Growing up in a rural setting in southern Ontario gave Julie plenty of opportunity to explore the outdoors, having woodlots and fields to wander in. College brought her a diploma in Veterinary Technology but it also gave her friends who introduced her to silviculture. She was able to further her wanderings across Canada, by planting trees in the western provinces and running a brush saw on the east coast. Along the way, she nurtured a love of art and photography.
The photography took a backseat to painting for a number of years, soon followed by marriage and raising two babies, but by 2019 the bug had bit again - hard. Fortunately, she now lives close to park land and trails that run along the Grand River. Exploring this local area means she gets to continue wandering and using her camera to capture its simple beauty.
Living in southern Ontario means a lot of the areas that wildlife call home are affected by humans, either directly or indirectly. Julie loves to highlight species that have found ways to adapt and thrive, but also photographs the ones who are quietly declining in habitats that are under pressure and rapidly disappearing. She is a member of Conservation Canada, a group of passionate photographers who auction prints online to raise funds for wildlife conservation organizations.
By day, Julie works in her city's horticulture department, using her love of the outdoors to help residents enjoy their beautiful parks and gardens. She is working towards a diploma in Horticulture from the University of Guelph's School of Continuing Studies, and is passionate about learning more about the benefits of native plants, the unfortunate introduction of many invasive species through horticulture, and how we can make an ecological impact in our own gardens.
