Rachel Orr, Watershed Stewardship Intern

Rachel Orr is an MSc student in Biology at the University of Victoria whose research explores how forestry, agriculture, and urbanization shape stream health across Vancouver Island, with a focus on the Xwulqw’selu (Koksilah River) watershed. She values collaborative, community-led approaches to freshwater stewardship and is motivated by projects that connect science, policy, people, and place. Rachel is looking forward to building relationships with like-minded folks and deepening her understanding of how co-governance is carried out across Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. Rachel grew up on the unceded territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Attawandaron peoples, where she connected with the land and waters through canoe trips and countless river swims.