I’m Deb Wellwood.
I am a wildlife ecologist, naturalist, and carnivore specialist; science educator, writer, and blogger; adventurer; and cook.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to where the wild things are. Since 1990, I’ve tracked a trail of curiosity to learn lots about grizzly bears and black bears; for several years, I’ve delved into the realms of wolverines and fishers. I’ve been addressed as Wolverine Deb and The Bear Lady. To my logger friends, I was Little Bo-peep, in reference to mountain goats that I worked with. Interestingly, I didn’t get a fisher title. Maybe that’s because most people haven’t heard of them. The more I learn about the critters that I work with, the more questions I have about them, our interactions with them, and our effects on them.
I live in Smithers, a tiny community nestled in the beautiful Bulkley Valley, northwestern British Columbia. My consulting company is Raven Ecological Services (est. 1999). Most of my work has been in northern and coastal B.C. and northern and southern Yukon; I have also done some work in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
I thrive when I’m travelling on the land and along waterways, whether bushwhacking through old growth devil’s club forest or doing the cotton grass shuffle out over treeless arctic tundra; ocean paddling or whitewater rafting; working or recreating.
So why blog?
I’m a social media neophyte and I’m never bored. Yet, here I am blogging about wildlife, adventures, and food. To me, they all provide a means of connecting and exploring fundamental elements of communities and ecosystems, and the interconnectedness between them. I want to celebrate and share my passions with others. In this sense, my blog is about the journey.
I am also interested in how we go about resolving complex and challenging problems that negatively affect our communities and the ecosystems that sustain us. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about unsustainable use of natural resources, loss of biodiversity, and climate change. Again, the more I learn the more questions I have. In this sense, my blog is also about the conversation.
Success for me is when inspired readers are out there connecting and exploring within their communities and the ecosystems that sustain them.
I am looking forward to the journey and the conversation.
For more about me see my post Time for an Introduction…
For more about my blog see my Home Page.