Canadian Urban Forest Network

Dr. Adrina C. Bardekjian MFC, PhD

Director, Research and Engagement & CUFN Chair

Dr. Adrina C. Bardekjian is an urban forestry researcher, writer, and educator, and has contributed to urban forestry for almost 20 years. She has a Master of Forest Conservation from the University of Toronto, she received her PhD from York University, and completed her Postdoctoral research with the University of British Columbia. Her academic research focuses on the social aspects of arboriculture and urban forestry, specifically arborist perspectives towards identity and labour, and women’s participation, leadership, and gender equity. Dr. Bardekjian has a number of publications and is one of the editors the book, Urban Forests, Trees and Greenspace: A Political Ecology Perspective. She has produced short films to communicate her research to wide audiences including, Women Branching Out. More recently, Dr. Bardekjian, is co-creator of the monthly discussion series, Where Women Choose to Walk: Paths to Improving Cities and Nature. She is also an Adjunct Professor with Forestry, at the Institute of Forestry & Conservation, Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto. Dr. Bardekjian is the recipient of several awards including the Society of Municipal Arborists Award of Achievement and the International Society of Arboriculture’s Honourary Membership Award. In her role with Tree Canada, Dr. Bardekjian directs the Research and Engagement unit, and leads the development of various research collaborations and strategic initiatives with diverse partners, including the Canadian Urban Forest Network and national urban forest Conference.

Sima Yakir Feuer

Prairies Representative

Sima Yakir Feuer is an Urban Forester with the Province of Manitoba’s Department of Agriculture and Resource Development, Forestry and Peatlands Branch.  She graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a BSc. in Environmental Studies, the Vancouver Island University as a Forestry Technologist, and completed the University of Manitoba’s Arborists Training Course.  Sima brings a strong collaborative approach, which fosters teamwork and results in effective partnerships.  With over 20 years of experience in forestry and urban forestry, she is a founding Director on the board of the Manitoba Urban Forest Council and has chaired and been an active member on a number of boards and committees, including Trees Winnipeg, Manitoba Heritage Trees, Manitoba Envirothon, and Green Kids.

Nadia Pedley Chan

Pacific Representative

Manager, Trees and Landscape, Planning and Development Department, City of Surrey

Nadia Chan has worked in urban forestry for 20 years in municipal, consulting and non-profit settings. She is the Manager, Trees and Landscape with the City of Surrey’s Planning and Development Department. Nadia is currently on the executive of the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia and BCIT’s Forest and Natural Areas Management Program Advisory Committee. She is a past Director with the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture.

Anthony Daniel

Québec Representative

Anthony is a biologist who has been involved in urban forestry for 20 years. He has been working for the City of Montréal since 2005 for which he has held several positions: tree inspector, research adviser, and now planning adviser in the Urban Forest division of the City’s park department. In the past, Anthony has been a phytoprotection consultant in the Montréal area. One of his firms, Arthropodia, has won three prestigious prizes in the 2002 edition of the entrepreneurship Quebec contest. He is also co-author of a book on pesticide alternatives to fight against common garden pests, published in 2005. He now works on a program that aims to increase the City of Montréal’s canopy index to 25% by 2025. Since 2011, he has been involved in the city’s strategy to reduce the impacts of the emerald ash borer on its urban forest.

Dr. Danijela Puric-Mladenovic, PhD

CUFN Steering Committee Member

Danijela has a B.Sc.F and M.Sc. F (majors in Landscape architecture/ urban forestry)   from the University of Belgrade, Serbia, and a PhD from the Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto.  Danijela has been involved with a wide range of urban forestry research activities and applications at the Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, where is she holds a status of Assistant Professor (status only). Danijela has been involved in different aspects of urban forestry for over 25 years, from academic science and research, teaching,  developing practical applications to  working with community groups. Besides expertise in urban forestry, she has developed a proficiency in landscape and green system planning, dendrology, vegetation and spatial analysis, predictive modeling and mapping, application of GIS and remotely sensed techniques to forest management and mapping, and in  developing and implementing   urban forest innovatory and monitoring protocols.

Dr. Peter Duinker

Atlantic Representative

Peter Duinker was raised on farms in Ontario and then got degrees in agriculture (BScAgr, Guelph), forest ecology (MES, Dalhousie), and forest management (PhD, UNB). He held the Chair in Forest Management and Policy at Lakehead University during 1988-1998. He then became a Professor in the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University from 1998 to 2019. For ten of those years, he was the School’s Director. He is now Professor Emeritus at Dalhousie.

Peter taught and researched a wide range of themes, most of which deal with forests and environmental assessment. Peter got involved in urban-forest issues when, following Hurricane Juan, Halifax put together its Point Pleasant Park Restoration Task Force in fall 2003. He then joined the team preparing the Point Pleasant Park Comprehensive Plan to help with the forest sections. With his students and research assistants, Peter and city staff prepared Halifax’s first Urban Forest Master Plan in 2012. He continued his collaboration with the city until 2022 by providing ongoing monitoring and research in support of plan implementation. Peter’s investigations on urban forests, with his students, addressed diverse topics including citizens’ values, planning, conservation of urban old-growth, naturalization of urban forests, effects of sub-division development on urban-forest biodiversity, effects of climate change on urban forests, establishment of urban orchards, canopy development in urban greenspaces such as cemeteries and golf courses, and others.

At his home in downtown Halifax, Peter is gradually removing the Norway-maple canopy and replacing it with native species associated with Acadian old-growth forests. Peter shares a home with his wife Maggie and, when not chasing scholarly and consulting pursuits, enjoys home-brewing, choral-singing, cycle-touring, home-renovating, high-score golfing, and tree-hugging. With a cadre of junior colleagues, Peter runs a website for dissemination of urban-forest information to the public – www.halifaxtreeproject.com.

Allison Craig

Ontario Representative

Allison is an ISA Certified Arborist Municipal Specialist® and Registered Professional Forester in Training with over a decade of experience working in private consulting, municipal government, and the non-profit sector. She holds a Master of Forest Conservation from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Forestry where her research focused on emerald ash borer management in municipal parks. She is passionate about helping communities prepare for and respond to invasive species threats utilizing field data and science-based strategies. Currently, she leads a team of forestry consultants at BioForest, and oversees a variety of projects focused on invasive species management, urban forest assessment, and public engagement. Allison is also Chair of the Editorial Review Committee at City Trees Magazine. She was recognized by the Society of Municipal Arborists with the Award of Merit in 2022 for her contributions to municipal arboriculture and urban forestry.