Zarah Martz Email & Phone Number

I have the honour to live in the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples particularly the three host Nations, the  xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish). For over two decades I have been a culturally responsive educator and environmental scientist. I have worked extensively in Indigenous contexts in community based participatory initiatives to increase education and health capacity. Currently, I am the Vice-Principal at Tsleil-Waututh Nation School, which is a K-12 First Nations School. I am also an Adjunct Professor at UBC in the Faculty of Education contributing my experience in environmental education, specifically for incorporating Indigenous perspectives and outdoor experiential education. Teaching in diverse education settings, from primary to post-secondary, has given me the opportunity to gain valuable experiences and skills. My greatest joy in teaching is connecting with students and offering them an engaging and inspiring learning experience. My classes are hands-on and inquiry-based, nurturing intrinsic motivation and supporting student learning at their pace through a strength-based approach. Overall, my aim is to cultivate greater understanding on the interrelationship between people and nature in support of increased health and well-being.Training and experience:- Education: Adjunct Professor (UBC Faculty of Education); Vice-Principal; teaching specialization in Indigenous pedagogies, senior biology, secondary sciences, senior social studies, outdoor experiential education (OEE), design, librarian and enrichment teacher; certified IB continuum teacher (PYP, MYP, DP).- Community-based Participatory Action Research: development of culturally appropriate research ethics (CARE), establishing positive rapport, ethnographic research, interviewing, collaboration, facilitation, networking and public speaking.- Indigenous engagement: community relations, consultation, health and education capacity building, traditional land-use studies, skills and knowledge translation.- Ethnobotany: local Indigenous / traditional plant knowledge and use, traditional food systems, traditional ecological knowledge, food security, school and community food gardens, green roof design and maintenance, nutritional analysis and assessment, and bioactivity assays.- Biology: field / lab botany, vegetation surveys, herbarium collections, data analysis, terrestrial ecosystem mapping, bird surveys and environmental impact assessment.