Faces of Forests Ontario: Brittany Haines

Favourite tree: Weeping Willow
Favourite animal: Shark

Forests Ontario is delighted to introduce our new Business Development Assistant, Brittany Haines! Brittany joined the Forests Ontario team in April and has gotten down to work, helping our wide network of sponsors and partners to reach their goals with us. She also works to connect Forests Ontario with new collaborators.

Growing up, Brittany always saw herself being connected with the environment. At the University of Guelph she majored in marine biology. At school, whenever Brittany felt overwhelmed she went on long hikes as a way to re-centre herself. The forest became her haven: a calm and joyful place. Those hikes helped Brittany realize that she wanted to help protect forest ecosystems and create a more sustainable future. She changed her major and graduated from the University of Guelph with honours in biology and geography and obtained certifications in environmental conservation and leadership. She went on to complete a post-graduate program at Fleming College in environmental planning, with an internship at the Couchiching Conservancy.

When Brittany first heard of Forests Ontario, she was surprised by how closely its values aligned with her own. “The focus on education and stewardship is what made me really want to be a part of this organization,” she says. Thus far, she has enjoyed speaking to people who want to sustain Ontario’s reforestation efforts and is excited to help conserve the beauty and biodiversity of Ontario and Canada as a whole.

In her free time Brittany enjoys reading, camping, producing audiobooks and hiking with family. Her hikes can on occasion become adventures. Once she even got lost in a forest after following the various species of moss and fungi that blanketed fallen tree trunks and the forest floor. By the time Brittany found her way back, her photo gallery was full and her phone battery was almost dead. Regardless, she had a blast!