Exercise #2
November 16, 2025 By: Capri Holm
Dr. Mark Butorac
HIST 3991 – Environmental History
Capri Holm
November 15, 2025
Exercise #2: Family Environmental History
My family history is rich and varied, centered on survival during times of upheaval such as the World Wars, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Great Depression. These periods were characterized by uncertainty and great hardship, requiring careful resource management amid scarcity. When examining how my family interacted with the world, I have two narrative options: I could trace my father’s lineage, who was born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States before marrying my mother, or I could follow my mother’s lineage, descended from German farmers. For this paper, I will focus on my mother’s German heritage, including her grandparents’ history, which shaped the motivations behind land procurement and use for future generations, before examining her father’s history, and finally the influences they have left on my generation.
In the early 1900s, my German great-grandparents lived in a region of Russia that is now part of southern Ukraine, where they owned substantial, untouched land. In 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution erupted, driven by ideals of ethnic cleansing, massacres, and socialism, leading to blurred boundaries between borders and more influence from outside ecosystems. Consequently, the Bolsheviks forcibly took away the land my family had cultivated tirelessly, leaving them with nothing. Facing strict laws and the loss of their property, they decided to escape. To prevent suspicion, my great-grandmother volunteered to stay behind, sacrificing herself so her family could escape to safety; sadly, it was later revealed that the Bolsheviks starved her to advance their ethnic cleansing, due to her opposition to their laws. My great-grandfather then took his five children, packed into a boxcar, enduring an icy journey marked by pain and suffering, including the death of their baby brother from cold and deprivation. They travelled until reaching a small area just outside Winnipeg in the mid-1920s.
In Winnipeg, my family received land from the government, likely land that was previously inhabited by indigenous communities, and grew a farm dedicated to wheat and meat exports. They likely had much more influence on the land than simply cultivating it, as they undoubtedly brought many foreign species during their travels into this new land, which affected not only crops but also microecosystems. After losing his wife and having their land stolen, my great-grandpa focused on acquiring more property, expanding their farm, and supporting the community. They owned many horses, using them to plow the lands, as affording anything else was unthinkable, and had much livestock that they would slaughter and butcher themselves. Their role in this community was grand, playing a vital role in the area’s agriculture; however, they faced hardships, including during the 1930s, when the Great Depression struck, causing my grandfather, then only 10 years old, to leave school and quickly learn to manage the farm and act as a breadwinner amid severe poverty. Sadly, my great-grandfather died early from illness, which fueled my grandfather’s desire to own land, driven by memories of what was lost. After marrying my grandmother, they moved to Kelowna to begin their new chapter.
In Kelowna, my grandfather immediately bought 20 acres of land and started his farming ventures, no more on the prairies of Winnipeg but in the mountainous west. He planted hundreds of apple trees of different varieties, built a beautiful home and barn for his farming equipment, and soon his children, including my mother, helped on the farm after school. With a strong sense of community, he expanded by acquiring more farmland in other parts of town, as well as land for developing residential homes and later commercial properties, shaping what is now a vast part of the skyline in Kelowna. He was often reminded of his mother’s sacrifices in Russia, instilling values in his children that my mother still upholds today: owning land and a home, and using every part of the land to foster community and shared spaces without waste. These principles were eventually passed down to me, but with a greater awareness of the environmental impacts that did not seem to concern previous generations.
My time in Kelowna also involved helping my grandfather on the farm. Although I was young and my ‘help’ probably did more to hinder than assist, I drove tractors, helped mow the grass whilst weaving between the apple trees, and burned waste in a large fire pit. Later, I would join my grandmother to pick those same apples and prepare them for cold storage in the basement. As I grew older and became a teenager, school took precedence, and my grandparents shifted their focus to their construction company, which led to their loss of agricultural status. They remained in that house until both passed away, recognizing the significant role it played in their farming ventures and what they could pass on to their children and grandchildren. The land is currently being remade to regain agricultural status, turning it into a working farm once again in which was both their original dream.
Both benefits and invasion mark my family’s history with the land. In the early 1900s, and possibly earlier—though it’s unclear where the family was before moving to Russia—they expanded agricultural plots. Later, they sought new farming opportunities in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which likely impacted local ecosystems by introducing foreign materials from Europe into the new land. From these modest farming roots, a capitalism-driven desire for land ownership emerged, rooted in their initial loss. This passion led to much of the city’s infrastructure, design and layout, as I know it today, having a significant impact on the town’s land formation and success.