Wilder Restoration was born out of our love for restoring ecosystems and working with the community. We love the diversity that this island has to offer and feel that this has a very important role in creating healthy happy neighborhoods and communities. Each member of our team shares the collective passion for making change and sharing knowledge with our community, empowering residents to steward the lands they live on. With extensive backgrounds in ecological restoration, ecosystem management, horticulture, and design, our mission is to bring diversity and life back to yards and spaces for human and wildlife to enjoy. We believe in the connection between each living system including the role humans play within those systems.
How it started
Wilder Restoration began when a gap was found between the environmental community and the general public, while working with non-profit organizations doing ecological restoration and community outreach, It became apparent that restoration could be and needed to be happening everywhere, including deep within our urban centers.
Wilder Restoration was founded. At its origin, Wilder Restoration’s main goal was to bring ecological restoration to everyone through consultation or contract labor. As we have progressed our main goal has grown to not only restore the environment but to re-connect our clients to the land they live on and the plants and animals they share the land with. We believe a strong sense of self can come from a strong sense of place. Since we began in 2021 we have completed over 70 projects and restored over 3.7 acres of land. We hope to continue to grow, restore and inspire the community and we cannot wait to help with your next project.
About us
Emma Ross (she/her) - Owner
Emma’s passion for the environment started when she was growing up in rural Ontario. She spent her formative years making art and exploring the forests and wetlands around her home. This upbringing led her to pursue post secondary education focusing on first Art with a diploma in Visual Creative Arts and Photography, and later the environment with a Dual diploma in Ecosystem Management from Fleming College and a BSc in Environmental Science from Royal Roads University. Her post secondary journey led her to work in the non profit sector doing ecological restoration and community outreach. In this work she found inspiration to work towards a broader more meaningful impact on the environment which led to co-founding Wilder Restoration. Using native plants, Emma is able to merge together her love for nature and her artistic eye to create spaces that celebrate the function, beauty and uniqueness of native plants. In her spare time she is an Apprentice in the Master Melittologist program with the Oregon State University, which looks at the relationship between native bees and the flowers they nectar off of. She has a deep love and appreciation for native plants and is always working to better understand the intricacies of our local ecosystems.
Alina Hanneson (she/her) Restoration Technician
Growing up on Vancouver island, Alina has been admiring local flora and fauna since a young age. This love for nature led Alina down the path of becoming a wilderness guide, driven by her desire to in-still that same awe and connection in others. Guiding individuals through the wilderness, she sought to awaken a sense of wonder and foster a deeper understanding of the natural world.
In recent years, witnessing the impacts of population growth and development on our natural spaces, Alina was inspired to pursue a more hands-on approach. Graduating as a Horticulture Technician, with special interest in design and environmental stewardship, from the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific gave her the necessary skills to make this a reality. Alina is passionate about community education and bridging the gap between wilderness and urban landscapes. Splitting her time between Satin flower nurseries and Wilder Restoration, Alina is filled with hope to be meeting a community where this feels possible.
Favourite plants: Nootka rose and Coastal sage
“But it is not enough to weep for our lost landscapes; we have to put our hands in the earth to make ourselves whole again."― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Heather Tippin (she/her) – Restoration Technician
In the fall of 2023 Heather moved from the United Kingdom to Vancouver Island. Her passion for the natural world, kindled by childhood holidays roaming the highlands and islands of Scotland, found new vigour in Victoria. This move offered both a change of scenery and an opportunity to promote environmental protection with renewed enthusiasm.
Graduating with a BSc in Zoology from the University of Manchester in 2020, Heather subsequently worked in the non-profit sector across the region. While at the Mersey Rivers Trust, Heather championed the health of the Mersey Basin's waterways, coordinating the removal of invasive species, engaging the community in habitat restoration, and collaborating with farmers to improve water quality. From one Northwest to another, Heather was keen to continue working towards environmental goals on Vancouver Island. At Wilder Restoration, she has found an avenue to blend her passion with meaningful work to protect and explore the island's unique ecosystems.
