Phil Harvey, Chair

Phil grew up in rural Nova Scotia exploring in the forest and hasn’t stopped since. With long time family ties to the Creston Valley, he now lives on a small farm in Lister with his wife and numerous horses and other animals. In between those times he has managed to gain education, work and volunteer experience that enables him to introduce to others the value of “getting out there”.

His initial education included a B. Eng. (Mining) degree from the Technical University of Nova Scotia (now part of Dalhousie University). Heading out west in the early 80s he accepted employment with Shell Canada as an engineer. Experience then included a secondment to the British Columbia government in Victoria and obtaining a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Calgary. Later he was employed as an executive with both public and private oil and gas companies headed up by J.C. Anderson. More recently he completed the core curriculum portion of the Certified Financial Planner program. He still retains his professional engineering (life membership) designation.

Phil’s volunteer experience includes involvement with the The Alpine Club of Canada, Cochrane Search & Rescue, minor hockey, not-for-profit boards and major fund raising by university alumni. He believes that the Discovery Centre has a key role to play in Creston Valley eco-tourism and environmental education for many decades to come.

Jim Kuemper, Vice Chair

I was born in the small farming community of Humbolt Sask. and a the age of 5, our family moved to Calgary. I remained in Calgary, married my wife Michele, we raised 3 children and currently have 6 grandchildren. I retired in January 2020, after working primarily in the electronics industry and most recently as Manager, Engineering (Western Canada) for a worldwide audiovisual firm. We moved to Creston in 2014, where we enjoyed a wonderful work / life balance with many new friends and experiences.

My interests include photography, fishing, outdoor activities, woodworking and motorcycling.

Norman Eady, Treasurer

Norman Eady was born in prince Rupert BC and grew up in Edmonton. He has B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Alberta. Norman moved north to Yukon territory in 1985 and met his wife Susan. They married and raised two children (now grown). Norman and Susan moved south to Creston in 2020 from the Yukon Territory. Norman enjoys hiking, snow-shoeing, playing pickleball and chess. Norman has served on various not for profit boards over the years.

Norman worked as a finance manager in the telecommunications industry up North for 25 years before starting his own consulting business. His clients included small businesses, NGOs, First Nations, and condo corporations. Currently, Norman is on the Board of Kakin Resource Corporation.

Gitte Grover, Director

I was born in Marburg, Germany and immigrated to Canada after I obtained my Ph.D. in biology from the Justus-Liebig-Universitaet in Giessen. I am married and have 2 grown daughters that live in Terrace, BC. We discovered the beautiful Creston Valley in 2011 in the search for milder climate and I am currently working as a Realtor for Re/Max.

Previously, I worked for 21 years as a researcher with a forestry company (Alberta-Pacific) in Northern Alberta. I liaised with various universities and other research organizations to study the impact of forestry on biodiversity and ecosystem health, and we developed new paradigms such as ecosystem management modeled after natural disturbance. I held the position of adjunct professor with the University of Alberta for over 10 years.

I am versed in developing new projects through organized brainstorming sessions; project management; funding applications; public speaking at conferences; and business plan development.

I am an environmentalist at heart and a member of the Wildsight Creston Branch Executive Committee. I strongly support conservation of sensitive habitats and realize the importance of educating upcoming generations since maintaining biodiversity will be an increasing challenge with population growth and climate change.

Carla Ahern, Senior Manager

With a degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Victoria and a love of natural spaces and wildlife, Carla has put her passion towards conservation and education endeavours related to wild spaces.   She has worked in the field of conservation biology studying such animals as the desert tortoise, northern spotted owl and northern leopard frog and has developed and delivered environmental education programs to youth and adults in a variety of settings and geographic areas.

Carla worked for the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area (CVWMA) as their Education and Communication Coordinator for more than 10 years. This involved the operation of the Wildlife Interpretation Centre and its programs and events as well as promotions, marketing, advertising and fundraising.   She is so excited to continue to deliver and develop wetland education programming at the CVWMA and be part the process of developing a new Discovery Centre in her role as Senior Manager with KCDCS.

Carla is currently a Director with Wetland Link International, Vice Chair of the International Selkirk Loop, Vice Chair of the Creston Valley Tourism Society and Member of the Creston Valley Bird Festival Committee.  Carla has called Creston home since 2005 and happily lives “out in the sticks” with her husband and two kids.

Seasonal Wetland Naturalists

Wetland Naturalists join us seasonally to assist in the delivery of wetland education and awareness programs.

2023 Staff (from left to right): Calum Louden, Akane Shono and Jonathan Garsson