As you approach UBC’s newly expanded Beaty Biodiversity Research Centre, the hum of birds and insects greets you from the pollinator garden. Step inside and you’ll find a fossil room holding millions of years of history, alongside graduate students uncovering insights into the ecosystems that sustain life. More than a $45-million building project, the expansion is a hub where scientists, students and communities gather to confront the biodiversity crisis.

For Tyler Kelly, a research assistant and pollination ecologist, the expansion has transformed his work.

“I’m a pollinator expert, so I’m really happy we were able to incorporate such a habitat,” he says, pointing to the buzzing garden just outside the Centre. “It supports local biodiversity, but it’s also a curated human space where we can connect—with each other and with the natural world. That’s good for research, and it’s good for our mental health.”

For Dr. Mary O’Connor, professor of zoology and director of the Beaty Biodiversity Research Centre, the new space is about tackling the extinction crisis head-on.

“Researchers here have described thousands of species new to science, from viruses to birds. And yet, we’re losing biodiversity faster than we can document it,” she says. “The expansion allows us to collaborate across disciplines—sciences, social sciences, humanities and the arts—to find solutions that protect ecosystems without major economic downsides.”

None of this would be possible without donors.

“It was critical,” Dr. O’Connor emphasizes. “The expansion would not have been possible without generous donor support. It’s not just the financial contribution—it’s the endorsement of our work, the recognition that biodiversity matters.”

The impact stretches far beyond campus. Healthy biodiversity underpins food security, public health and stable livelihoods.

“When ecosystems are disrupted, our food supplies and even our oxygen production are at risk,” Dr. O’Connor explains. “One of our major themes is biodiversity in agricultural systems. Healthy pollinators are better for crops, better for farmers … and better for the planet.”

The Beaty Biodiversity Research Centre’s growth has also strengthened training programs that draw students and early-career researchers into biodiversity science. These programs give young scientists the skills, networks and confidence to accelerate their careers.

“We’ve been an incubator for creative training programs,” Dr. O’Connor notes. “With more space and support, we can reach more people, take on new challenges, and imagine solutions we haven’t thought of yet.”

The centre’s work connects deep history with urgent challenges. Its fossil collections are advancing discoveries about Earth’s evolutionary past, while the pollinator garden offers a living classroom in biodiversity. From tracking salmon migrations to studying bumblebee populations, research underway here is giving communities and governments the knowledge they need to make informed conservation decisions.

Behind every achievement are people who know biodiversity is vital to our future. And Kelly says it best:

“As we expand and improve our research, we also gain better clarity on what wildlife populations are doing. That knowledge is essential if we want to make meaningful change.”