Teaching Passion Takes Flight with Jessie Zgurski
Thursday, December 12th, 2024
Jessie with her Green-cheeked Conure, Sapphire.
If you can’t find Jessie Zgurski in the biology classroom, try looking outdoors. As a nature lover and avid bird watcher, Jessie can often be found hiking trails, exploring forests, or even travelling to exotic locations to spot rare birds. Nature has been Jessie’s passion since childhood, and it’s the inspiration for her teaching.
“I grew up in Lethbridge, and as a kid we often went on family trips to Waterton Lakes National Park,” Jessie says. “It’s a beautiful place with quite a bit of wildlife. I think visiting Waterton really started my interest in nature.”
Over time, Jessie’s passion for nature continued to grow. She remembers visiting the Lethbridge Nature Centre, hiking the nearby trails, and developing a deep interest in animals, which would shape her education.
“Even in preschool, I was fascinated by animals,” Jessie says. “So, of course, years later when I graduated high school, I went to the University of Lethbridge to study biological sciences.”
Still fascinated, Jessie continued her studies. She pursued a master's degree in systematics and evolution at the University of Alberta, studying the relationships among plant species. Then she went on to do a PhD in ecology, studying the behavioural ecology of a little animal called the Pika - a mountain-dwelling animal related to rabbits.
“Pikas are cute little things and they’re inherently interesting to study,” Jessie explains. “I wanted to see how they survive in such a harsh environment because they're herbivores, but they live in an environment where the growing season is only a couple of months.”
During her PhD, Jessie worked both in the lab with genetic samples her supervisor had gathered over the years and in the field, travelling to the mountains in the Yukon to observe and study Pikas in their natural habitats. As an outdoors enthusiast, she was also struck by the beauty of the alpine environment, as well as the caribou, wolves, grizzly bears and other regional animals.
As a biology instructor at NWP who regularly teaches courses on things like evolution and biodiversity, Jessie can share her experience with and love for nature and animals with her students.
“That’s one of the joys of teaching,” she says. “I try to go a little bit beyond the traditional PowerPoint presentation. Sometimes, I bring in my collection of coral skeletons or interesting plants. I keep a lot of exotic pets so I’ve brought in reptiles for our vertebrate biology labs so the students can see it. I try to keep things different.”
Though teaching keeps her busy, Jessie still finds time for nature. One of her favourite things is travelling to exotic locations to see and photograph rare birds. She’s travelled worldwide to go bird-watching, including Africa, Australia, Brazil, and Indonesia. She still has more places and birds to see.
“Bird watching, to me, can be like a treasure hunt,” Jessie says. “It's always exciting when you see a very rare type of bird that you weren't expecting.”
For Jessie, the thrill of discovery never fades. Whether she's spotting a rare bird in a distant rainforest, teaching students about biodiversity, or exploring the alpine habitats of her beloved pikas, her passion for nature remains at the heart of everything she does.
