Considering the food on your plate, one might overlook the intricate web of life enabling it, or how farming impacts our planet. For Dr. Claire Kremen, UBC’s President’s Excellence Chair in Biodiversity, these questions drive her work as an ecologist and applied conservation biologist. Her research focuses on reconciling agricultural production with biodiversity conservation, aiming for sustainable harmony between humanity and diverse life forms.

Dr. Kremen’s passion for biodiversity stems from a deep appreciation for the diversity of life itself, recognizing that humanity is an integral part of it and depends on it. Her extensive experience, including several decades working in Madagascar, instilled in her the crucial understanding that environmental challenges are inseparable from social issues.

“My work is all about trying to find ways that we can live more sustainably on this planet and in harmony with biodiversity,” she explains.

This realization inspired Dr. Kremen to champion an interdisciplinary approach to conservation—one that acknowledges the inextricable link between ecological and social systems. “Environmental problems are not environmental problems alone,” she explains. “They’re always environmental and social.”

That vision became the foundation for the Interdisciplinary Biodiversity Solutions Collaboratory (IBioS), which Dr. Kremen helped launch at UBC. IBioS is a vibrant research cluster that unites faculty from across disciplines to develop inclusive, science-based solutions for a healthier planet.

A cornerstone of IBioS’s work is its collaborative model, grounded in strong partnerships. By engaging with communities from the outset, the research remains relevant to real-world challenges—and the insights gained are returned to those who can apply them.

For example, one initiative explores how farms can help tackle climate change by restoring deep-rooted, long-lived plants around fields and streams. This work, known as the Perennial and Ecosystem Restoration for Carbon Sequestration (PERCS) initiative, studies how these perennials store carbon, support biodiversity, and provide other benefits—while turning research into practical tools for farmers.

“The work we do is tailored to things that communities actually need. By working with them from the beginning … there’s a way of getting that information back out to the community that would use it,” says Dr. Kremen.

“We know there’s better ways to farm. Why don’t people farm that way? And the answer is really, it’s not the farmer’s fault, it’s the broader food system,” she says.

To help address systemic conservation challenges and workforce skill gaps, IBioS is developing the Collaborative Conservation Leadership (CCL) training program. This innovative initiative will equip emerging leaders with technical, professional, and cultural competency skills—including hands-on experience co-designing research with non-academic partners. Graduates are prepared to collaborate across sectors, from government and NGOs to industry and Indigenous communities.

While public funding provides a valuable foundation for these research and training initiatives, it often doesn’t cover the full scope of what’s needed to deliver programs like CCL. Donor support is essential to help IBioS grow—ensuring sustained funding for graduate researchers, program coordination, knowledge-sharing workshops, and policy outreach. With philanthropic investment, IBioS can expand its impact, train the next generation of conservation leaders, and strengthen its role in turning research into meaningful action.

“We need to wake up to the need for sustainable management of the entire planet,” says Dr. Kremen. “We actually know how to do this much better. We need to start doing it.”