Tara Moreau

Bio and CV

Dr. Tara Moreau is the Associate Director of Sustainability and Community Programs at UBC Botanical Garden where she oversees educational programs, sustainability initiatives and community outreach.  With the goal of advancing local and global sustainability, Tara designs and contributes to programs and partnerships such as the Sustainable Communities Field School, Biodiversity Days, Grow Green Guide, and nature-based tours and field trips.

Tara has over 20 years of experience working to advance biodiversity in local and global food systems. She is a board member at SPEC a Vancouver-based environmental NGO and was a long-standing member of the Vancouver Food Policy Council (2012-2018). In 2012, Tara completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship with the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions through a joint appointment at UBC and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. She holds a PhD in Plant Science from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems (UBC, 2010), an MSc in Agriculture (Dalhousie University, 2004) and a BSc in Biology & Environmental Science (Bishops University, 2000).

She has worked internationally as a consultant with the UN-Food and Agriculture Organization and her publications, presentations and educational programs relate to climate change, food systems, sustainability education, agriculture, biodiversity conservation, and policy.

In 2020, Tara was recognized with the 2020 American Public Gardens Association (APGA) Professional Citation award for significant innovation and achievements in public horticulture and the 2020 Marsh Award for Education in Botanic Gardens.

Programs and Publications

Programs + Partnerships at the Garden

  • Tours and Field Trips: Groups of all ages visit UBC Botanical Garden for guided tours and field trips.  Annually the Garden hosts over 5000 people a year on guided tours where participants discover the wonders of plants, people and biodiversity.
  • Sustainable Communities Field School:  The goal of this program is to enhance climate adaptation planning, biodiversity mapping, and climate education at local, regional, and global levels. By mobilizing knowledge, action, and networks, we aim to catalyze meaningful progress in addressing the urgent challenges posed by climate change and biodiversity loss.The Field School is presented by UBC Botanical Garden and it educational programming aligns to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Food Plant Diversity and Crop Wild Relatives: Crop wild relatives are genetically similar to food crops and are critical plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Conservation efforts to protect these plants involve collaboration and knowledge-sharing across North America.
  • Grow Green Guide: Co-hosted with Metro Vancouver, the Grow Green Guide is an online tool for residents of Metro Vancouver to plan their own sustainable garden. With over 100 garden designs to choose from there are many options for residents in the region.
  • Campus Biodiversity Initiative: Research and Demonstration (CBIRD): CBIRD is an interdisciplinary biodiversity collaborative at UBC that aims to advance policy and plans for biodiversity on campus.
  • Harvest Hampers Program: The Harvest Hamper Program is a UBC community effort to connect plant diversity, urban gardens and students. The program aims to deliver fresh food hampers plus cooking essentials to UBC students facing food security issues during COVID-19. This work builds on food literacy initiatives at the Garden, including the Harvesting Food Skills Program. 
  • UNLEASH: This work aims to foster global youth leadership towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.  UNLEASH is a social innovation lab aimed at building capacity to design and develop sustainability solutions.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
  1. Ulrich, J.C., Moreau, T., Luna-Perez, E., Beckett, K. Simon, L., Migicovsky, Z., Diederichsen, A., Khoury, C. 2022. An inventory of crop wild relatives and wild-utilized plants in Canada. Crop Science. Vol 62, Issue 6. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20807
  2. Migicovsky, Z., Amyotte, B., Ulrich, J., Smith, T., Turner, N., Pico, J., Ciotir, C., Sharifi, M., Meldrum, G., Stormes, B., Moreau, T. 2022. Berries as a case study for crop wild relative conservation, use, and public engagement in Canada. Plants People Planet. 2022: 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10291
  3. Krishnam, S., Greene S.L., Khoury, C.K., Kuehny, J., Miller, A.J., Moreau, T., Novy, A. 2020. People pollinating partnerships: harnessing collaborations between botanic gardens and agricultural research organizations on crop diversity. Acta Horticulturae 1298: 37-42. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1298.7.
  4. Khoury, C.K., Greene, S.L., Krishnan, S., Miller, A.J., Moreau, T., Williams, K.L., Rodriguez-Bonilla, L., Spurrier, C., Zalapa, J., and Nabhan, G.P. 2020. Toward integrated conservation of North America’s crop wild relatives. Natural Areas Journal 40(1): 96-100. doi: 10.3375/043.040.0111. https://doi.org/10.3375/043.040.0111.
  5. Novy, A. and T. Moreau. 2019. Crop Science Special Issue: Connecting Agriculture, Public Gardens and Science. Crop Science - Special Submissions: Celebrating Crop Diversity: Connecting Agriculture, Public Gardens and Science. Alliance of Crop, Soil and Environmental Science Societies. American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America. ACSESS Digital Library.
  6. Khoury, C. K., Greene, S. L., Krishnan, S., Miller, A. J., and Moreau, T.L. 2019. A  Road Map for Conservation, Use and Public Engagement around North America's Crop Wild Relatives and Wild Utilized Plants. Crop Science - Special Submissions: Celebrating Crop Diversity: Connecting Agriculture, Public Gardens and Science. Alliance of Crop, Soil and Environmental Science Societies. American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America. ACSESS Digital Library.
  7. Moreau, T.L., and Speight, D. 2019. Cooking up Diverse Diets: Advancing Biodiversity in Food and Agriculture through Collaborations with Chefs. Crop Science - Special Submissions: Celebrating Crop Diversity: Connecting Agriculture, Public Gardens and Science.  Alliance of Crop, Soil and Environmental Science Societies. American Society of Agronomy Crop Science Society of America. ACSESS Digital Library.
  8. Krishnan, S., Moreau, T.L., Kuehny, J., Novy, A., Greene, S.L. and C. Khoury. 2019. Resetting the table for people and plants: Botanic gardens and research organizations collaborate to address food and agricultural plant blindness. Plants, People and Planet. Vol 1. Issue 3 157-163.
  9. Zelenika, I., Moreau, T.L., Lane, O., and Zhao, J. 2018. Sustainability education in a botanical garden promotes environmental knowledge, attitudes, intentions and willingness to act. Environmental Education Research. Vol 24 (11).
  10. Zelenika, Moreau and Zhao. 2018. Toward zero waste events: Reducing contamination in waste streams with volunteer assistance. Waste Management. Vol 76: 39-45. 
  11. Moreau, T.L., K. Mullinix and J. Moore. 2012. Mitigating Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Review of Scientific Information for Food System Planning. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development. 2 (2) 237-246.
  12. Moreau, T.L., K. Mullinix and J. Moore. 2012. Planning for Climate Action in British Columbia, Canada:  Putting Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Mitigation on Local Government Agendas. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development. 2 (2) 247-259.
  13. Moreau, T.L., T. Adams, K. Mullinix, A. Fallick, and P. M. Condon. 2012. Recommended Practices for Climate-Smart Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture. In: A. Viljoen and J.S.C. Wiskerke, eds. Sustainable Food Planning – Evolving Theory and Practice. Wageningen Academic Publishers.
  14. Moreau, T.L. and  Isman, M.B. 2012. Combining reduced-risk products, trap crops and yellow sticky traps for greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) management on sweet peppers (Capsicum annum). Crop Protection. 34, 42-46.
  15. Moreau, T.L. and Isman, M.B. 2011. Trapping whiteflies? A comparison of greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) responses to trap crops and yellow sticky traps. Pest Management Science. Vol 67, 408-413.
  16. Moreau, T.L., Warman, P.R., and Hoyle, J. (2006).  An evaluation of companion planting and botanical extracts as alternative pest controls for the Colorado potato beetle. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture. Vol 23(4): 351-370.

Other Publications
  • Jackson, L. and T. Moreau. 2024. Local Roots, Global Impact: Growing Biodiversity Days at UBC Botanical Garden and Beyond. BGCI BGjournal Vol 21(1). https://www.bgci.org/resources/bgci-tools-and-resources/bgjournal/
  • Novy, A., Hestness, E., Khoury, C.K., Miller, A., Moreau, T., and E. Warschefsky. 2024. Botanic Gardens Contribute to Food Security Through Education, Conservation, and Research. Vol 1, Chapt. 3 In: T. Pullaiah and D. Galbraith (eds) Botanical Gardens and their role in Plant Conservation. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, LL
  • Moreau, T., and S. Willoughby. 2023. Change Much? Marking our Mark and Tracking Impact using Logic Models and Theories of Change. Public Garden Magazine Volume 28, Issue 4. ​​
  • Volk, G.M., T. Moreau, and P. F. Byrne. 2023. Conserving and Using Climate-Ready Plant Collections.  https://colostate.pressbooks.pub/climatereadyplantcollections/front-matter/introduction/.
  • Luker, E., Richer, L., Moreau, T., Kwan, B., Miao, A., and Madden, J. 2021. UBC Vancouver Campus in a Changing Climate: Urban Forest Edition. Available at https://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/SEEDS%20Uploads/201210_Urban%20Forest%20Report_DIGITAL.pdf.
  • Khoury, C.K., Greene, S.L., Moreau, T., Krishnan, S., and Miller, A.J. 2019. Botanic Garden - Agriculture Research Collaborations around North America’s Crop Wild Relatives and Wild Utilized Plants. Public Garden 34(4): 6-9. https://adobeindd.com/view/publications/b51a2f77-7438-4cce-9c7a-21da325ef663/teyz/publication-web-resources/pdf/11_2019_PG_Magazine.pdf
  • Moreau, T. 2018. Food Gardens Growing Global Goals: Setting the Table for Sustainable Development. Roots. Botanic Gardens Conservation International Education Review. 15 (2) Nov. 14-16.
  • Moreau, T., and A. Novy. 2018. Public Education and Outreach Opportunities for Crop Wild Relatives in North America. In: Greene S., Williams K., Khoury C., Kantar M., Marek L. (eds) North American Crop Wild Relatives, Volume 1. Springer Cham.
  • Hodgson, K., and T. Moreau. 2018. Urban and Regional Planning for Biodiversity and Food Systems. In: Hawkins, I.W. (ed) Promoting Biodiversity in Food Systems 1st Edition. CRC Press.
  • Moreau, T. and K. Hodgson. 2012. Delta Community-Based Farm District: Planning Southlands as a Regionally Significant Model for Metro Vancouver.
  • Lane, O. and T. Moreau. 2012. SPEC Annual Report 2012
  • United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. (2012). Urban Consumers Factsheet. FAO, Rome, June 2012.
  • United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. (2007). Papers Submitted to the International Conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security (ed. by Tara Moreau).  Rome, Italy, 3-5 May 2007.
  • Moreau, T. (2004). What the heck is Bt?  The agricultural and ecological credentials of a bacterial bug beater. Rural Delivery, 29(5): 11-13.
  • Moreau, Tara. (2004). Questionable Companions: Mainstay of organic pest control won’t deter Colorado potato beetles.  Rural Delivery, 29(3): 16-17.