Eli Pivnick

Eli lives in the north Okanagan near Vernon and has a PhD in insect ecology from Université Laval in Quebec City. He has conducted insect research in the Canadian Prairies for the National Research Council, Agriculture Canada and Parks Canada. He has worked as a wilderness guide and wilderness skills instructor and has explored many parts of Canada by canoe. He recently retired from 20 years of teaching high school, mainly on First Nation reserves in northern Ontario and in Saskatchewan. He currently spends a lot of his time working with two Vernon-area environmental groups, writing, educating, lobbying and organizing for climate action. He  is a dedicated hunter, angler, forager, birder, canoeist, and skiier and is happiest in Nature.

Janet Parkins

The natural world has always been Janet’s favourite place—hiking, skiing, kayaking, bird watching, botanizing, gardening and more. A retired pharmacist, lifelong environmentalist, recycler and social activist, Janet feels government has a critical role in fostering a more equitable society and a healthier environment. She lives her values by eating vegetarian, heating her house with a heat pump and driving an electric car powered by the solar panels on her roof. She believes each of us needs to do what we can to reduce our planetary impacts and is  is a founding member of Frack Free BC Vernon, is on the board of Climate Action Now! North Okanagan and is a former member of local electoral district association boards of both the provincial and federal Green Party. She is a long-time member of the North Okanagan Naturalists’ Club, sings in the Okanagan Symphony Chorus and with Opera Kelowna, volunteers with the Vernon Folk Roots Music Society and is former artistic director of the North Okanagan Community Concert Association.