Family Environmental History
July 25, 2026 By: Matthew Coxon
My family’s history spans England, South Africa, and Canada, but the most significant influence on how I understand the environment comes from my grandmother on my father’s side. Looking at my grandmother’s generation, my parents, and my own, it becomes clear that each experienced a different relationship with the places and landscapes we lived. Changes in politics, technology, and society had a profound impact not only on where we have lived but also how we understand the environment, value it, and recognize our responsibility toward it.
As mentioned, the story starts with my grandmother, who was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1934. Her parents had only planned to temporarily remain in Cape Town for work before returning to London, but these plans were disrupted when the Second World War began, preventing them from returning home. She grew up during wartime, and her childhood was shaped by hardship. Her father left when she was nine and she was sent off to boarding school. With little money and divorced parents, experiences that were particularly difficult during that period, she became a resilient and independent individual from a young age.
My grandmother eventually went on to study nursing in Durban and after completing her schooling, moved back to Cape Town, where she met my grandfather shortly afterwards. They soon married and lived in one of the most extraordinary environments in the world, surrounded by mountains, beaches, vineyards, and unique vegetation not seen elsewhere. Their family home was in Newlands, which was situated on the lower slopes of Table Mountain, where my grandmother took pride in the space she owned and maintained a garden filled with flowers and greenery. Although this landscape appeared naturally beautiful, vineyards, gardens, urban development, and apartheid-era planning all transformed the landscape. The environment my grandmother experienced was therefore not untouched wilderness but a place where natural features and human development were constantly intertwined.
The environment of South Africa was also shaped by apartheid. The landscapes were not simply natural spaces; they were also carefully organized by racial policies that determined where someone could live, work, and travel. As a white South African, my grandmother benefited from the privileges created by apartheid, even though she increasingly recognized the inequalities and injustices built into that system. She had access to good schools, hospitals, and decent employment that was denied to many other South Africans. My grandmother often reflected on this and took it upon herself to do what she could to correct the injustices others had faced. However, tragedy struck when my grandfather unexpectedly passed away at 31, leaving my father as the eldest at the age of 5 to his younger sister and his soon-to-be born brother.
Having understood the privilege my grandmother was fortunate to have but facing the challenges of being without a husband, my grandmother’s relationship with the environment became increasingly physical and social. Rather than simply viewing the environment as a place to live and marvel, she viewed the communities around her as environments that required the actions of others to improve as well as a support system for her. She became deeply involved in the church and volunteered as a nurse in Khayelitsha and Crossroads, informal settlements outside of Cape Town that lacked basic services. She ensured to pay workers fair wages, despite criticism from neighbours and regularly opened her home to those in need. The struggles she had faced and the inequalities she witnessed taught her that stewardship meant not simply caring for nature but also caring for the people who live within it.
My parents inherited many of these values while they both grew up in South Africa. My parents experienced greater economic stability than my grandmother did, but they also witnessed significant social and geographical change. They experienced a country transitioning and growing politically and socially, where landscapes were also changing through population growth, urban development, and increasing environmental awareness. Shortly after completing university, my parents immigrated to Canada seeking a new life with new opportunities. Leaving the dry climate of the Western Cape, they faced a new environment when they eventually settled in Kamloops, British Columbia, which is in itself a dry climate but filled with mountains, rivers and wildlife. Growing up in Kamloops gave me a different relationship with nature than either my grandmother or my parents experienced. Much of my childhood was spent outdoors, whether it was camping and hiking or working on farms or summer camps. Unlike my grandmother, whose interaction with the environment was largely shaped by social challenges and survival, my experiences were largely recreational and educational.
As I grew up, I was able to appreciate and understand how these landscapes have come to be and their histories. These landscapes provided resources that supported the communities I grew up in, including forestry, ranching, agriculture, and hydroelectric power. Yet these benefits also came with environmental costs, including habitat alteration and the transformation of Indigenous lands and waterways. I believe that the opportunities I have had have allowed me to think more carefully about the responsibility I have to the environment. However, my grandmother’s story reminds me that environmental stewardship extends beyond protecting forests and wildlife, where environments are those where healthy communities can exist and people are treated with dignity and fairness. Having said that, I can see that my relationship with the environment has also been shaped by privilege. Unlike previous generations who depended on their surroundings for survival, work, or security, I have largely encountered nature as a place for recreation, reflection, and personal growth.
Looking across the generations, I can see both continuity and significant change. My grandmother transformed her surroundings through gardening, serving the community, and a commitment to equality. My parents witnessed dramatic political and environmental change while having their world turned around upon immigrating to Canada. My own generation has inherited a heightened awareness of environmental sustainability while benefiting from a politically stable environment where I have the opportunity to explore and enjoy the natural environment. My family’s environmental history demonstrates that the environment is more than just where we live. It is shaped by war, migration, politics, privilege, and the choices we make. As my grandmother left her mark on her environment through compassion and stewardship, I hope my generation will leave an environment that is healthier, more sustainable, and in a better place for the next generation.