Staff & Board

Executive Director (on leave)

Gord Vaadeland

Gord (he/him) was born and raised on the family ranch near Big River, Saskatchewan along the southwest boundary of the Prince Albert National Park. The ranch happily shares this space with the wild, free ranging Plains bison in and around the Prince Albert National Park and Gord has woken up to them in his back yard on many occasions.

Gord serves as Executive Director for CPAWS-Saskatchewan and is co-founder of the Sturgeon River Plains Bison Stewards (SRPBS). He founded Sturgeon River Ranch, an adventure tourism company that allows guests the opportunity to view wild bison while on horseback in the Prince Albert National Park.

Gord has always found a way to bring his passion for the conservation of the natural world into other aspects of his life, especially his endeavors as an actor and musician. His days on TV saw him as part of the hit reality TV show, Mantracker as well as The National Parks Project with Gord Downie. These days, his creative journeys see him split time between backing up his banjo picking son, Jake and fronting in his own alt country band, One Bridge Town.

These combined experiences (along with his dusty old hat) have led to Gord becoming one of Canada’s most recognizable conservation leaders and a sought after and entertaining speaker/presenter.

Acting Executive Director

Stewart Coles

Stewart (he/him) joined the CPAWS-SK team in April 2018. As a native of the UK, he grew up walking the rugged coastlines and mountains of South Wales. Stewart moved to the Canadian prairies in 2013, where he now calls Saskatoon home. Before moving to Canada, Stewart worked for the UK Government’s nature conservation agency, Natural England. There he was a lead adviser spending most of his time engaging in the planning process, assessing environmental policy and strategic plans, and providing regulatory advice related to major development proposals, with the aim of minimizing or eliminating likely impacts to numerous special protection areas and their key species.

Stewart holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Management from the University of Southampton (UK).

Growing up beside the beauty of the Gower Peninsula and breathtaking mountain ranges of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, Stewart has a great affinity with the outdoors and nature. He has a similar passion for his new home province of Saskatchewan and looks to translate this enthusiasm into ensuring many of the CPAWS-SK programs result in positive outcomes for the province’s flora and fauna.

In his spare time, Stewart enjoys downtime with his wife and daughter, including camping, biking around the city, walks to the spray park on hot days and many winter activities! He is also an avid photographer and a passionate rugby supporter of his local team in Wales, the Llanelli Scarlets.

Indigenous and Stakeholder Relations Manager (on maternity leave)

Kelsey Olson

Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Kelsey’s (she/her) fondness of nature began at a young age. She was fortunate that her parents chose to spend many of their family vacations camping in the great Canadian outdoors - which introduced her to many of Western Canada’s wonderful landscapes.

Over the years, her fondness for nature expanded from being simply an appreciation in her personal life to an appreciation of how vital and important nature is in all lives and in all cultures around the globe when she began studying Anthropology. Through study and reflection, Kelsey’s admiration of the natural world deepened and took on more meaning, recognizing the interconnectedness and interdependence of all forms of life.

Kelsey is grateful for organizations like CPAWS and for the talented individuals who use their voices and skills to protect nature - and she feels especially fortunate to be a part of the CPAWS team. In her free time, and when she is not daydreaming about her next travel adventure, Kelsey enjoys collecting new experiences of any and all kinds, reading, dancing, playing cards, belly laughs, and meaningful conversations.

Conservation Coordinator

Samantha Morrice

Samantha (she/her) was born and raised in Saskatoon and is proud to call it home. Being outside enjoying and appreciating nature is her favourite pastime. Since she could walk, she has always had an inordinate fondness for some of nature's smallest creatures, insects. This fondness became a passion and has developed into a dedication to educating about and advocating for the conservation of all organisms, their habitats, ecosystems and landscapes.

Samantha holds an Bachelors Degree in Biology and a Masters Degree in Plant Science from the University of Saskatchewan. She focused her studies on Entomology, Ecology and Conservation Biology and strives to always keep learning and expanding her understanding of the natural world. During her graduate research, Samantha studied native bee ecology in agricultural and semi-natural grassland areas with wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region near Humboldt. She cares deeply for the protection of invertebrates and wetlands in Saskatchewan and believes that conservation is most successful through cooperation and community collaboration.

Samantha loves science, art, music and culture. In her spare time, she can be found walking, hiking, biking or camping, as well as doing needlework, sewing, seeing live music or treasure hunting at a thrift store.

Board of Directors

A volunteer Advisory Board of Directors guides the direction of CPAWS Saskatchewan.

National Board Member in Memoriam

Evan Sorestad

It is with great fondness that we remember Evan, longtime CPAWS Saskatchewan board member and passionate advocate for Canadian wilderness. After a short but courageous battle with cancer, he left us peacefully on January 20th, 2020. Evan’s obituary can be found here, and stories of his time with us can be found here.

Board Member

Merv Hey

Merv was born in Saskatchewan and grew up on a small mixed farm. From an early age he was poking around in the pasture and poplar bush, developing an appreciation for both the domestic and wild life and their adapting to seasonal changes, and came to an early understanding of the need for sufficient natural areas to sustain species and biodiversity. He has a B.Sc. in Land Use and Environmental Studies, and a M.Sc. in the area of hydro-meteorology, both from the U of S, obtained during the Late Bronze Age.

His work experiences include water resources research; environmental assessments; wildlife inventories and monitoring; habitat studies; national park warden service; and since 1998, operations manager in the field of waste management.

Merv has been a long-time board member of CPAWS-SK and was a former national trustee representing the chapter. He enjoys all kinds of outdoor recreation with family and friends (or just observing the natural world alone in an untouched place). He still remembers some music from former band days, enjoys reading everything, pokes around for antiques, wanders off the beaten path to explore, dabbles in photography and amateur astronomy, and likes to putter in his old farm yard. And the bucket list for travel and new experiences is long!

Board Member

Andrea Olive

Andrea was born and raised in Regina and is now an associate professor of political science and geography at the University of Toronto Mississauga. She has a summer home in the Aspen Parklands near the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border where she lives May to August. She is the author of two books: The Canadian Environment in Political Context and Land, Legitimacy, and Stewardship: Endangered Species Policy in Canada and the United States. Her main area of research interest is wildlife conservation, especially species at risk in Saskatchewan. She is also an avid long-distance runner and enjoys hiking, swimming, and listening to birds.

Board Member

Candace Savage

Candace is the author of more than two dozen books, including Prairie: A Natural History of the Heart of North America, which won three Saskatchewan Book Awards, including Book of the Year back in 2008 and has just been re-released in an updated, third edition. Her other titles include A Geography of Blood: Unearthing Memory From a Prairie Landscape, which focuses on the grasslands of southwestern Saskatchewan and was chosen by the Saskatchewan Library Association for this year’s One Book, One Province tour.

Board Member

Branimir Gjetvaj

Branimir is a Saskatoon-based biologist, photography instructor and internationally published environmental photographer. His research interest is in the impact of agricultural intensification on the extent and health of natural ecosystems, and solutions to minimize that impact.

As a photographer, Branimir frequently contributes his skills to local non-government organizations with the aim to promote the appreciation and protection of natural environments and cultural legacies. In 2013 he was recognized by the Canadian Environmental Law Association for extensive participation in several key environmental NGOs, and for using his photography to advance environmental conservation. Branimir has served volunteer positions on the Board of Directors of several environmental and education NGOs. He is a former President of Nature Saskatchewan and Saskatoon Nature Society.

Branimir published two award-winning books on prairie conservation: The Great Sand Hills: A Prairie Oasis and the Islands of Grass. With a passionate prose by the author and naturalist Trevor Herriot and beautifully illustrated with Branimir’s photographs, Islands of Grass is a call to protect the remaining fragments of natural grasslands on the northern plains.

Board Member

Warrick Baijius

Warrick was born in South Africa, and for many years moved between the US and different parts of western Canada. Currently, Warrick lives in Saskatoon with his partner and daughter, where he attends the University of Saskatchewan and is writing his dissertation on Indigenous engagement in water governance. Outside of research and part-time IT work, Warrick volunteers with a local community association, and is a pedestrian and environmental advocate.

Executive Director (on leave)

Gord Vaadeland

Acting Executive Director

Stewart Coles

Indigenous and Stakeholder Relations Manager (on maternity leave)

Kelsey Olson

Conservation Coordinator

Samantha Morrice

Board of Directors

National Board Member in Memoriam

Evan Sorestad

Board Member

Merv Hey

Board Member

Andrea Olive

Board Member

Candace Savage

Board Member

Branimir Gjetvaj

Board Member

Warrick Baijius

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