Kelp Nursery Technician: Field & Lab (Seasonal)

LIFT - Community Services; Powell River; On-site; CAD 33,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

LIFT - Community Services in Powell River, BC, seeks a Kelp Nursery Technician to work with the Tla’amin Nation Lands & Natural Resources Team. This seasonal field and lab role supports restoration and enhancement of bull kelp populations in Malaspina and Okeover Inlets.

You will perform daily lab and field tasks, collect water quality data, assist with GIS mapping, and participate in education activities for local schools and the community. Outdoor work, graded requirements apply.

Qualifications

• Grade 12 education minimum.
• 1-2 years’ experience in a similar role involving fieldwork, data collection, and reporting.
• A combination of education and experience will be considered.
• First Aid certification required or willingness to obtain.
• Willingness to undergo ongoing training, such as GIS mapping online course as required.
• Interest in Biology is an asset.
• Experience with computers, data entry, mapping and computer programming is an asset.
• Experience on the water with boats including knot tying is an asset.
• Valid Pleasure Craft Operators License is an asset.
• Valid BC Class 5 Driver’s License and acceptable driver’s abstract.
• Acceptable Police Information Check prior to employment.

Responsibilities

• Working in a team environment with a flexible schedule.
• Involved in a variety of daily hands-on tasks including some physical labour, washing buckets, bins and aquariums.
• Maintains vessel cleanliness and operational maintenance.
• Tasks requiring hand eye coordination involving daily microscope work and some office work including GIS mapping and data entry.
• Office Work – entry of daily nursery data into tablets and spreadsheets
• Office Work – Participate in online meetings and weekly webinars with other groups cultivating kelp
• Lab Work – daily and weekly tasks to maintain water filtration systems, wearing rubber boots, rain pants, wool socks, sweaters and toques to stay dry and warm in a cold room, followed by time spent in a warm room using a microscope or computer.
• Lab Work – Cleaning labware similar to washing dishes, cleaning aquaria and bins with hoses and scrub brushes, meticulously.
• Lab Work – Daily water quality monitoring, performing simple chemistry tests, keeping records.
• Lab Work-Contamination (diatoms and algae) identification and management
• Lab Work – Maintaining cultures, changing small measured amounts of seawater and replacing with fresh media.
• Field Work – Collection of kelp seed stock, by boat, setting up a mini workstation on a cooler in the field to process samples as they are collected.
• Field Work – Monitoring of kelp and water quality with scientific instruments and test kits, collecting data from temperature loggers, salinity and pH measuring instruments, using goPro cameras to collect images and video.
• Field Work – Data Collection
• Community Outreach – Participate in a couple of scheduled education activities for school children and the community
• Community Outreach – Opportunity to present your work at a regional conference
• The Tla’amin Nation Lands & Natural Resources Team is seeking a Kelp Nursery Technician to work alongside the Kelp Cultivation Specialist.
• This position will perform seasonal field and laboratory kelp nursery work to maintain and optimize macro algae cultures to support restoration and enhancement of bull kelp populations in Malaspina and Okeover Inlets.
• The working location will be Cannery Bay, Okeover Inlet. This position is an excellent opportunity to receive training and mentoring in the Lands and Natural Resources department.

Skills

Data entry

Independent work

Teamwork

Safety-conscious

Problem solving

Education

Grade 12 education

First Aid certification

Tools

GIS mapping

Microsoft Excel

Programming basics

Job description

LIFT - Community Services in Powell River, BC, seeks a Kelp Nursery Technician to work with the Tla’amin Nation Lands & Natural Resources Team. This seasonal field and lab role supports restoration and enhancement of bull kelp populations in Malaspina and Okeover Inlets.

You will perform daily lab and field tasks, collect water quality data, assist with GIS mapping, and participate in education activities for local schools and the community. Outdoor work, graded requirements apply.