Engagement
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TV
15 September 2025: CTV Your Morning.
November 2022: Can we survive an insect crisis?
The Agenda, TVO.
Radio
5 August 2025: Drought threatens monarch butterflies.
30 August 2023: Our monarch-climate change experiment.
CBC Ottawa morning.29 August 2023: Impact des feux de forêt sur la faune canadienne. L’actuel.
10 September 2022: Study investigates favoured fall menu of monarch butterflies.
In Town and Out, CBC Radio.21 July 2021: Why researchers are keeping tabs on European Common Blue butterfly.
CBC Ottawa Morning Radio show.
Print interviews
25 August 2025: Extreme summer weather could further endanger monarch butterflies, researchers fear.
23 August 2025: This hot summer is hard on more than your lawn — it's hurting food sources for monarch butterflies.
Winter 2024: Monarch butterfly research at Fletcher Wildlife Garden studies impacts of climate change. By Nandy Heule.
Ottawa-Field Naturalists' Club.19 July 2023: Ontario praying mantises are moving further north. What does it mean for insect decline?
Cottage Life.9 September 2022: Researchers probing the drinking habits of monarch butterflies that fuel an epic journey.
Ottawa Citizen.16 April 2018: Global warming is mixing up nature's dinner time, study says.
Associated Press.16 April 2018: 'Leads to a mismatch': Climate change may be putting the natural world out of synch.
The Canadian Press
Blogs
14 May 2024: 'Climate Rebels: Artist on the Frontlines of Change' challenges the status quo of climate crisis discussions.
The Charlatan.25 May 2023: Butterflies plant preferences may be changing- and in an unexpected direction.
Canadian Wildlife Federation.
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Articles
Advancing conservation: in the field with butterflies. By Lily Charles. The Nature Conservancy Canada Blog. 6 October 2025.
Climate change means we may have to learn to live with invasive species. By Heather Kharouba.
The Conversation Canada. 19 September 2024Restoration in a changing world. By Katherine Peel.
Ottawa-Field Naturalists' Club. 3 December 2023.Harnessing the power of practical science on climate. By Heather Kharouba. Hamilton Spectator. 7 July 2023.
Why is Canada's largest butterfly, the Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) moving northwards? By Hannah Keefe. Ontario Insects 28.2 June 2023.
Plain language summary for Foster et al. 2022. 10 October 2022
PDFChallenging the paradigm of non-native species. By Stephanie Rivest and Heather Kharouba
The Conversation Canada. 22 February 2023.The role of non-native nectar in the diet of Monarch butterflies. By Heather Kharouba
Wild Pollinators Partners. 2 February 2023.Does Hypena opulenta prefer DSV grown in the sun or does it thrive better on shade-grown plants? By Sharla Foster.
Trail and Landscape pg 170. Oct-Dec 2021.Short summary - Ottawa Field Naturalists Club. 7 October 2019:
Public talks
March 2025: Is there a role for non-native plants to support pollinators? Halton Region Master Gardener
February 2025: The role of non-native plants in butterfly communities. Lennox Addington Horticultural Society
10 May 2024: Bridging Science and Art.
Creative Continuum conference.
Rideau Rockcliffe CRC.8/9 May 2024: How does climate change influence insects and plants? What can we do to help mitigate those effects? Barrhaven Garden Club, Ottawa ON.
6 April 2024: Bridging Art and Science to Foster Biodiversity Conservation.
Sci_Art Symposium, Ottawa, ON.12-15 February 2024: Using biological traits to predict the rate of colonization of invasive plants in North America. Empowering Action.
19 September 2023: The role of non-native plants in butterfly communities.
North American Native Plant Society.17 August 2023: Insect conservation in a changing world. Butterflies in My Backyard Program Speaker Series, David Suzuki Foundation.
August 2023: Finding glimmers of hope in insect conservation in the face of climate change.
BIMBY speaker series.
David Suzuki Foundation.April 2023: A conversation with artist Valérie Chartrand about insect declines.
Mentoring Artists for Women's Art.
VideoJanuary 2023: Ontario Invasive Plant Council conference.
The role of non-native plants in the nectar diet of the monarch butterfly.
Heather KharoubaUsing invasion history to quantify equilibrium in over 250 invasive plant species in North America.
Maisy Roach-Krajewski (Authors: M. Roach-Krajewski, H. Kharouba, T. Smith)Reconstructing the 130-year history of dog-strangling vine in North America.
Tyler Smith (Authors: Sharla Foster, H. Kharouba, T. Smith)
November 2022: Toronto Entomologists' Association member's meeting.
March 2022: Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists member's meeting.
Nature Talk.
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In Conservation Biology (BIO 3115) and Ecosystem Ecology (BIO 3117), we are working with external groups (e.g., Office of Campus Sustainability, City of Ottawa) to provide them with recommendations for the most effective conservation solutions to (i) mitigate threats to flora and fauna; (ii) restore ecosystems. Stay tuned!
We believe the greatest impact arises when we break down barriers between silos and disciplines. Here are some examples of our impact.
Upcoming events
Artist-in-Residence Program: Online orientation + Q&A
17 December, noon–1pm EST
Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/YSSTD0W7S5e8q4z7HZqLmQ
Header image by Valérie Chartrand. Warming blooms (6 Oct 2024). A 3D printed model of an aster flower with microcapillary glass tubes, an instrument used to extract nectar from the flower.