UNB Forestry and Environmental Management

Fall 2026 Undergraduate ForEM Course Highlights!

📚 Looking to build your schedule for the upcoming semester? Need an elective and don’t know what to add? 🌲🌎

Your next favourite course might be waiting for you! Swipe through to check them out ➡️

🌿 ENVM 1001: Professional skills in Forestry & Environmental Management

Learn the professional basics in clear and effective organization, communication, problem solving, and time management. This course sets up students for professional success – setting you up with all the skills necessary to secure a summer job.

📈ENVM 2101: Ecosystem Valuation

Previously titled Environmental Economics, this core focus is on advanced applications of economic analysis to the use and preservation of natural resources, including water, air, land, and renewable energy. Students will explore in-depth topics such as carbon accounting, market mechanisms for environmental management, and the economic impacts of climate change.

📙ENVM 3000: Indigenous Perspectives in Natural Resource Stewardship

This course introduces students to Indigenous culture, knowledge and worldviews as these relate to both Indigenous and western traditions of natural resource management. The course will cover Indigenous understandings of relationships with nature and basic introduction to institutional and policy issues.

💧ENVM 4111: Applied Aquatic Science Techniques

Gain knowledge in techniques used commonly in aquatic science, getting practical experience in various sampling and analysis techniques, including: stream habitat characterization, water quality and quantity assessment, macroinvertebrate collections, and laboratory methods for sample preparation and analysis. This course does have pre-requisites.

Interested in any of these? Add them to your schedule via UNB course registration and make the most of your semester! 📚

Fall 2026 Undergraduate ForEM Course Highlights!

📚 Looking to build your schedule for the upcoming semester? Need an elective and don’t know what to add? 🌲🌎

Your next favourite course might be waiting for you! Swipe through to check them out ➡️

🌲 FOR 1001: Intro to Forestry & Environmental Management

Learn about New Brunswick's flora by learning to identify plan species, interpret characteristics, understand environmental requirements, and analyze site conditions! This course has a fun, interactive, outdoor lab component that takes place at the UNB Forest (transportation included).

🌎 FOR 2281: Introduction to GIS for Forestry & Environmental Management

This course introduces students to core geographic information system (GIS) terminology, tools and workflows using practical examples before proceeding to more advanced spatial analysis techniques. Material is presented in an online platform, with lab-based tutorial sessions and assumes no prior GIS knowledge.

📜 ENVM 3010: Natural Resource Law & Policy

Discover how environmental laws shape decisions that impact our land, water, forests, and future. Explore the policies and regulatory frameworks that guide natural resource management across local and global scales, and gain insight into the legal foundations behind today's environmental challenges.

Interested in any of these? Add them to your schedule via UNB course registration and make the most of your semester! 📚

Fall 2026 Graduate ForEM Course Highlights!

📚 Looking to build your schedule for the upcoming semester? Need an elective and don’t know what to add? 🌲🌎

Your next favorite course might be waiting for you! Swipe through to check them out ➡️

👥 ENVM 6001: Nature, Society, & Social Management

Lean to interpret the social aspects of the environment through analyses the "classics" of natural resource management. This course examines sustainability, resilience, growth, degrowth, and human relationships with environmental conditions.

📜 ENVM 6010: Environmental Law

Discover how environmental laws shape decisions that impact our land, water, forests, and future. Explore the policies and regulatory frameworks that guide natural resource management across local and global scales, and gain insight into the legal foundations behind today's environmental challenges.

📈 ENVM 6101: Environmental Economics

The core focus is on advanced applications of economic analysis to the use and preservation of natural resources, including water, air, land, and renewable energy. Students will explore in-depth topics such as carbon accounting, market mechanisms for environmental management, and the economic impacts of climate change.

🌎 FOR 6281: GIS Applications in Forestry & Environmental Management

This course introduces students to core geographic information system (GIS) terminology, tools and workflows using practical examples before proceeding to more advanced spatial analysis techniques. Material is presented in an online platform, with lab-based tutorial sessions and assumes no prior GIS knowledge.

Interested in any of these? Add them to your schedule via UNB course registration and make the most of your semester! 📚

MSc in Forestry Oral Examination - Madison White

August 27, 2026 - 1PM (ADT)

FG202 & Teams (email [email protected] for MS Teams link)

Environmental Drivers of Plant Species Richness for the Restoration of Appalachian Hardwood Forests

Research Summary

The Appalachian Hardwood Forest (AHF) is a threatened forest community in western New Brunswick and eastern Maine, reduced to less than 1% of its original extent by land clearing. We examined environmental drivers of herbaceous species richness across 145 plots at 19 sites in western New Brunswick and developed a rapid assessment tool to support AHF restoration. Herbaceous richness was most strongly associated with soil pH, overstory composition, and basal area, increasing with soil pH and rich temperate hardwood and balsam fir composition, but decreasing with overstory and understory basal area. These findings identify key conditions supporting diverse AHF communities and inform restoration and recovery assessment.

Chaired By Dr. Chris Wong, ForEM

Examiners:

Jae Ogilvie, ForEM
Dr. Mark Sherrard, UNB Biology

Supervisory Committee:

Dr. Graham Forbes, Supervisor, ForEM
Dr. Loic D'Orangeville, Co-Supervisor, Université Laval
Dr. Rafaella Mayrinck, ForEM

MSc Forestry Engineering Oral Examination ~ Sima Heshmati

August 26, 2026 - 10AM (ADT)

F202 & Teams (email [email protected] for MS Teams link)

Assessment of Esterified Wood and its Structural Application

Research Summary

Wood is hygroscopic, causing dimensional instability under changing environmental conditions. This study evaluated whey ultrafiltration permeate (WUFP) and citric acid (CA) as a bio-based polyesterification treatment for trembling aspen and black spruce, including their use in three-layer glulam. The treatment improved dimensional stability and modulus of elasticity, with anti-swelling efficiency reaching 41.62% in aspen and 30.58% in spruce. However, modulus of rupture and glulam bending strength generally decreased. While block shear strength met CSA O122 requirements, most specimens failed the delamination criterion. Overall, WUFP-CA shows potential for improving wood stability and stiffness, but bonding performance requires further optimization.

Chair: Dr. Graham Forbes, ForEM Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies

Examiners:
Dr. Clodualdo Aranas, UNB Mechanical Engineering, Internal Examiner
Dr. Ling Li, U of Maine, ForEM Adjunct, External Examiner

Supervisory Committee:
Dr. Meng Gong, ForEM Supervisor
Dr. Alireza Kaboorani, Red River College, ForEM Adjunct
Dr. Zhibin (Ben) He, UNB Chemical Engineering

Big news: We're launching a new stream of our Master of Forestry program - Digital Forestry (MF-DF) - with its inaugural cohort starting in Fall 2026.🌲📡

Today's forests are studied through LiDAR scans, drone/satellite imagery, and huge inventory databases, alongside traditional fieldwork. This program is designed to give forestry graduates (or equivalent) the machine learning, computer vision, and geospatial analysis skills to work confidently with both.

No computer science degree required. No supervisor needed to apply. Just curiosity and a bit of Python (and we'll help with that part!).

In this 12-month program, students will complete two terms of graduate-level courses in GIS, remote sensing and analytics. This is capped by summer term consisting of an applied, team-based practicum on a live forestry problem with an external partner.

🔗https://forem.ext.unb.ca/digital-forestry.html

Master of Science in Forestry Oral Examination - Daniel Snow
Friday, August 21, 2026 - 10AM

FG202 & Teams (email [email protected] for MS Teams link)

Modelling and Mapping Likely Soil Rutting Occurrences in Forest Cutblocks

This thesis assesses where ruts are likely to occur during in-field forest operations. High-resolution surface images across New Brunswick (NB) were used to identify 1,500 locations where ruts had (1) and had not (0) occurred along one-track passes in recent harvest blocks. Using the NB-wide 1 m digital elevation model (DEM), each location was assigned depth-to-water (DTW), topographic position index (TPI), slope, curvature, terrain wetness index (TWI), and soil type.

Chaired by: Dr. Graham Forbes, ForEM Assistant Dean Graduate Studies

Examiners:

Dr. Charles Bourque, ForEM, Internal Examiner
Dr. John Spray, UNB Geology, External Examiner

Supervisory Committee:

Dr. Paul Arp, Supervisor, ForEM
Jae Ogilvie, ForEM
Dr. Fan-Rui Meng, ForEM

UNB ForEM Professor Dr. Anthony Taylor was interviewed by CBC News on the fate of the balsam fir amid New Brunswick's changing climate. 🌡🌲

"What we know for sure is that warm, dry conditions like the drought that we experienced last year, it has a negative impact on the ability of balsam fir to grow," said Dr. Taylor.

"We're not mitigating climate change fast enough. And so as a consequence, these are the sorts of things that we're going to continue to see."

🗞 Read Here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/balsam-fir-drought-9.7304912

📻 Listen Here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-83-shift-nb/clip/16231713-balsam-drought

📻

MSc in Environmental Management Oral Examination ~ Cassidy Bernard
August 14, 2026 - 10AM (ADT)

FG202 & Teams (email [email protected] for MS Teams link)

An Assessment of Age Validation in Slimy Sculpin (Cottus cognatus) Using
Microchemistry and Traditional Aging Techniques

Research Summary

Accurate age estimation is essential for understanding fish populations and assessing environmental change. Cassidy Bernard's research focuses on Slimy Sculpin (Cottus cognatus), a small freshwater fish widely used as a sentinel species in Canadian Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) programs. This study examined how water temperature influences Slimy Sculpin growth across the Nashwaak River watershed and explored whether otolith microchemistry could improve age estimation compared to traditional aging methods. By analyzing chemical signatures preserved in fish otoliths ("ear stones"), the research identified seasonal patterns that can help estimate age with greater precision. The findings show that while temperature plays an important role in fish growth, other ecological factors also influence differences among sites. The study further demonstrates that otolith microchemistry has strong potential as a reliable aging tool for younger fish, providing a promising new approach for improving environmental monitoring and fisheries research.

Chaired By: Dr. Anthony Taylor, UNB ForEM

Examiners:
Dr. Graham Forbes, UNB ForEM, Internal Examiner
Dr. Derek Hogan, DFO Canada, UNB ForEM Adjunct, External Examiner

Supervisor:
Dr. Michelle Gray, UNB ForEM

PhD Oral Examination - Robert Vaughn
10AM (ADT) August 12, 2026 - MS Teams

Physiological Responses to Warming in Acadian Forest Region Conifers and Their Implications for Forest Modelling Under Climate Change

Research Summary

As climate change continues to reshape forest ecosystems, understanding how tree species respond to warming temperatures is critical for predicting the future of Canada's forests. Robert Vaughn's research examined how key conifer species in the Acadian Forest Region respond to increasing temperatures and atmospheric dryness, and how these responses can improve forest modelling under climate change. Through controlled warming experiments and advanced forest modelling, this study found that tree species differ substantially in their ability to tolerate heat stress. Some species, such as eastern hemlock and balsam fir, were more sensitive to warming, while others demonstrated greater resilience. The research also revealed important physiological differences between balsam fir and white spruce, two species often treated similarly in forest models, showing that they respond to warming in markedly different ways. By incorporating species-specific physiological data into forest simulation models, this work improves our ability to predict forest growth, productivity, and resilience under future climate conditions. These findings provide valuable insights for forest managers, researchers, and policymakers working to prepare Canada's forests for a warming world.

Chaired by: Dr. Kevin Englehart, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies

Examiners:
Dr. Robert Buchkowski, Biology, Western University
Dr. Paul Arp, Forestry & Environmental Management, UNB
Dr. Mark Sherrard, Biology, UNB
Dr. Steeve Pépin Plant Research and Innovation Centre, Université Laval

Supervisor :
Dr. Anthony Taylor, Forestry & Environmental Management

Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/266586163011866?p=2hVKraCjTyfxs2Pq2G