My research involves studying the physiology and production management of apples, cider apples, peaches, pears, and cherries. As with any agricultural crop, the industry is rapidly changing with the availability of new cultivars, rootstocks, production systems, and labour saving technology.
I am engaged in questions of applied landscape ecology in rural and agricultural landscapes, including changes in landscape patterns and the consequences of those changes on biodiversity, water quality, and culture.
My research interests include parent-child relationships, child development, early childhood education and care, child and family well-being, family relations, various aspects of work-life integration (as well as school-life or school-work-life integration), and the experiences of non-traditional students in formal post-secondary education, in particular mature students and student parents.
I am fascinated by rurally located places of destination...My students and I work towards understanding how physical design and planning can ameliorate negative impacts on these rural environments.
In the context of global challenges, I work in the area on communication and information for agricultural innovation and community economic development. I lead the Regional and Rural Broadband (R2B2) project.
My research looks at scales of local genetic adaptation to exotic Predators by Prey with high and low dispersal potential as well as ecological genomics and local adaptation of wild and aquacultural populations of Canadian Atlantic salmon.
