Greg King, PhD

Area of Study / Keywords

Dendrochronology Climate Change Urban Forest Sustainability Environmental Science

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About

Degrees

Ph.D. Climate Sciences, Universität Bern (Switzerland)

M.Sc. Physical Geography, Carleton University

B.Sc. Environmental Science, Carleton University

Brief Biography

Although born on the west coast of Canada (Victoria, BC), I consider myself Nova Scotia grown and call Cole Harbour home. I moved to Ottawa for my undergraduate degree (Carleton University) in environmental science and was able to pursue summer research opportunities investigating paleoecology and forest disturbance ecology in northern Canada. This led to studying for a master's degree at Carleton in geography and research on biogeography in the Northwest Territories. At this point my love for northern environments was well established, but with an opportunity to pursue a Ph.D. in Switzerland, it was an offer (and a lot of chocolate) I couldn’t turn down. I spent three and a half years in Zürich investigating tree growth dynamics in stunning alpine Swiss valleys. Upon returning to Canada I taught for two semesters as a part-time faculty member at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. In 2015 I joined the Department of Geography & Planning at Queen’s University as the Robert Gilbert Postdoctoral Fellow and called Kingston home. In this position I was able to re-establish work on vegetation change in northern Canada, continue collaboration with European colleagues and develop some new interests in urban forests. In January 2018 I started as an assistant professor of environmental science at Augustana and made Camrose my new home. Outside of the university you might catch me chasing toddlers, in my garden or the campus orchard, on the ski trails, paddling a river or playing ultimate frisbee/disc golf.

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Research

I have a broad set of research interests based around the topic of forest response to ecosystem change both contemporary and historical and within natural and urban environments. I am interested in combining different methods (crossing temporal scales from minutes to millennia) to bridge knowledge gaps and more completely understand forest response.

Current research projects include:

• Camrose Urban Forest Project -- various sub-projects on urban forest ecology and ecosystem services working in collaboration with the City of Camrose and local neighbourhoods
• Dendroarchaeology in The Beaver Hills Biosphere -- a project that uses dendrochronology to explore the human and environmental history of the Beaver Hills beyond the instrumental record
• Resilient Urban Forests for Canadians: Adapting to Climate Change for Enhanced Tree-Related Benefits -- ongoing project in collaboration with UQAM investigating response of the urban forest to drought

If you have interest in any of these projects or perhaps ideas on other research topics linked to my interests I would be happy to chat about opportunities for research through directed studies and even potential summer research positions.

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Teaching

Teaching Philosophy

"And live in fascination...fascination forever"

                                   - Draw Us Lines, Constantines

My teaching philosophy is closely linked to my own experiences as a lifelong learner who wakes each day with a sense of fascination for the world. I have a desire to use my role as an occasion to connect with students and increase awareness of the world around them. My teaching experience has primarily involved environmental and physical science courses. I view natural science as a fundamentally hands-on, exploratory pursuit and I have developed courses in soils, sustainability and climate change science with the opportunity for more on the horizon. I'm also very involved with Augustana's project-based core, leading a section of the Community Partnership Project (AUIDS 301) that focuses on municipal sustainability and aim to provide opportunities for immersive, experiential learning.

Courses Taught

I have taught several geography and environmental studies courses at Mount Allison University and Queen's University. Courses that I have taught at Augustana include the following:

• AUENV 120 - Human Activities and the Natural Environment (F11 2020, W11 2021, W11 2022, F11 2022, F11 2024)
• AUENV 233 - Soil Science and Soil Resources (W11 2018, W11 2020, F11 2021, F11 2023)
• AUENV 220 - Applications in Sustainability (F3 2018, W3 2019, W3 2020, W3 2021, W3 2022, W11 2023, W11 2024, W11 2025)
• AUENV 231 - Climatology (W11 2019)
• AUENV 234 - Research & Field Skills in Environmental Science (F3 2022, F3 2024)
• AUENV 334 - Field Studies in Environmental Science (F3 2021, F3 2023)
• AUENV 351 - Biogeography (F11 2018, F11 2020)
• AUENV 421 - Environmental Science: History & Impacts (Capstone) (W11 2022)
• AUENV 431 - Science of the Climate Crisis (W11 2021, F11 2022, F11 2024)
• AUIDS 301 - Community Partnership Project (W3/11 2023, W3/11 2024, W3/11 2025)

Camrose Urban Forest Survey Results

In 2024, we asked City of Camrose residents to tell us about their trees to shed light on how private residents shape our urban forest. Over the past 8 months a team, consisting of 4th year Sustainability Studies student Luke Beattie, Professor Glen Hvenegaard and I, analyzed the first results from the more than 550 responses to the survey and we are excited to share them with the public:

• Survey Infographic - provides an overview of the first major outcomes
• Camrose Booster Article - page 22 in the April 29 edition

A scientific paper is also currently in review with the journal Urban Forestry & Urban Greening.

These first results do not cover all of the survey questions and we are now hard at work analyzing more data with plans to share more data soon.

Danby RK, King G, Bonney MT, Thibert S.

Focus on Geography. 2023 July; 66 (3p) 10.21690/foge/2023.66.3p

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Carolyn Bonta, Gregory M. King, Ryan K. Danby

Arctic Science. 2023 March; 10.1139/as-2022-0036

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King G, Hvenegaard G.

The City is an Ecosystem: Sustainable Education, Policy, and Practice. 2022 August;

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Global Change Biology. 2016 January; 10.1111/gcb.13317

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King, G., Fonti, F., Nievergelt, D., Buntgen, U., Frank, D.

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 2013 January; (168):38-48

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King, G.M., Gugerli, F., Fonti, F., Frank, D.C.

Oecologia. 2013 January; (173):1587-1600

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