I grew up in Tehran, Iran and emigrated to Canada in 2021. My father and grandfather were also born in Tehran. I will mostly focus on their history for the purpose of this writing. My grandfather was born in 1930, my father in 1965, and I was born in 1996. Across these generations, Iran underwent huge political and social changes, which affected policies and practices regarding the environment. My grandfather, born around 1930, lived in a version of Tehran that still had dirt roads and was very rural except for the downtown. They had a Coca-Cola factory very close to…

My family’s connection to the land goes back many generations in Rajasthan, India, where the climate is dry and the landscape demanding. Long before my grandparents’ time, my ancestors lived in a world where the environment was inseparable from survival, governance, and even warfare. The rugged landscape, scarce water sources, and harsh climate of the region shaped not only daily life but also the very formation and defence of the princely states in India. This was from the 1400s until 1900s. I’ve heard many stories passed down about how natural features, hilltops, rivers, and deserts, were strategically used to protect…

My family’s environmental history stretches across countries, connecting distant places like Vancouver Island, Canada, and Niigata, Japan. By reflecting on the environments where my grandparents, parents, and I have lived, I aim to illustrate how our identities, livelihoods, and values have been shaped by our relationship with nature. My Canadian grandfather grew up on Vancouver Island, an area significantly changed by forestry. His own father emigrated from Denmark and contributed directly to Canada’s growth by helping build the Pan-Canadian railway, which demanded extensive logging and reshaped local forests dramatically. Later, my grandfather became a carpenter, relying indirectly on the region’s…

When I think about my relationship with the environment, it’s hard not to see it as a story of contrasts. My mother grew up in Huye, Rwanda, in the green hills of East Africa, where the land shaped people’s daily routines, their food, and their way of life. Now, I live in The Hague, in a flat, planned Dutch suburb, surrounded by canals, storm drains, and smooth bike paths. The differences between these environments are huge, but I’ve come to see connections between them, too. My maternal grandparents lived just outside Huye, in the Southern Province of Rwanda. They were…

I spent my entire life in Surrey, British Columbia. I was born in Canada, but my father took me to India when I was about eight months old so my grandparents could raise and care for me. That was because my parents had to work and earn money in Canada, and they had no other choice because no one was willing to look after me while they were both at work. My grandparents came to Canada in the 2000s, and I came with them. When I came back with them, I was around three years old. My mother was born…