an associate professor at McGill University, and leads the EcoFlux Lab. Her research focuses on how greenhouse gases, water, and energy move between land and the atmosphere, with a current focus on wetland ecosystems. She works to better understand land-climate feedbacks and support practical climate action.
Darcy Riddell

Darcy Riddell

RAD Network
Darcy is the Strategy & Partnerships Director for the RAD Network. Her work focuses on convening, transformative learning, multi-stakeholder engagement, policy advocacy, and scaling innovation to advance justice and protect nature. She brings experience with environmental initiatives, philanthropy, Indigenous-led organizations, and holds a PhD in social-ecological systems.
Erin Dixon

Erin Dixon

RAD Network
Erin is the Wise Practices Director for the RAD Network. Her work focuses on Indigenous leadership, community and collective leadership, and bridging different worlds and ways of knowing. She is also lead faculty in Indigenous Leadership at the Banff Centre and an associate professor with Royal Roads University, alongside several other leadership and community roles.
Hannah Solway

Hannah Solway

Hakai Institute
Hannah leads the National Kelp Ecosystem Learning and Practice Alliance (NKELPA) through the Coastal Habitats Hub. She has supported the initiative from its early stages through stakeholder engagement, steering committee facilitation, and the development of knowledge tools. With a background in conservation and science communication, her current focus is advancing NKELPA’s State of Knowledge, coordinating regional working groups, and supporting the translation of kelp science into conservation action.
Oriana Smy

Oriana Smy

University of British Columbia
Oriana leads the development of MONITR, a web-based application and mapping tool dedicated to collecting and sharing coastal monitoring metadata. Her work also focuses on tracking, collating, and synthesizing marine-related policies. She works closely with collaborators from UBC and the International Bioeconomy and Macroalgae Center at UC Berkeley. Oriana holds a master’s degree in anthropology from UBC, where her research focussed on marine plastic pollution and climate change in Mexico.
Jessica Currie

Jessica Currie

World Wildlife Fund Canada
Jessica Currie is a research manager and science advisor for WWF-Canada who provides strategic and technical leadership for conservation research initiatives. She leads and advises multidisciplinary research projects, translating complex scientific information into evidence-based guidance that informs conservation planning, policy, and decision-making.
Shannon Marshall

Shannon Marshall

World Wildlife Fund Canada
Shannon is a Knowledge Mobilization Specialist with WWF-Canada. She has supported the development and launch of the Hub through scoping, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge synthesis. She holds a dual master’s degree in science and international nature conservation with a background in applied research, field work, and science communication. She now focuses on building networks, developing hub activities, and collating tools and resources for coastal practitioners.

Funders

This project was undertaken with the financial support of:

Ce projet a été réalisé avec l'appui financier de :

 Environment and Climate Change Canada

–— CONTACT US

We'd love to hear from you

The Coastal Habitats Hub team includes WWF-Canada, the Hakai Institute, the RAD Network, the EcoFlux Lab at McGill University, and the University of Victoria’s Blue Carbon Canada Program.

The Coastal Habitats Hub is funded in part by Environment and Climate Change Canada.