Meet the Team
Dr. Kelly Biagi (PI)
Welcome! I am the founder of the Landscape Hydrology and Restoration Group based in the Department of Earth Sciences at Brock University. My research aims to understand the effect of landscape mitigation practices on ecosystem hydrology and hydrochemistry to provide guidance on the effectiveness of those strategies. I am most interested in wetland-watershed systems as they play a critical role in the landscape.
I completed my Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia (2008 - 2013). I completed my M.Sc. (2013 – 2015) and Ph.D. (2016 – 2021) at McMaster University in environmental science with a focus in hydrological sciences. There, I studied the hydrological and hydrochemical functioning of reconstructed wetland systems in the Athabasca oil sands region of Canada.
Following these degrees, I worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Toronto Metropolitan University where I studied the nutrient loads from Lower Great Lakes headwater streams to better understand the distribution of nutrient loads, their causes and potential mitigation strategies to limit excess nutrients.
Research Assistants
Annaliese Paczynski
I’m in my final year of my Bachelors in Earth Science at Brock University and have been involved in research into the hydrology of local wetlands. In particular, I completed a special topics project on Gonder’s Flats, a wetland along the Niagara River, where nutrient analysis showed that phosphorus inputs were up to 40 times higher than recommended limits. I hope to use my knowledge of hydrology in a future career in environmental consulting. In my free time, I am usually busy taking care of my garden or working on countless different sewing projects.
Jack Comerford
Jack is an undergraduate student studying Environmental Geoscience at Brock University. He is particularly interested in hydrology, climatology, and biogeochemistry of freshwater systems. Prior to his time at Brock University, Jack worked as an actor (and by extension, a bartender) in Toronto. For 2 years, he was a key organizational member for the Toronto Bike Brigade, which helped to reduce pollution from last mile deliveries within the city. Working under Kelly Biagi in her research into remediated wetlands such as Gonder's Flats and Carlisle Conservation area has only heightened Jack's interest in human-influenced hydrological systems. He hopes to continue working to build a more sustainable ecologically equitable future.