Our Team
John found their love for nature as a child, mucking about in the wetlands and forests of Northumberland County. John has over 15 years of experience as an ecologist and land manager. Their passion is reptiles, amphibians and species at risk. That is the specialty of Blazing Star Environmental although we perform a wide variety of ecological services. John founded Blazing Star Environmental in
John Urquhart M.Sc., EP
Principal
2015 to support individuals, organizations, and governments that endeavour to ensure a healthy environment is part of all aspects of growth in Ontario. John is the President of the Ontario Invasive Plant Council, Treasurer of the Canadian Herpetological Society, and is a member of Algonquin to Adirondacks Collaborative’s Road Ecology Committee. John is a lover of the outdoors, disc golf, ultimate frisbee, craft beer, and travel.
Katie Black, M.Sc.
Senior Ecologist
Katie has seven years of comprehensive field, laboratory, and report-writing experience in biology, with nearly four years of experience providing ecological consulting services for land development projects. Her main area of expertise is Environmental Impact Studies. Katie has worked in a variety of research settings, including technical laboratories, greenhouses, construction sites, and remote fly-in field sites. Katie’s background is predominantly in terrestrial ecology; she has
performed vegetation and wildlife surveys in a variety of natural and disturbed environments, including wetland, tundra, field, and forest environments. Katie is a certified Ontario Wetland Evaluator and has supported several land development projects requiring wetland delineation, evaluation, permitting, and compensation. Katie assists land development clients by applying her knowledge of the Endangered Species Act to projects that have the potential to interact with species at risk. She is also a Canadian Certified Inspector of Sediment and Erosion Control measures (CISEC #734) and a certified Butternut Health Assessor (BHA #731). In her spare time, Katie loves backcountry camping, cross-country skiing, teaching Zumba, gardening, and amateur beekeeping.
Siobhan Galway, B.E.S.
Terrestrial and Wetland Ecologist
Siobhan is an ecologist with over five years of experience in applied conservation and stewardship projects. Siobhan has extensive experience leading teams in the inventory, monitoring, and recovery of at-risk reptile species in the remote and rugged habitats of northern Ontario. She also specializes in integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with applied conservation initiatives. She coordinates
various projects that focus on Western Chorus Frog conservation. She also has experience evaluating natural heritage features, Ecological Land Classification, grant and report writing, mapping, educational outreach, and coordinating citizen science programs. She is also a certified Ontario Wetland Evaluator. In her spare time, Siobhan loves camping, hiking, dogsledding, woodworking, and surfing.
Kaitlyn Hall, B.E.S.
Species at Risk Ecologist
Kaitlyn has over eight years of experience in applied conservation and monitoring of species at risk. Kaitlyn specializes in the inventory, monitoring, and recovery of at-risk reptile species. She has extensive experience leading teams conducting fieldwork throughout Ontario. She has coordinated multiple projects for various clients and with varying target species. Her other specializations include GIS,
evaluating natural heritage features, species inventories, grant and report writing, Ecological Land Classification, and educational outreach. She is also a certified Ontario Wetland Evaluator. In her spare time, Kaitlyn loves camping, canoeing, and snowboarding.
Cayla Darling B.Sc.
Species at Risk Ecologist
Cayla has over three years of experience in the environmental field in restoration, invasive species management, Species-at-Risk and vegetation monitoring, and GIS analysis. Cayla is an Certified Ontario Wetland Evaluator and has completed several delineations with Blazing Star. She has experience in conducting Environmental Impact Studies and has coordinated several large-scale vegetation monitoring projects. In her spare time Cayla likes to hike, camp, kayak, and curl up with a good book.