ɬ﷬

Beauregard, Frieda

Academic title(s): 

Academic Associate;

ܰٴǰ,ɬ﷬ Herbarium

Beauregard, Frieda
Contact Information
Email address: 
frieda.beauregard [at] mcgill.ca
Phone: 
514-398-7864
Address: 

Centennial Centre 023

Quote: 

“Plants present us with endless mysteries to uncover, I feel like I will never be able to know everything I would like to about them. What fascinates me most is their many strategies for survival under a wide array of situations, and their ability to shape their ecosystems, also, working with the amazing breadth of early North American plant collections in the ɬ﷬ Herbarium has inspired in me a great curiosity about the people who worked to collect them and the eras of history they support as objects of material culture.”

Research areas: 
Extension and community engagement
Biography: 

Dr. Frieda Beauregard manages the ɬ﷬ Herbarium. She is passionate about botany and endeavors to share this passion through her research, teaching, and outreach projects. She has a background in plant ecology, biogeography, soil science, and visual art. In her role as Herbarium curator, she pursues interdisciplinary projects, working with scientists, historians, and artists among others to share and promote the richness of the ɬ﷬ Herbarium collections and to advance the sustainability and biodiversity goals of the University. The ɬ﷬ Herbarium is a resource for all ɬ﷬ians who need to identify or voucher plant collections as part of their research; or who would like to use the collections for their research. If this describes you, please contact Dr. Beauregard to arrange access. However, please note that Dr. Beauregard does not independently take on the supervision of graduate students and so will not reply to inquiries on positions available, and may not be in a position to reply to other kinds of inquiries if made from outside the University or not aligned with her position at the ɬ﷬ Herbarium.

Degree(s): 
  • Ph.D. Plant Ecology (ɬ﷬)
  • M.Sc. Forestry (ɬ﷬)
  • B.Sc. Plant Science (ɬ﷬)
Awards, honours, and fellowships: 
  • Fonds de recherche du Québec award
  • Scheulich scholarship
  • Canadian Botanical Association Porsild-Consaul award
Areas of interest: 

Dr. Beauregard's research interests revolve around historical plant collections and the history of plant collecting in Canada, as well as quality assessment of citizen science data gathered through apps such as iNaturalist, the use of visual art in connecting people to plants and nature, and developing a better understanding of why plants grow where we find them in the wild.

Current research: 

I am currently a member of a large research project titled , which aims to examine some early natural history collections stewarded by ɬ﷬ for their contributions and connections to groups who were generally not acknowledged for their contributions at the time the collections were made. In this project I am working with a very early plant collection from Winnipeg that was made by Frances Ramsey Simpson during the time she lived in this region from 1830-1833, as well as connecting this collection to modern and historic Métis beadwork artists. I am also working on a project examining the biases present in different kinds of publicly available data on plant occurrence locations, and how to improve the collection of this data by citizen scientists.

Courses: 

PLNT 358. Flowering Plant Diversity.

Credits: 3
Offered by: Plant Science (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
Terms offered: Fall 2025
View offerings for in Visual Schedule Builder.

Description

Principles of classification and identification of flowering plants and ferns, with emphasis on 35 major families of flowering plants and the habitats in which they grow.
  • A 4-day field week is held the week preceding the start of classes
  • Prerequisite: PLNT 200 or AEBI 210 or ENVR 202 or permission of the instructor
  • A $95.46 fee is charged to all students registered in this course, which has a fieldwork component prior to the beginning of classes in August. This fee is used to support the cost of excursions, a hand lens, instructional handouts and identification aids. Students who have already received a hand lens may request a reimbursement of a portion of this charge through their department.

Most students use Visual Schedule Builder (VSB) to organize their schedules. VSB helps you plan class schedules, travel time, and more.

PLNT 460. Plant Ecology.

Credits: 3
Offered by: Plant Science (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
This course is not offered this catalogue year.

Description

Theory and practice of plant ecology with an emphasis on the interaction between patterns and ecological processes and the dynamics, conservation and management of plant populations and communities over a range of temporal and spatial scales.
  • 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab
  • Prerequisite: AEMA 310 or permission of instructor.
  • This course carries an additional charge of $170.00 to cover the cost of transportation (bus rental) for local field trips. The fee is refundable only during the withdrawal with full refund period.

Most students use Visual Schedule Builder (VSB) to organize their schedules. VSB helps you plan class schedules, travel time, and more.

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