Hi! I’m Carolyn, the owner, ruler, caretaker etc. of this blog.
I study soil. I’m currently working towards my PhD at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia studying the effect of no-till green manure termination on soil health. I have a certified organic field here in Truro, Nova Scotia where I do my research. I’m working with Dr. Derek Lynch and am collaborating with Dr. Martin Entz at the University of Manitoba where I have a second field location.
I received my Master of Science in Botany in 2008 from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. I worked with Dr. Roy Turkington and my work there looked at the impact of plant functional group removal on the composition of the soil microbial communities. I did this research on a beautiful grassland in the Yukon Territory.
I completed my undergraduate degree at Acadia University in Biology in 2005. I did an Honours thesis with Dr. Ed Reekie on the effect of insect herbivory on plant fitness under elevated CO2.
You can find links to the publications from my Masters and Honours work under Publications.
I grew up in Nova Scotia,Canada. While I was living in Vancouver going to UBC I met my husband who also happened to be from Nova Scotia. We spent a year living in Melbourne, Australia and travelling around before coming back to Nova Scotia. Once we were back home I worked with Dr. Lynch as a research assistant for a while before deciding he would make a great PhD supervisor. My husband and I have two great sons and live in Truro, Nova Scotia, where Dalhousie’s agricultural campus is located.
When I’m not engrossed in a soil sample or hanging with my family I can also be found curling or playing ultimate frisbee.