Meet the Instructors

Christine is a wife, dog-mom, daughter, sister, auntie, and friend. A Skilled Trades BC-certified Production Horticulturalist, she holds a diploma in Horticulture with a specialization in sustainable crop production from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Christine is interested in using technology and automation for sustainable greenhouse production.

As a lifelong learner with a passion for making information accessible,  Christine aims to include universal design learning practices to  connect with learners from diverse backgrounds.  Christine enjoys exploring the naturescapes on Vancouver Island.  She spends her free time trail running with her dog, encouraging pollinators into her home garden, and rock climbing.

Christine Quist Profile Image

Ina Powell is the Instructional Assistant for the Horticulture program. Ina graduated from VIU’s Horticulture program in 2020. Ina helps maintain the tools and equipment used in the program. She helps with greenhouse production and maintenance. And helps make sure the instructors have the what they need to present their classes. Ina is our  First Aid attendant and holds a current Occupational First Aid Level 1 certificate.

After 25 years in Childhood Education (mostly Early Years) Ina was drawn to Horticulture by her love of gardening and botany. Her teaching experiences and  training in the Horticulture program brought her where she is today.

When she’s not at the Horticulture Centre, Ina can be found working in her own garden, walking her dog or knitting.

Ina also holds an AMI Montessori Directress certificate and a Bachelor of Arts Degree.

Bianca van der Stoel is one of our VIU Instructors and a Horticultural Therapy Practitioner, specializing in bringing nature, stimulation, and life to the health care and education system through her Horticultural Therapy practice. Bianca is a past graduate of the VIU Horticulture Technician program, a cut flower and heirloom vegetable gardener, and was raised in the leafcutter bee pollination and agriculture industry. Bianca has established herself in the Nanaimo region as a Horticulture and Horticultural Therapy educator and an advocate for accessible nature spaces for all. Bianca has designed and installed three therapeutic garden spaces in the community, while also promoting and maintaining nature access in existing healthcare environments. Along with being a proud member of the VIU Horticulture faculty, Bianca is also the Education Committee Coordinator and Second Vice Chair for the CHTA. 

Kelsey's love of nature, the outdoors, and gardening has propelled her along her educational and professional paths. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Biology from Simon Fraser University and a Master's in Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph. Between her studies she was introduced to gardening, and carried-out year-round landscape maintenance in North and West Vancouver.  Kelsey moved to Nanaimo in 2008, where she grew her skills in landscape architecture and park planning, with experience in both the private and public sectors.  Feeling the pull of garden, Kelsey began growing and selling cut-flowers from the end-of her driveway in 2019, and in 2020 she began serving her own landscape design and garden-coaching clients, with the goal to connect people with nature and each other through gardening and garden design.  Kelsey is now taking her enthusiasm for the wonderful world of plants and growing gardens to a new level by teaching in VIU's Horticulture Technician Foundation Program.  She is a registered Landscape Architect, Organic Master Gardener and member of the Garden Coach Society... as well as a mom to her two young boys!

Eugene joins us as a Certified Red Seal Landscape Horticulturist and an Organic Master Gardener. He has been the owner/operator of an environmentally friendly landscaping company in Nanaimo for the past 12 years. He started teaching in the Horticulture program in August of 2020.

He brings us a wealth of knowledge as he grew up in the industry. His father managed a large production nursery, and his mother had a small nursery business growing annuals and creating hanging baskets.

Eugene is excited to share his passion for plants with students. He wants to as instill a good work ethic and encourage transformation and growth within the industry. Eugene is happily married with two daughters, has a passion to grow his own food and is a long-time member of the Search & Rescue Team.

Jessica is on leave from leading the horticulture department to act as the Trades and Applied Technology Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Specialist. Jessica collaborates with the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning at Vancouver Island University (VIU) to support faculty in enhancing their teaching practice. Jessica continues to work with the VIU horticulture instructional team to support instructor professional development and curriculum design.

As a teacher and instructional designer, Jessica aims to design empowering learning environments to provide learners with real-life problem-solving opportunities. In 2020, Jessica was awarded a VIU Provost Award for Teaching Design and Practice that Employs Experiential Learning. The Provost Awards recognise faculty at Vancouver Island University (VIU) for excellence in teaching.

Jessica brings a diverse knowledge of trades and applied technology industries and consulting and facilitation experience to her role at VIU. Her work experience includes the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in Ontario, the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, landscape planning in the West Indies, exhibit design at the Metro Toronto Zoo, urban habitat enhancement and natural system restoration. In addition, Jessica led Gemella Design Inc. (2005 - 2021), an award-winning landscape consulting practice on Vancouver Island. Her practice cultivated healthy living by designing restorative, vibrant, and beautiful landscapes across several spatial scales – from home gardens to public parks and open space systems.

Jessica is a registered professional landscape architect (BCSLA #286, under the BC Architects Act) and an International Society of Arborist (ISA) Certified Arborist. She graduated from the University of Guelph’s Bachelor of Landscape Architecture honour program. More recently, Jessica completed the Provincial Instructor Diploma (PIDP). Jessica is pursuing a Master of Arts in Learning and Technology at Royal Roads University.

Jessica's Provost Teaching Award Nomination Package