My relationship with nature began in a Baghdad classroom at the age of seven, when I asked my teacher a question she couldn’t answer:
“If a river meets the desert, where do the fish go to sleep?”
That question never left me—and neither did my curiosity. It inspired a lifelong commitment to understanding, protecting, and restoring the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems.
I am an Iraqi-Canadian wetland ecologist and environmental impact specialist with more than 15 years of international experience across the Mesopotamian Marshes, the Arabian Gulf, and the river valleys of Atlantic Canada. I hold a Ph.D. in Ecological Assessment and Wetland Restoration and an M.Sc. in Habitat Management from the University of Waterloo, along with a B.Sc. in Biogeochemistry from the University of Baghdad.
Based in New Maryland, NB, I serve as the Executive Director of the United Spirit Nature Network (USNN)—an Indigenous-led organization focused on restoring ecosystems, empowering communities, and cultivating future environmental leaders.
🌍 Talk to me about: anything but how I am dealing with a teenager's crisis :)
Wetland conservation and ecological restoration
Two-Eyed Seeing in Environmental Education
Indigenous stewardship and capacity-building
Climate resilience and habitat protection
Green skills training for youth and educators
Let’s connect—every question, like every ecosystem, holds a key to deeper understanding.
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