See the Career Pathways page for more info on where our graduates are ending up after graduation.
Since the BEMA Graduate Program started in September 2018, we've had 125 graduates, including 115 M.BEMA, 7 G.Dip and 3 MSc!
M.BEMA Graduate in the News!
In August 2025, M.BEMA graduate, Gillian Johnson '23 was featured in a Trent University news article about creating a No-Mow Zone on campus in her capacity as the Associate Land Stewardship Coordinator with Trent Facilities. She also supervised 2025 M.BEMA graduate, Taylore Vaz, for her professional placement (shown in the following photo in blue).
Something is Greener on the Other Side of Grass
Newest no-mow zone turns a lawn into habitat for pollinators while supporting water health and sustainability on campus (Trent University)
August 20, 2025 (Trent Communications)
A new no-mow zone has been created behind the Student Centre, transforming a portion of grass into a vibrant space filled with native plants, creating essential habitat for pollinators, birds, small mammals, and insects.
“These zones also provide natural services such as erosion control, rainwater absorption and reduced surface water runoff,” explains Gillian Johnson ’23 (Gzowski College), Associate Land Stewardship Coordinator at Trent University and graduate of the Environmental Science/Studies program and the Master of Bioenvironmental Monitoring & Assessment (M.BEMA) program. “This is especially important because we're right next to the Otonabee River.”
The new no-mow zone was created in partnership with Community Living Trent Highlands and supported with funding from a Grow Wild Grant from the World Wildlife Fund. Other no-mow zones on the Symons Campus include areas along East Bank Drive and beside G Lot. Initiatives such as creating no-mow zones are part of Trent’s University Green Network and contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Watch the video to learn more about why no-mow zones matter for the environment and the Trent community.
Trent’s Bioenvironmental Monitoring and Assessment Graduate Program Becomes First in Canada to Receive ECO Canada Accreditation
Recognition reflective of Trent’s ongoing commitment to excellence in environmental education
January 8, 2024 (Trent Communications)
Trent University’s Bioenvironmental Monitoring and Assessment (BEMA) graduate program now holds the distinction of being the first in Canada to receive accreditation for its online course-based Master’s and Graduate Diploma programs from ECO Canada, a national organization championing the end-to-end career development of environmental professionals.
“This is an impressive accomplishment that reflects Trent’s strong commitment to environmental education across programs and degree types,” says Dr. Craig Brunetti, dean of Graduate Studies at Trent.
Established in 2018, BEMA offers both professional Masters and Graduate Diploma streams, with flexible part-time options that appeal to early and mid-career professionals. The suite of online courses, professional placement, and an in-person capstone course prepare students for the environmental jobs of the future in industry, government, or non-governmental organizations.
“The BEMA program really stood out as a means to fill a lot of gaps I had left from my undergrad and after working for a few years,” said Alex Legere, a recent M.BEMA graduate.
Speaking to how the environmental sector is an emerging area of higher employment in Ontario and Canada, Dr. Tom Hossie, acting director of BEMA, adds “this accreditation reflects the program’s unique curriculum and strengths in giving aspiring environmental professionals the tools they need to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving job market.”
2023 Graduates
Our 2022/23 cohort of 15 M.BEMA graduates completed placements with the federal government (4 students), provincial government (3 students), environmental consulting (2 students), academia (3 students), conservation authorities (2 students) and industry (1 student).
Graduate Testimonials:
"I really enjoyed how varied my placement was. I had no previous environmental experience, so the exposure to many different tasks helped guide my future career goals & helped me determine where my true passion lies."
"I am confident that the BEMA program provided me with the skills necessary to problem solve & critically think in order to work my way through diverse project types."
BEMA Director & Teaching Faculty, Dr. Tom Hossie, is in the news!
Why did the Salamander Cross the Road?
Trent adapts curb infrastructure on campus to support local salamander population
August 1, 2023 (Trent Communications)
This summer, Trent University's Gzowski Way will be the centre of a unique construction project aiming to facilitate the migratory movements of local salamanders. New road curbs will be installed, reducing the barrier the salamanders face reaching the nearby wetland.
Each spring, various amphibian species on campus, including the Blue-spotted salamander and unisexual Ambystoma, cross Gzowski Way on the east bank of Trent University's Symons Campus, to reach their breeding habitat in the adjacent Archaeology Complex Wetland Nature Area.
New sloped curb supports salamander movement
A redesign and replacement of the existing curb with a sloped or mountable one was proposed to help the salamanders cross safely. The new curb, inclined at a 45-degree angle, will enable salamanders to climb with ease and proceed to their wetland breeding site, while maintaining the curb's original purpose of controlling runoff from stormwater and snowmelt. Funding for the project has been provided by an anonymous benefactor.
This initiative was sparked by the findings of Dr. Thomas Hossie, now assistant professor in Biology at Trent and an expert in terrestrial ecology, in collaboration with representatives from the Trent Herpetological Society and the Society for Ecological Restoration. The redesign aims to alleviate risk for salamanders crossing to Archaeology Complex Wetland Nature Area.
The project is part of the University's goal of supporting campus-wide biodiversity and ecosystem health, as outlined in the Trent Lands and Nature Area Plan. Currently, 11 species of amphibians live in the Nature Areas and green spaces that make up the University Green Network. The undertaking is a cost-effective solution relative to other mitigation strategies such as underpasses or overpasses, which might not entirely solve the issue due to the animals' aversion to such structures and could complicate stormwater management. Mountable curbs have proven effective elsewhere, notably assisting snapping turtles in Ottawa.
The project, spearheaded by Facilities Management in conjunction with Cooks Concrete, anticipates minor traffic disruptions along Gzowksi Way, lasting until approximately August 2 or 3.
2022 Graduates
Our 2021/22 cohort of 22 M.BEMA graduates benefited from more in-person or hybrid placements, as well as a fully in-person Capstone course in August 2022! As of May 2023, 82% are employed in the environmental sector, primarily in environmental consulting (61%), followed by the federal (17%) and municipal (11%) governments, provincial government (5%) and conservation authority (5%).
Graduate Testimonial:
“The M.BEMA courses exceeded my expectations as they did not just teach me the theories and ideas but also got me to apply the knowledge I gained through assignments that are applicable to the real world and careers in this field.”
2021 Graduates
Our 2020/21 cohort of 25 graduates persevered through ongoing pandemic uncertainty and lock downs, which meant that the students had to make the most of entirely remote placements in some cases. Despite this, 84% of these graduates are now employed in the environmental sector, primarily with the federal (24%) and provincial (24%) governments, as well as environmental consulting (19%) and conservation authorities (19%), ENGOs (9.5%) and other (14%).
Graduate testimonials:
"The M.BEMA program offers students both excellent classes and faculty, which helped me to develop a variety of skills that are sought out by employers in the environmental sector".
“I had been looking forward to my placement as a great opportunity for hands-on experience and to apply my knowledge from the course work. I also think that Trent and the BEMA program have a lot of connections to our community, which was really helpful for the placements.”
“The program is so flexible and enabled me to complete it in two years as a part-time student while I continued working, which was important to me.”
2020 Graduates
Along with the rest of humanity, our 2020 BEMA graduating class of 15 faced some big challenges, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic and necessary shift to 'remote' placements. They rose to the challenge and completed very successful placements.
Graduate testimonials:
"It was so great to be a part of this program and to work with everyone! This program has taught me so much & I can't wait to see where it takes me in life."
"My favourite part of the M.BEMA program was the experience of working with my classmates on issues & ideas that we are all passionate about, as well as developing so many different skills that will help me in my future career."
"I learned a lot from the discussions, the courses were relevant & informative, and the placement was perfect to tie everything in. The Capstone was an essential part of the degree personally."
"It was great & it went by so quickly. Loved getting to try things I was unfamiliar with (e.g. GIS, R) and being able to do little tasks & feel myself learning the content."
"I'm passionate about the environment & I wanted to do a professional Masters degree, so this was perfect for me!"
Welcoming 2021 & 2020 M.BEMA Graduates for Convocation - June 2022
Congratulations to all the BEMA Program Graduates from 2021 and previous years! On June 8th, we caught up with some of our 2021 & 2020 M.BEMA graduates, as Trent invited graduating Master's & PhD students from the past 3 years back to the campus for in-person convocation! The sun was shining & it was a grand celebration for the 10 M.BEMA graduates that made the trek to celebrate with their families and friends. Official Trent photos from that day can be found here.
September 2021
Congratulations to this year's recipients of the BEMA Program's inaugural student achievement awards! Three students in the Masters in Bioenvironmental Monitoring and Assessment (M.BEMA) program were recognized in August 2021 for their high achievement in the program, following a year of intensive coursework and successful environmental sector placements during the summer months. Students persevered through ongoing pandemic uncertainty and lockdowns that complicated the placement process, meaning that students had to make the most of entirely remote placements in some cases.
Established in 2018, the BEMA program aims to train the next generation of environmental professionals in the rigorous survey and evaluation of our natural world.
2021 Award Recipients:
Outstanding Student Award - Kim Teager
Kim demonstrated excellent achievement throughout the degree, including high academic excellence in her coursework. She gained valuable placement experience with Parks Canada, working as a Resource Management Officer in the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area, where she honed important field skills and worked on a colonial birds report using historical nesting site data.
Leadership Excellence Award - Autumn Jordan
Autumn maintained high academic excellence while demonstrating leadership by serving as BEMA representative with the Trent Graduate Studies Association. She completed her placement as a Conservation Coordinator with Nature Canada and was able to write several articles including one on swallow conservation.
Placement Excellence Award - Sarah Thompson
Sarah maintained high academic excellence while demonstrating outstanding achievement and perseverance in her professional placement. She worked with Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA), where she was able to contribute to several projects including updating the natural land cover and water feature GIS layers, stream health analysis, and the Conservation Ontario Climate Change Vulnerability Tool for NVCA’s watersheds.
July 2021
M.BEMA student, Autumn Jordan, is completing her placement with Nature Canada this summer & has been doing some science writing for them:
https://naturecanada.ca/news/blog/its-turtle-nesting-season-what-you-can-do-to-help/
M.BEMA Students in the News - August 2020!
Virtual Placements Bring Career Experience to Trent Graduate Students
Key industry partnerships provide unique opportunities for Master of Bioenvironmental Monitoring and Assessment students
August 28, 2020 (Trent Communications)
Earlier this summer, Master of Bioenvironmental Monitoring and Assessment (M.BEMA) students began 13 career-boosting virtual placements, working alongside Parks Canada, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the City of Oshawa, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, the City of Pickering, and several on-campus research labs at Trent.
Speaking about the move from in-person to virtual placements in response to restrictions caused by COVID-19, Jennifer Bull, BEMA placement coordinator says: “We went to our partners to identify projects that would be suitable, then we matched students’ skill sets with organizations that needed those skills.”
Partnerships are the path to success
In a typical year, BEMA Master’s students would be immersed in practical placements working in the field, using newly acquired skills and knowledge. In new and dynamic ways, these important hands-on experiences continued this spring online as the COVID-19 pandemic imposed restrictions on in-person activities.
“At first, we found that organizations who had offered placements could not pivot to remote placements,” explains Ms. Bull, “so we had to shift our focus to explaining how students could provide valuable contributions to new partners within a virtual setting. Through these partnerships, we were able to successfully provide virtual placements for every student in the program.”
Experiential learning redefined
Hands-on, experiential learning is a cornerstone of the student experience at Trent University. Through her remote placement, M.BEMA candidate Lauren Efford worked with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) in Peterborough to adapt a statistical model used to predict the potential impact of new invasive aquatic species, to terrestrial plants. “This has allowed us to feed information into the model, and it provides an estimate of the likelihood of an invasion and the impact a species could have in Ontario,” says Ms. Efford.
The pandemic posed a unique challenge for Mohamed Moustafa who was looking to the M.BEMA program to change his career focus to the environmental field after arriving in Canada from Egypt in June 2019. Partnered with Dr. Paul Frost in the Frost Laboratory at Trent University, Mr. Moustafa is gaining valuable experience while working on a long-term monitoring report of water quality in Kawartha area lakes. "I have come to understand lake stewardship association interests and concerns," says Mr. Moustafa. “It has been personally rewarding to work on a benchmark report that will identify potential changes in water quality in the future."
The placements have proven to be extremely valuable to the industry partners as well. After identifying a need for more detailed and up-to-date maps of conservation areas, The Nature Conservancy of Canada partnered with Trent and M.BEMA candidate Whitney Goodwin to take on the project. “I have been updating the maps of natural areas with current data, as well as performing analysis on specific areas – how much of each habitat type there is in a conservation area, and whether these habitats overlap,” says Ms. Goodwin.
Unique challenges foster opportunities
As a large percentage of the population has pivoted to working from home, student researchers were able to continue to perform impactful contributions to the business community partners as a result of virtual placements.
“There is no doubt that COVID-19 threw us a curveball in terms of summer placements this year,” says Dr. Dennis Murray, director of the BEMA Graduate Program. “I am really happy that we could find strong substitute opportunities to allow students to grow their skillset and place themselves on a bright career path.”
August 2019
Congratulations to our 1st cohort of M.BEMA graduates!
This photo capped off an intense but rewarding Capstone week, where students participated in professional workshops & presented their findings on potential environmental impacts of a hypothetical proposed development, where they designed the study, collected & analyzed data, and made recommendations for mitigating impacts.
The 1st M.BEMA cohort completed professional placements with the following organizations:
- Toronto Region Conservation Authority (Vaughan, ON)
- PGL Environmental Consultants (Whitby, ON)
- Otonabee Region Conservation Authority (Peterborough, ON)
- Toronto Zoo (Toronto, ON)
- Frost Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology (Peterborough, ON)
JOB POSTING (Archived)
THIS AD IS FOR CUPE UNIT 2 positions.
You must be a registered Student at Trent University in order to apply.
The Bioenvironmental Monitoring & Assessment (BEMA) Graduate Program invites applications for a CUPE 3908 Unit 2 Student Lab Demonstrator for the 2022-2023 academic year. One (1) position is available in August 2023, from August 14th to the 25th, for a maximum of 40 hours.
The hourly rate of pay is in accordance with CUPE 3908 Unit 2 Collective Agreement: $22.73 per hour.
Student Lab Demonstrator (SLD) shall be defined as an enrolled Trent University student who does not currently hold a full or half-time GTA position. A SLD shall not set up or take down laboratories or workshops. A SLD will not be assigned principal responsibility for the preparation and presentation of courses. Duties related to the position, which shall be in accordance with University and departmental practices, shall be determined by the person(s) who has (have) principal responsibility for the course. Assigned duties may include but are not limited to the following: Employer-required training and orientation; assigning, marking and evaluating lab or workshop work; submission of grades as required; monitoring labs; preparing for and conducting discussion groups, laboratories, workshops, and/or problem-solving sessions.
Courses with Student Lab Demonstrator Positions:
BEMA 5014H – BEMA Capstone Course
Qualifications:
- Experience conducting field research, including collecting and analyzing physical samples, designing and implementing plant or animal surveys, and working with GPS units.
- A basic understanding of best practices when conducting fieldwork and environmental surveys.
- Experience coordinating students or other evidence of leadership in field situations.
- A valid driver’s license. Experience with GIS is an asset.
Application:
Applicants should send a combined cover letter & resume to,
Jennifer Bull, BEMA Graduate Program
Trent University,
jenniferbull@trentu.ca
Enquiries may be directed to Jennifer Bull at jenniferbull@trentu.ca
Deadline for receipt of applications: August 10, 2023 (5pm EST)
All positions are subject to budgetary approval by the Dean’s office.
THIS AD IS FOR RETURNING TRENT STUDENTS ONLY