Exercise #2: Family Environmental History
Instructions
For Exercise #2, you will bring the environmental concepts home by looking at your own and your family environmental history.
Our lives and present environments are products of history. Our parents and grandparents grew up in very different environments from those of today. In our study of environmental history, it is helpful to think about our families’ past environments and their meaning for us today.
- Write an informal essay, between 700 and 1100 words, reflecting on your personal environmental history going back to your grandparents, parents, and your own generation. See the Exercise 2 Samples for a guide to this exercise.
- In formulating your response, consider the environments in which they and you have lived. Where were they located? What natural resources sustained your families and their communities? To what extent were those environments “natural” or human-made, native, or exotic (that is, transformed by European or other non-native species)? How have your families helped to transform their environments? Does your own ethnic and class heritage or gender play a role in the way you and your family have related to and valued the environment? How did the relationships your grandparents and parents had with their environments differ from the ones you have had in the past and wish to have in the future?
- Post your response by clicking ‘Add Submission’ below.
- Please note, you should write and edit your submission in a separate file then copy and paste it into the submission box. Once submitted to the HIST 3991 trubox site, you will not be able to edit your post.
Are you a student of HIST 3991? Click here to add a submission to this assignment.
Submissions
Exercise 2: Family Environmental History
October 8, 2023 By: V. Pattenden
Prof. N. Fennema HIST 3991: Environmental History V. Pattenden T00593695 October 8, 2023 Exercise 2: Family Environmental History Having emigrated to Canada as a child with my small nuclear family, my family origins are based predominantly in the UK and my knowledge of the family history is limited. Fortunately, I managed to gather some information from my mother to combine with my research of areas in which my family originated and places where they settled. From what I can gather, my family’s lives were greatly impacted by the effects of WW1, the interwar period between 1918 and 1939 (which…
My Familys Environmental history
September 18, 2023 By: Sam McQuillan-Gordon
I’m Sam, a 25-year-old born and raised right here in Kamloops, British Columbia. Although my connection to this land is only three generations old, My family’s story is still tightly woven with this place we’ve called home for over 70 years. From my grandparents to my parents and down to my own generation, this city will forever have a special place in our hearts. My family’s history starts with my mom’s parents of Scottish descent, who moved from Moosejaw, Saskatchewan, to Kamloops when she was just a kid. Moosejaw was smack-dab in the prairies, a land of open spaces and…
Exercise #2: Family Environmental History
August 22, 2023 By: Riley P
Exercise #2: Family Environmental History My family’s story in Canada started around two generations ago when my father’s side immigrated from Sweden and settled in Gibsons, BC. Which at the time (and relatively speaking, still is!) was a small town along the coast of BC, where most people relied heavily on the local resources, such as the fishing and forestry industry, to sustain themselves. When look at my family’s history in Gibsons, it’s quite evident that the resources that sustained my family lifestyles were also deeply tied to both the forestry industry and the coastal region. Both my grandparents…
My Family History
August 8, 2023 By: Jared Daumont
My family has lived in Terrace British Columbia for over 3 generations. My grandparents were both born in Terrace in 1944 and have lived their entire lives there. My grandfather, Donald, was born the son of a soldier that had served in the military during WWII and was stationed in the military base in Terrace. Donald’s father helped to build the highways East and West of Terrace. Don grew up on a farm where he was responsible for tending to the animals and maintaining the land. He would wake up every day, put on his boots, and head out for…
Family Environmental History Since the 1920s
July 30, 2023 By: Clarissa Wight
When considering the environments of my grandparents and parents compared to my own, there are many significant differences. With increasing urbanization, lifestyles in relation to the environment change drastically. My grandma on my mom’s side grew up in Saskatchewan as the youngest of 10 children. She was born in 1921 so the world she grew up in was entirely different than my own. She always talked about how hard her mom worked raising children with no running water. The first things she learned to knit were mittens and socks because she needed them to stay warm. Food and clothing were…