Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird...it’s a plane...NO it’s Keith Christmas! Skydiving is just one of the things Keith has tried over the years, but nowadays he likes to keep his feet firmly on the ground. During his time off from his work as UINR’s Unama’ki Guardian Program Liaison Coordinator, you can find him camping with his family, enjoying a round of golf or bowling. He holds the house bowling record in Sydney and, he is quick to mention, afterwards they tore the bowling alley down!

After working for almost 20 years as a Fisheries Guardian in Membertou, Keith was well prepared for his Guardian Coordinator role at UINR. Identifying opportunities for Guardians to participate in various science and research projects and arranging training for them, Keith has been busy in a diverse range of projects such as invasive species research, water quality monitoring, environmental remediation, salmon research and management planning.

Keith’s training includes a two-year Natural Resources program at CBU, a Leadership/Supervision program at Nova Scotia Community College and Aboriginal Fishery Guardian training with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

In his first year at UINR, Keith also worked on a wide range of projects including the smolt wheel in Middle River, Community Aquatic Monitoring Program (CAMP) in the Bras d’Or Lakes and the Canadian Biomonitoring Network Program (CABIN) in freshwater streams in Unama’ki. He also participated with Unama’ki communities and Guardians on Mi’kmaq Ecological Knowledge workshops on various fish species.

“The work environment at UINR is great. It is a pleasure to work directly with people I have been associated with for so long."