Eileen Jones- Project Officer : Local Initiatives

I am thrilled to spend the next six months in Dakar, working with I’Institut African de Gestion Urbaine (IAGU) as a Local Initiatives Project Officer. There, I will be continuing the work of Sustainable Cities’ previous interns and supporting the initiatives of IAGU. I expect to get my hands dirty in a new municipal nursery, help to implement an urban greening plan, and turn food scraps to soil through a community composting project.

I am a plant scientist that loves working with people and has a grand sense of adventure. I completed a B.Sc. at Simon Fraser University in ecology and evolution and an M.Sc. at the University of British Columbia in forest ecology and biogeography. I am always looking for new ways to use my scientific knowledge and my enthusiasm for all things green and leafy to engage the public and to improve people’s lives. I have worked on a range of environmental and community-based projects in BC, Alberta, and West Africa.

This will be my second time working in Sénégal and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to build on my past experience in my favourite Wolof-speaking country. Previously, I worked with l’Association pour la Promotion de la Femme Sénégalaise on an ecological agriculture project. I spent a lot of time with rural women’s groups, working in vegetable gardens, harvesting and shelling beans, and dancing at every possible opportunity. I learned a lot about Sahelian agriculture and vegetation in a rural setting and I look forward to the challenge of transferring that knowledge to the city and using it to increase green space, improve nutrition, and enhance the livability of Dakar’s neighbourhoods.

Rebecca Chaster - Project Officer - Geographic Information Systems

A native Vancouverite, I recently graduated with an Honours Geography degree (with a concentration in French) from the University of British Columbia. I spent a year studying geography and urban planning in Lyon, France as part of my degree, and I am excited to use my language skills in another francophone environment while working in Dakar. A self-proclaimed ‘map-nerd’, the highlight of my studies was working with local immigrant groups in Vancouver on community mapping projects to increase their familiarity with their new home. I look forward to building on the Geographic Information System (GIS) skills I gained in my degree as the next GIS Project Officer in Dakar, continuing the work of previous interns to establish a GIS database for the city. A GIS is an extremely powerful tool with long-reaching planning capabilities, and hopefully our GIS work will contribute to a more sustainable urban future for Dakar. I am thrilled at the prospect of both the work this position entails and the experience of living in the bustling Senegalese capital, trying my hand at a little Wolof, soaking up the fabulous music, and most certainly dabbling in a little local cuisine!

LINKS

Institut Africain de Gestion Urbaine (IAGU)