Tammy Currie

Project Administrator / Biologist-in-Training

What do you do?

I currently work in a dual role position. In the Edmonton office, I serve as the project admin, assisting on a large rail project. Additionally, I am in the process of transitioning into an Environmental Technologist role within the Site Assessment and Remediation team. My current focus involves training on Phase I Site Assessments and report writing. As part of my responsibilities, I review soil, surface water, and groundwater sample lab data to ensure compliance with regulatory standards. Utilizing the ESdat program, I create tables for reports. It's fascinating and enjoyable to apply my environmental lab background to analyze the results. In the past, I have conducted stockpile sampling, and I eagerly anticipate more opportunities to engage in soil and water sampling for environmental projects in the Edmonton area in the near future.

Why did you choose STEM as a career path?

As a child I spent countless hours every summer at the lake looking under rocks and fallen logs to find and watch insects do their thing and identifying strange plants and lichen/fungi. I grew up fishing for minnows and pond dipping. I have always loved exploring the great outdoors. Choosing to take an Environmental biology career path was a way to obtain a career that I loved and have the opportunity to continue to learn and explore the natural world.

What do you love or what inspires you about STEM?

I love learning about how and why things work. There’s always more to know and discover about every topic.

What has been the highlight of your career?

The most fun job that I have had was working as a summer student entomologist for Sturgeon County. I spent the entire summer pond dipping in ditches, landfills, lagoons, wetlands and dugouts at various locations throughout Sturgeon and Thorhild county. I was hunting for a specific species of mosquito that carries the West Nile virus, but also participated in an invertebrate survey on behalf of the county. So, I also spent my days identifying and monitoring frogs and toads, dragonflies, butterflies and pest insects as I went.

What was the most exciting or impactful project that you’ve worked on?

I spent two years working as a Microbiology Technician on a project called IMUS (Integrated Manure Utilization System) for the Alberta Research Council (Innotech). I conducted batch trial sampling on various waste substrates to determine the ideal concentrations to produce as much methane as possible through anaerobic digestion. The purpose of the project was to convert excess feedlot manure waste into a viable alternative energy source.

What do you look forward to in your career?

I look forward to expanding my depth of knowledge as an environmental biologist and integrating my lab background into a field tech role.

What advice would you give to your younger self knowing what you know now about working in the industry?

If I could go back, I would tell myself to take some business courses and project management courses to compliment my science degree.

Do you have any advice for girls and women who may be considering STEM as a career?

My advice is to go for it. Your final career may not be exactly what you study, but the knowledge and research skills that you gain will always be relevant to whatever path you end up taking in life.

What do you hope for the future of STEM?

 I hope for the continued evolution and expansion of humanities ability to build, create and work within the limits of our natural world to help our society better the quality of life for everyone.

What question do you wish was asked and how would you answer it?

What’s my favorite dinosaur? Pterodactyl for obvious reasons. 😊