Family Environmental History
July 19, 2022 By: Sarah Greene
My family are European settlers originally from Newcastle, England. Historical records indicate that the area was first developed as a Roman fort almost two thousand years ago1. After the industrial revolution, Newcastle became a town reliant on heavy industrial activities. This city’s economy is heavily dependent on the port, similar to Vancouver, and ship building and repairs are also conducted there. Even though historically this city has relied on heavy industrial activities, their more recent focus now includes cleaner environmental initiatives. Newcastle is the largest city in the northeast region of the country. The city has released an action plan to become completely carbon neutral by 20302.
My grandfather was an engineer working on port-related development projects. My grandmother was a homemaker looking after three young children. They lived a comfortable, middle-class life in a nice home in a suburban area. Their life in England was man-made, as consumerism and retail sales were emphasized in that time. Food was purchased at grocery stores and no food was grown or harvested at home. My grandfather was asked to join a team of engineers working on a new port development project in Vancouver, Canada in the early 1960s. It was an exciting opportunity to travel to North America, and the family was packed up and began their journey shortly thereafter. My grandparents along with their young children (my aunt, uncle, and mother) joined him and they all flew to Toronto. After purchasing a 1959 Ford Galaxie in Toronto they set off on their road trip west towards Vancouver along a network of roads and highways.
Once they arrived on the West Coast, they were able to purchase a home in a suburban area of North Vancouver and my grandfather began working on the Roberts Bank project in Delta, BC. My mother, aunt and uncle enjoyed a privileged upbringing in North Vancouver. They enjoyed the nearby parks and wilderness, spending summers swimming in the local rivers and winters skiing on the local mountains. Once my mother and her siblings graduated high school, they began working in industries that were popular in the region. My uncle worked in tourism originally with several airlines at YVR to most recently rail travel with Rocky Mountaineer. My aunt met and married right after high school. Her husband began working for BC Hydro, and quickly worked his way up the ranks as BC Hydro grew dramatically during the 1970s3. My mother worked in civil engineering, originally in the private sector, for companies involved in construction and urban development. She received her LEED certification for energy efficient building strategies in the early 2000s as building construction began to emphasize more efficient building construction. Later on, she moved to the public sector and spent a decade working in the operations centre for the District of North Vancouver.
The environments that my family lived in were man-made, but the industries they worked in were centered on the natural local environment. BC Hydro was and is successful because of the available resources (many large rivers within the province), YVR and Rocky Mountaineer thrive because of the desire for tourists to travel to see the area’s natural beauty, and lower mainland engineering companies (both private and public) continue to thrive as the local population continues to grow.
I have had similar experiences to the older generations in my family, and whole-heartedly acknowledge that it is full of privilege. My family never experienced discrimination in their personal or work lives, and I have been lucky enough to have had the same experiences so far. As I was growing up, we spent many weekends exploring the local trails and swimming in the rivers, similar to my family’s experience, and now we share these same trips with my son teaching him to enjoy the trails and local forests. We live close to where we grew up in North Vancouver. I work in environmental consulting, which is focused on development and environmental impact, an industry that is highlighted in this province. Our life is predominately man-made, with all food purchased at grocery stores and markets. This, unfortunately, is due to the urban environment in which we live. We do not have the space at home to garden and grow our own produce.
References:
- https://www.roman-britain.co.uk/places/pons_aelius/
- https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/our-city/climate-change-newcastle/net-zero-newcastle-2030-action-plan
- https://www.bchydro.com/about/who_we_are/history.html