The Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation (GRPF) has a new employee, one who will go to bat for the park’s ecological projects.
Cory Olson, a wildlife biologist and bat expert with a master of science from the University of Calgary, has stepped to the plate and will lead such programs as the Shell Grassland Recovery Project and help create an endowment fund to support the future GRPF operations and ecological research.
“I am excited to be part of the foundation and to contribute to research of grassland ecosystems,” said Olson. “I’ve always enjoyed my volunteer time at the park and look forward to creating more ways for the public to experience and learn about the ecology of Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park.”
Olson has hosted several talks at the park on bats over the past two years, and is known by many as the ‘bat man.’ Olson studied the roosting behaviour of bats in the boreal forest of Northern Alberta.
GRPF executive director Susan de Caen said she was thrilled to have Olson on board and that his employment would benefit the park.
“Having a GRPF ecologist is going to help us to develop a deeper understanding of the park’s diverse ecologic communities and residents,” she said, “and further engage the public in citizen science.”
For more on the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation, visit grpf.ca.
