Consistency was key for 2022 Governor General's Academic Medal recipient Jana Teefy.

“I knew I did well in school. I didn't realize I had done that well. It's a huge honour to receive it. The award validates my hard work and sacrifices over the last two years. I'd credit my success to consistency and prioritizing my assignments,” Teefy says, earning the highest average in a Lakeland College Vermilion campus program.

Now you'll find the Class of 2022 wildlife and fisheries conservation (WFC) graduate working as an assistant biologist at the Beaverhill Bird Observatory (BBO) in Tofield, Alta. Established in 1984, the BBO is Canada's second-oldest migration monitoring observatory.

“This is my dream job mostly because of the job itself, but also because of the people. I get to wake up and be in nature, surrounded by what I am passionate about (birds), all the while working with incredible people who are knowledgeable, encouraging, and accepting. I'm not much of a morning person, but being able to witness the gorgeous prairie sunrises daily makes getting up so early worthwhile. I enjoy the variability in the job, bird banding is the priority, but there are so many other projects on the go that it's not the same every day,” says Teefy.

Teefy's relationship with BBO started through volunteering in 2018, inspiring her to return to school. During the summer of 2021, she worked as a field technician for BBO in between the first and second year of taking Lakeland's environmental sciences diploma.

“When I worked there last summer, I think I used every single course from the program. Lakeland set me up to be able to do these procedures, surveys and the writing skills necessary for the job.”

As an assistant biologist, Teefy starts her day before sunrise catching birds on mist nets and then for the following six hours, she runs standardized daily censuses of every bird she sees or hears and writes weekly, monthly, and seasonal reports as well mentors interns. She also helps run educational programs, events, guided hikes, and nature walks and maintains positive relationships with regular BBO visitors.

“Additionally, we run breeding bird surveys, nest sweeps, marshland surveys, vegetation surveys, and forest succession analysis.”

In the coming weeks with the BBO team, Teefy says she will be banding tree swallow, purple martin, and mountain bluebird nestlings in their nest box breeding grids. There are 300 tree swallow nest boxes alone.

“With all that, you can see why my education at Lakeland was vital for the role.”

In the wildlife and fisheries conservation major, Teefy studied animal and plant biology and ecology, at-risk species conservation, conserving and enhancing habitat, game and harvest management and wildlife diseases.

On top of making connections and learning from passionate instructors, other highlights of Teefy's Lakeland experience included the annual environmental sciences Field Week, during which students have real-world learning experiences studying plants, animals, water and soils and learning about the industry. She also was instrumental in rescuing a Rough-legged Hawk after a retrieval request came in from the Alberta Society for Injured Birds of Prey.

“My volunteer experience inspired me to return to school, and Lakeland provided me with the experience I needed.”

Photos: Top - Wildlife and fisheries conservation graduate, Jana Teefy, accepts the 2022 Governor General's Academic Medal from Adam Waterman, chair for Lakeland College Board of Governors. Bottom- Jana Teefy, wildlife and fisheries conservation, rescued a Rough-legged Hawk.