Rory grew up on a farm outside Vermilion, Alberta where he developed his passion for the outdoors. Growing up, he spent most of his time camping and hiking backcountry trails, riding his horse through the pasture or fishing on the rivers and lakes in Alberta and Saskatchewan. This led him to complete a Bachelor of Science majoring in environmental biology and a certificate in biological research through the University of Saskatchewan. Under the supervision of Iain Phillips, Rory completed his undergraduate research project focused on the use of social media as a tool for assessing the health and abundance of Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) populations in Saskatchewan. Since graduating, Rory has joined Troutreach for the summer until he returns to the U of S where he was recently accepted into a Master of Sustainability and Environmental Management program at the U of S.

Rory is continuing his work with Lake sturgeon populations by completing a database of the stable isotope deuterium in order to trace the fish’s migratory patterns. He hopes to use the results from this project to discover the impact that large scale hydrological infrastructure in Saskatchewan’s rivers are affecting their migration patterns. Rory also aims to invoke a greater awareness in the community for this amazing dinosaur like species and provide a way that people can become more involved in their conservation through citizen science. Some of Rory’s hobbies outside of Troutreach work include playing the fiddle (or more recently learning to play the banjo poorly), camping at the lake or hanging out with his Australian Shephard Elsa.