Josée Méthot
Degrees Received
B.Sc. (First Class Honours) in Environmental Science – 2008 – University of Calgary. Advisor: Mary Reid
Current position
M.Sc. Candidate – Department of Natural Resource Sciences – McGill University. Advisors: Elena Bennett and Nicolas Kosoy.
Research interests
I am fascinated by ways of thinking that approach complex problems from more than one angle. My research is interdisciplinary by design; it is fundamentally about blending natural science and social science methods to produce meaningful, hopefully useful, scientific results.
My research is based in the dry corridor of Guatemala where the food security of the rural poor is a major concern. Food security is sensitive to changes in ecosystem services and different agricultural production systems influence ecosystem services in different ways. For my thesis, I am investigating how agricultural food production systems in the dry corridor differ in their abilities to support a variety of ecosystem services and how this might be linked to local food security. Considering trade-offs between food production systems is a prerequisite for developing food security policies with the potential to deliver a stable supply of ecosystem services to rural Guatemalans living in the dry corridor.
I have spent time bushwhacking through the forests of western Canada while researching the distribution of Mountain Pine Beetles. I later spent time in the halls of my local government office, helping to design and implement environmental policies related to biofuels and climate change while reporting on the state of the local environment. I emerged from these experiences with a desire to conduct research that can be useful for community decision-making.
Selected Presentations (*presented by)
Reid, M.L.* and J. Méthot. Influence of Forest Stand Structure on the Distribution of Mountain Pine Beetles. SERG International annual meeting, Winnipeg, February 2009.
Reid, M.L.* and J. Méthot. Bark beetles over the edge. Western Forest Insect Work Conference, Spokane WA. March 2009.
J. Méthot*. Bark beetles on the edge: distribution around thinned and clearcut boundaries. 16th Annual Alberta and British Columbia Intermountain Forest Health Workshop, Kamloops, BC. April 2008.
J. Méthot*. Mountain Pine Beetles on the edge: distribution across thinned and clearcut boundaries. Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of Alberta, Olds, AB. October 2007.
Selected Awards
NSERC: Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (Masters) – 2010–2011
Louise McKinney Scholarship, Alberta Scholarship Program, 2008
John D. Petrie Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship, 2008
Other interests
Playing outside (hiking, biking, paddling), experimental ‘cuisine’, learning languages, yoga, communication mediums, community building.
Contact information
josee dot methot at mail dot mcgill dot ca
B.Sc. (First Class Honours) in Environmental Science – 2008 – University of Calgary. Advisor: Mary Reid
Current position
M.Sc. Candidate – Department of Natural Resource Sciences – McGill University. Advisors: Elena Bennett and Nicolas Kosoy.
Research interests
I am fascinated by ways of thinking that approach complex problems from more than one angle. My research is interdisciplinary by design; it is fundamentally about blending natural science and social science methods to produce meaningful, hopefully useful, scientific results.
My research is based in the dry corridor of Guatemala where the food security of the rural poor is a major concern. Food security is sensitive to changes in ecosystem services and different agricultural production systems influence ecosystem services in different ways. For my thesis, I am investigating how agricultural food production systems in the dry corridor differ in their abilities to support a variety of ecosystem services and how this might be linked to local food security. Considering trade-offs between food production systems is a prerequisite for developing food security policies with the potential to deliver a stable supply of ecosystem services to rural Guatemalans living in the dry corridor.
I have spent time bushwhacking through the forests of western Canada while researching the distribution of Mountain Pine Beetles. I later spent time in the halls of my local government office, helping to design and implement environmental policies related to biofuels and climate change while reporting on the state of the local environment. I emerged from these experiences with a desire to conduct research that can be useful for community decision-making.
Selected Presentations (*presented by)
Reid, M.L.* and J. Méthot. Influence of Forest Stand Structure on the Distribution of Mountain Pine Beetles. SERG International annual meeting, Winnipeg, February 2009.
Reid, M.L.* and J. Méthot. Bark beetles over the edge. Western Forest Insect Work Conference, Spokane WA. March 2009.
J. Méthot*. Bark beetles on the edge: distribution around thinned and clearcut boundaries. 16th Annual Alberta and British Columbia Intermountain Forest Health Workshop, Kamloops, BC. April 2008.
J. Méthot*. Mountain Pine Beetles on the edge: distribution across thinned and clearcut boundaries. Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of Alberta, Olds, AB. October 2007.
Selected Awards
NSERC: Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (Masters) – 2010–2011
Louise McKinney Scholarship, Alberta Scholarship Program, 2008
John D. Petrie Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship, 2008
Other interests
Playing outside (hiking, biking, paddling), experimental ‘cuisine’, learning languages, yoga, communication mediums, community building.
Contact information
josee dot methot at mail dot mcgill dot ca