Welcome to the Ignace Lab!
We are ecophysiologists, advocates, and artists studying pressing environmental problems. We study how global change (climate change, fire, and introduced pests and plants) impacts ecosystem function and Indigenous communities.
Indigenous (enrolled Coeur d’Alene Tribe member) Ecophysiologist
Dr. Danielle Ignace is an Associate Professor in the Department of Forest Resources at the University of Minnesota, a Research Associate at Harvard Forest, and affiliated faculty at the University of British Columbia. As a broadly trained plant physiologist, ecologist, and ecosystem scientist, Dr. Ignace strives to amplify Indigenous knowledge, perspectives, and voices in science. As an advocate for underrepresented groups in science, she emphasizes science communication in transdisciplinary projects. Always seeking ways to enhance diversity and inclusion in science, she currently serves as the Chair for the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Section of the Ecological Society of America, the Chair of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee for the American Society of Plant Biologists, and a member of the Resurgent Indigenous Scholars for the Environment (RISE) collective at UBC.
Dr. Ignace received the Excellence in Ecology award from the Ecological Society of America, was a Wall Scholar for the 2022-2023 Catalyst Program at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies at UBC, and a Science for Society Equity Fellow at Fair Count Inc. She is an Associate Editor for the journal Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, which is a trans-disciplinary, open-access journal committed to the facilitation of collaborative, peer-reviewed research.
Fostering unique collaborations with faculty and students to understand and communicate pressing global change problems is the hallmark of her research, teaching, YouTube channel, and ArtSci projects. As an Indigenous (enrolled Coeur d’Alene Tribal member) woman in STEM, Dr. Ignace is deeply committed to developing Indigenous curriculum and her unique perspective bridges Indigenous communities, people of color, and scientists. To learn more about her background and tribe click HERE.
Lab News & Announcements
We got major funding!
We were awarded $937,212 in funding from the Paul G. Allen Foundation for the following project: Coeur d'Alene Tribe on Climate-Safe and Salmon-Safe: Natural Climate Solutions in the Inland Northwest.
A University of Minnesota press release can be found here.
Listen to our story on Spokane Public Radio here.
To find out about the other five projects awarded by the Paul G. Allen Foundation, go here.
Dr. Ignace to present in the Presidential Plenary for Plant Biology 2025!
Dr. Ignace will be one of four speakers featured in the Presidential Plenary Symposium for the annual Plant Biology meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (July, 2025). Talk Title: Centering mentorship in research: Making meaningful connections to solve complex environmental crises. More information can be found here.
Dr. Ignace selected as a leader for the First National Nature Assessment
Dr. Ignace has been appointed by the U.S. Global Change Research Program to serve as the Chapter Lead for the Status, Trends, and Future Projections of the Drivers of Change of Nature chapter of the First National Nature Assessment (NNA1). “The National Nature Assessment is the first-ever holistic report on the status, trends, and future of U.S. lands, waters, and wildlife and the benefits they provide to our economy, health, climate, environmental justice, and national security. It is an interagency effort, bringing together experts from federal, state, and local governments, as well as the academic, non-profit, and private sectors”. More information about the first-ever U.S. National Nature Assessment and 10 other Chapter Leads can be found here.
New Paper Alerts!
A path to reconciliation between Indigenous and settler-colonial epistemologies was just published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. A link to the article can be found here.
Lessons from the Diversity Forum at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America was just published in The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. A link to the article can be found here.
Vegetation structure and soil organic carbon storage across northern forest-tundra ecotones in continuous permafrost was recently published in Arctic Science. A link to the article can be found here.
Terminology in ecology and evolutionary biology disproportionately harms marginalized groups was recently published in PLoS Biology. A link to the article can be found here.
Centering Indigenous Knowledges in ecology and beyond was recently published in Frontiers of Ecology and the Environment. A link to the article can be found here.
Expressions of Gratitude: Two Indigenous Scholars Share Their Experiences with the Work of Robin Wall Kimmerer was just published in The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America with co-author Dr. Deondre Smiles. A link to the article can be found here.
Mapping vegetation height and identifying the northern forest limit across Canada using ICESat-2, Landsat time series and topographic data was just published in Remote Sensing of Environment! A link to the article can be found here.
Awards:
Dr. Ignace selected as an Excellence in Ecology Scholar!
Dr. Ignace is one of four Excellence in Ecology Scholars selected by the Ecological Society of America. The ESA press release can be found here.
The students in the lab rock!
Hayley Toderian joins the lab! Hayley is working on a project with Dr. Ignace to re-imagine the Coeur d’Alene forest management plan. More info about Hayley can be found on the People Page.
Congratulations to Miah Godek (PhD student) won two awards! First, she was accepted into the Public Scholars Initiative Program. Second, she was accepted into the Climate Solutions Scholars Program. Both programs are at UBC and come with funds to support research that engages communities.
Congratulations to Gracie Crafts (MSc student) for receiving the following awards: 1- Indigenous Graduate Fellowship, 2- VanDusen Graduate Fellowship, and 3- the Paul Heller Memorial Fellowship in Forestry!
Congratulations to Tatyana Schneider (undergrad) for receiving an NSERC USRA this summer! AND…she was awarded a Canadian Forest Workforce Diversity undergraduate supplement from NSERC!
Advisory/Community Partnership Activities:
Dr. Ignace joins the committee advising the BC Conservation Fund
Dr. Ignace serves on the Interim Committee for the BC Conservation Fund. The BC Parks Foundation and the Province of BC pledged $300 million to support ecosystem health in collaboration with Indigenous communities. The committee will design the fund during the spring of 2024. More information about the fund and other committee members can be found here.
Dr. Ignace advises the Silviculture Innovation Program
Dr. Ignace serves on the Strategic Advisory Group for the Silviculture Innovation Program. This program was established by the Bulkley Valley Research Centre through a $10 million investment from the province. More information on the program can be found here and plans for our upcoming Knowledge Summit (March 2024) can be found here.
Recent and upcoming talks:
Invited seminar on January 22, 2025: Amplifying Indigenous Knowledge to restore biodiverse ecosystems and build resilience at the University of Pittsburgh
Invited seminar on December 2, 2024: BioRISE (Biological Resilience) Workshop: Career and Pathways in STEM for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Nez Perce Tribe Washington State University & University of Idaho
Invited Co-presenter (with Clarisse Hart) on September 27, 2024: Indigenous community partnerships in ecology at Harvard Forest for the LTER All-Scientists Annual Meeting, The Kellogg Biological Station, Hickory Corners, MI
Presentations in August, 2024 at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Long Beach, CA:
Featured panelist as a Chapter lead for the first National Nature Assessment, US Nature Town Hall.
Featured panelist as an Excellence in Ecology award winner, The Excellence in Ecology Scholars Network: Learning to Elevate the Human Dimension in Ecology.
Panelist as the TEK Section Chair in Creating Safe and Inclusive Spaces to Support Early Career Scientists: Lessons From Diverse Communities Within ESA.
Applications of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Climate Crisis at the National Adaptation Forum on May 14, 2024
New ArtSci project for 2023:
Dr. Ignace worked with the Clyfford Still Museum as a contributing voice and audio experience collaborator for AWFUL BIGNESS, an exhibition at the Clyfford Still Museum, February 17–September 10, 2023. Check out the ArtSci page for more info.
Work and perspective featured in:
Dr. Ignace’s Indigenous perspective on land stewardship and relationship building has recently been featured in interviews for Branchlines, NPR, Nature, The Revelator, the First Person Plural: Emotional Intelligence & Beyond Podcast, and the Clyfford Still Museum.
Research on the impacts of the hemlock woolly adelgid on eastern hemlock forests has been featured on The Sweaty Penguin Podcast (Episode 102), Grist, The Revelator, Science Comedian Brian Malow Broadcast, The Daily Hampshire Gazette.
Four Indigenous projects funded:
Four projects have been funded by the UBC Indigenous Strategic Initiatives Fund that seek to develop Indigenous science courses, establish the Inaugural First Salmon Ceremony at UBC, work with Vuntut Gwitchin to meet net-zero emission targets by 2030, and develop an accredited undergraduate post-secondary certificate in natural resource conservation and land stewardship with the Haida Gwaii Institute and the Council of the Haida Nation and community partners.
New members of the lab:
Welcome Devlin Grewal working on a Master’s Degree! Check out the People page to learn more about their research interests.
Special publication announcement:
Dr. Ignace accepted an invitation to write a Tansley review on the topic of ‘Organism to ecosystem responses of invasive species, climate and pathology’ for New Phytologist. Stay tuned!
Lab YouTube Channel:
Be sure to check out Ignace Lab on YouTube for new science communication videos. YouTube ➔
First video: A teaser trailer for our new summer video series.
Check out a day in the field measuring photosynthesis at Harvard Forest featuring Lony. Lony is doing a stellar job for their REU project and makes this all look easy. Enjoy!
Check out a recent video and learn how we are using new cameras and drones to assess Eastern Hemlock tree health. Environmental Science & Policy major, Steph Long, talks us through this complicated process. Enjoy!
Summer field season = bug season! Watch this quick and fun video to see how we deal. Enjoy!