Michael Rudy
B.Sc., P.Biol.
Senior Vegetation Ecologist &
Sole Proprietor
Meander Ecological
Skills and experience
Meander Ecological has been in operation since 2019 as a specialized sole proprietorship.
I'm a senior vegetation ecologist with over 15 years of experience working with vegetation inventories, wetland and habitat assessment, rare plant surveys, and environmental conservation and planning in Western Canada.
Professional Biologist (P.Biol.) with the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists, with WCB coverage in Alberta and Yukon, other jurisdictions as needed.
$5M CGL and $2M E&O insurance, in order to meet client health and safety requirements and be quickly added to projects as needed for assistance.
I have all standard safety certifications and many additional or higher level certifications and areas of experience.
I am also a conservation photographer and science writer via my photography website, which is devoted to nature photography and biodiversity.Areas of expertise:
Former botanist for the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre (Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment).
Published nature photographer and science writer, including an exhibition at the Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton. My photography is an important part of what I offer my clients. Some surveyors rely on their reputation to support IDs; I collect detailed ID notes and glorious 40 mp photos.
Fifteen years of vegetation and rare plant survey experience.
Five years of experience with the endangered five-needled pines (whitebark and limber pine).
Former Regional Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) Coordinator for WCS Canada.
Services offered
I have a well-established track record providing the following high-quality environmental services to clients:
Rare plant surveys
My speciality is high quality rare plant surveys, typically following the Alberta Native Plant Council guidelines, but I'm familiar with survey methodologies in Saskatchewan as well. I also have a high level understanding of the rarest plant species throughout Western Canada, including COSEWIC listed and SARA vascular or nonvascular species, due to my prior work as the Regional Key Biodiversity Areas Coordinator for WCS Canada.Rare plant surveys have been the focus of my career for over fifteen years, and I am known in the industry for doing high quality work and the many noteworthy findings I have made throughout my career. I am especially qualified to do rare plant work in Western Canada, but am excited to do work throughout Canada.Major accomplishments:
Former Botanist for the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre (Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment); reported twelve new species for Saskatchewan and a new habitat - the first globally imperiled 'alvar' grassland habitats in Saskatchewan.
Later, I confirmed the first Saskatchewan population of the COSEWIC-listed lichen species Teloschistes chrysophthalmus (Golden-eye Lichen), extending its known Canadian range significantly.
Confirmed numerous new seeps of the COSEWIC moss Haplodontium macrocarpum (Porsild's Bryum), including the first new Kananaskis site in approximately 35 years.
In 2025, I completed exhaustive rare plant surveys for a major EIA project, personally making more than 400 observations of ~120 unique rare vascular and nonvascular species, including eight imperiled or critically imperiled species and five new species to Alberta.
Also confirmed the first examples of the unique globally imperiled 'alvar' grassland habitats from Alberta in 2025.
Vegetation species inventory, rangeland health assessment, ecological health, and wetland assessments
I also provide professional vegetation data collection services, including plant species composition data, plant community and ecosite classification, wetland classification according to the Alberta Wetland Classification System, rangeland health assessment and ecological health estimation, Post Construction Monitoring (PCM) data collection, and so on.Major accomplishments:
Participated in plant community classification mapping of a major EIA project following Government of Alberta range inventory protocols.
Performed rangeland and ecological health mapping and inventory in Wood Buffalo National Park in support of bison health research.
Desktop support - GIS, reporting assistance (writing, editing, proofreading)
As a former English major and academic proofreader, I offer meticulous and rigorous reporting assistance to help clients meet their tight post-field deadlines by assisting with data QA/QC, report writing and editing, and providing proofreading and review services that are grounded within Alberta's environmental regulatory framework.I can help your critical reporting happen on time and make it much easier to read and more rigorous.Major accomplishments:
During my degree I was one of only two students in my entire year to receive an A+ on a paper from a notoriously challenging professor.
In 2025, was lead or main author for multiple baseline documents for a major EIA project, plus authoring three additional literature reviews for the project.
Nonvascular surveys and identification
As the former botanist for the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre (SKCDC; Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment), during which term I focused heavily on lichen and bryophyte taxonomy and identification, I am well qualified to do surveys for these species, and I strongly recommend incorporating them into survey planning for better representation and capture of potentially rare nonvascular species.
Contact
If you have any questions or a project you would like my assistance with, please don't hesitate to reach out below. Rates and references are available on request.If inquiring about specific work, please include a short description of the work tasks, estimated start and end dates, and any other information you can provide, and I will reply as soon as possible with rates and availability.
Thank you for your email!
Your email has been received, and I will reply as soon as possible. If you'd like to see more nature and travel photos or conservation articles, please visit my photography website, below: