Announcing our final Winter Environmental Conference co-speakers: Britney Bourdages & Matt Windle
Britney and Matt will talk about the 10 year anniversary of the FINS (Fish Identification Nearshore Survey) Project, a collaboration between the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and the River Institute.
Britney Bourdages is an Environmental Project Coordinator at the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne where she leads projects focusing on aquatic species and water quality, and coordinates the Remedial Action Plan for the northern portion of Akwesasne. She graduated from St. Lawrence College in Cornwall, Ontario, with an Environmental Technician Diploma, an Entry Level Drinking Water Operator Certificate, and an OBBN (Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network) Certification and has since received other training and certifications including ROM Fish Identification and Ontario Wetland Evaluation Systems. Britney is experienced in species identification and various monitoring practices that help inform aquatic sciences and research in Akwesasne and brings a broad understanding of the surrounding watersheds and their potential implications on shoreline health to her work, including the Akwesasne chapter of the Fish Identification Nearshore Survey (FINS) Project.
Matt Windle is a Research Scientist and Program Lead of Research and Technical Services at the River Institute. Matt leads research projects focusing on the ecological health of the St. Lawrence River, including studies of fish communities, contaminants in sediment and fish, eutrophication, habitat restoration, impacts of water level management, coastal wetlands, and the use of new emerging tools such as environmental DNA and drones. A meaningful part of his work has been partnering with Indigenous organizations to support environmental goals, collaborating with researchers from universities and government agencies, and communicating science to the public. He is a member of the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Adaptive Management Committee’s Ecosystem Technical Team and has been involved with Phase 2 of the Plan 2014 expedited review. Matt also leads instruction for several courses in the Environmental Technician Program at St. Lawrence College in Cornwall, focused on freshwater ecology and geographic information systems technology. Originally hailing from northern Canada, Matt received his B.Sc. in Environment Science from Queen’s University and his M.Sc. in Biology from Memorial University in Newfoundland.
Tickets to the 36th Annual Winter Environmental Conference can be purchased here. Thank you to our 2025 WEC Sponsors for making this event possible once again!