I'm a biologist currently based in traditional Huu-ay-aht Territory on Vancouver Island. I've worked for the Kelp Rescue Initiative at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre since 2021 in several roles, primarily as a lab manager, culturist, and scientific diver. Prior to this, my professional background includes lab management, finfish culture, and servicing researchers in government and academia.  

I'm interested in restoration ecology, ecophysiology, biologging, and animal behavior to understand how aquatic species and ecosystems are responding to anthropogenic stressors, how applied restoration can reverse habitat loss, and how this can best inform conservation and resource management.

I've worked in environments spanning subtropical coral reefs to Arctic freshwaters, and have worked with taxa ranging from seaweeds to macroinvertebrates to fish. Science communication and co-producing research with communities are core values of mine.

Beyond my work as a biologist, I'm interested in sustainable community-based forestry, journalism and media, wildlife photography, and climate justice work.

                              -Clay Steell, M.Sc