Greetings! My name is Krystal and I was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, the homelands of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta'an Kwäch'än Council. My family arrived in the Yukon in the 60s and 80s and I have Swiss, German, and French heritage. After high school, I studied natural resource management and explored several different environment-related jobs. It took me almost 10 years to realize I love plants! I’m not sure why it took so long, both sides of my family were farmers for many generations.

I decided to pursue a career dedicated to plants and completed an MSc in Plant Science in 2016. After I graduated, I established FloraTek Consulting and work for industrial, First Nation and other government clients, providing technical and training services in applied plant ecology. In 2022, I moved to the Traditional Territory of the Kaska Dena and am based out of Watson Lake.

In my work on mine revegetation projects, I’m constantly struck by how diverse the visions of project success are both within the teams I work with and within the nearby communities. How can revegetation outcomes meet local expectations if we don’t have a shared vision of what we’re trying to achieve?

I’ve turned to research to better understand what mine reclamation success means to Yukoners and how reclamation failure continues to occur despite increased knowledge and regulation. I’m in the late stages of a PhD in Land Reclamation and you can learn more about this research here.

When not nerding out on plants, l enjoy hiking, canoeing, cross-country skiing, and knitting the occasional sweater.