Family Environmental History
January 5, 2023 By: Allegra Solecki
My two sets of grandparents came from very different backgrounds, but they were all born in Canada and have similar histories. We have to go as far back as my great grandparents and even great great grandparents to talk about immigration to Canada. However, for the purpose of this essay, I will only go as far back as my grandparents.
On my father’s side, my grandpa Dave and grandma Nita are still alive. Dave was born to a Ukrainian family (immigration happened generations ago) in an area near Squamish, BC. He spent most of his childhood in and around Nelson, BC alongside his only sibling, a sister a few years younger than him. As an adult, he lived in Dawson Creek (where he met my grandma) before settling in Prince George, where they raised a family and still live today. My grandma, Nita, was born in the tiny community of Penny, BC to hard working French-Canadian parents. One of 4 siblings, my grandma recalls growing up in a small, one-room house in Penny for most of her childhood, sharing everything with her brother and sisters.
None of the family history is in writing, so it is a bit unclear. However, the way my grandparents tell it, was that when they started their family (my dad and aunt are their only children) in Dawson Creek, jobs were hard to come by. My grandpa worked on trains and railways and worked long, hard hours to keep food on the table. My grandma worked seasonally as a tree planter, also long, hard days of physical work. The environment in northern BC back then, as described by them, was cold, harsh winters and very hot summers. Both conditions were not favourable for my working grandparents, as they were both outside in the elements. My grandpa often would come home with huge cracks on his hands and knuckles, and frostbitten toes from the extreme cold. My grandma, working in the summer, recalls being constantly dehydrated from the heat. She managed to keep a small garden in their yard, despite working long hours, and she says that’s where her family got most of their produce. They would supplement their diets with meat from family and friends who had farm animals, and occasionally whole foods from the grocery store when their children got older. Being in Northern BC most of their lives, my grandparents witnessed the change in the environment. They noticed how the amount of snowfall gradually decreased over the passing decades, and summers became hotter and drier. As they had more income (and perhaps also due to climate change), they relied more on whole and packaged foods from the grocery store and less on their garden, though to this day, my grandma still has one.
My mom’s parents are unfortunately both no longer with us. They had different upbringings being from the East coast, compared to my other grandparents from the West. My grandpa, Richard, was born in a small town in Nova Scotia, to a family of Scottish descent. My grandma Karen was also born in a small town in Nova Scotia. Since my grandparents are no longer with us, I have to rely on my memory and the stories from my mom and uncle about their upbringing. Apparently, my grandparents were both hard workers who grew up relatively poor. They didn’t have much to go around, and had to be very resourceful. My grandpa grew up on a small farm, which his family relied on for food and a source of income as they sold dairy and eggs. As an adult, my grandpa started his own logging company. Grandpa Richard, much like Grandpa Dave, made a living by working out in the elements day in and day out. My grandma became a nurse to get above the poverty line, and then married my grandpa. My mom and uncle were raised partly in Nova Scotia, and then moved to northern BC around the preteen age. My mom recalls them not having very much money, but being able to get by with their parents working very hard, and grandma canning and preserving as much food as possible. They would often buy in bulk from wholesalers, but did not have a garden of their own as there was not enough time to manage it. With my grandpa being a logger and having his own company, it was imperative they lived somewhere with a lot of forest. Northern BC, at the time, was the perfect place.
Though my grandparents were raised on opposite sides of the country, they all eventually ended up in Northern BC. Both my parents have lived there most of their lives as well. It is clear, through the stories they tell and the memories they share, that the environment has changed over the years. Summers seem longer, hotter and dryer, winters shorter and milder with less snow, and less green space. What were once small towns are now thriving cities because forests have been cut down to make room for shopping complexes, big box stores, and housing developments. If my grandpa Richard was still alive and had his logging business, I bet he’d be forced farther and farther away from home each year to harvest enough supply. My grandma Nita, who still has a garden, says it gets harder and harder each year to grow healthy crops (she doesn’t use pesticides) because of the changing climate.
As an adult hearing these stories, it breaks my heart how nature has to suffer to accommodate our vastly growing population. It inspires me to get back to my roots a little bit, and think of how my family worked so hard to simply survive, not that long ago, in the same town where I grew up. I hope in the future we can restore some of the green spaces in cities and in towns, and maybe one day I won’t have to live in a condo and I can plant a garden.