Family Environmental History
August 12, 2026 By: Rhys Parry
My Personal Environmental History
When I started thinking about my family’s environmental history, I realized that the way each generation has interacted with the environment has changed quite a bit. My grandparents’ generation had a much more direct connection to natural resources, especially through work and getting food. My mom’s generation grew up in a more urban environment, while my own connection with nature has mostly been through recreation. Even though these relationships are different, I think each generation has influenced the next in some way.
For this exercise, I am mostly going to focus on my mom’s side of the family because that is the side I know the most about. My grandparents on my mom’s side, Pete and Colleen Zanatta, grew up in Prince George, British Columbia. My grandparents on my dad’s side, Wyn and Pam Parry, are from Wales, and my dad was also born there. However, I do not have a relationship with that side of my family, so I do not know enough about their history to really explain their relationship with the environment.
My grandpa Pete’s life in Prince George had a very direct connection with the environment. He worked in logging and also built roads. Both of these jobs depended heavily on the natural environment but also changed it. Logging meant that forests were not just places to enjoy but were also an important resource that provided jobs and supported communities. Road building also changed the landscape by making previously difficult areas easier to access. Roads would then make it possible to move timber, people, and equipment through areas that had previously been forested.
Pete’s relationship with the environment was not only through work. My grandparents also hunted and fished. This is probably one of the biggest differences I notice between his generation and mine. Hunting and fishing provided recreation, but they could also provide food and were part of living in a place like northern British Columbia. My grandma Colleen was a stay-at-home mom, so her connection with the environment was different from Pete’s work in logging and road building. Still, the environment and natural resources around Prince George would have been part of their everyday lives.
My mom, Gina, grew up in Maple Ridge, B.C. Her environment was quite different from the one her parents experienced in Prince George. She grew up more in the city, and education was very important to her. This shows one of the changes between the generations in my family. My grandpa’s work was directly connected to forests and natural resources, while my mom’s life was less dependent on extracting resources from the environment.
Even though my mom grew up in a more urban environment, she still passed an appreciation for the outdoors on to me. I grew up in Mission, B.C., in a suburban neighbourhood. I was not growing up on a farm or depending directly on the land for food or work. We did recycle, but we did not have a garden or compost. Most of the environment immediately around me was human-made in some way, including houses, roads, lawns, schools, and other parts of suburban life.
At the same time, living in Mission meant that forests, mountains, rivers, and lakes were never very far away. My mom took me camping all the time when I was growing up, and I was always interested in being outside. Looking back, I think those camping trips played a pretty big role in how I view the environment today. The outdoors became somewhere I associated with having fun and getting away from everyday life rather than somewhere I depended on to make a living.
Fishing has probably become my strongest connection to the outdoors. I fish all the time and really enjoy being around rivers and lakes. There is an interesting connection between this and my grandpa because fishing was also part of his life. However, the meaning is somewhat different for me. For Pete, fishing and hunting existed alongside a life where natural resources were also connected directly to his work. For me, fishing is mostly recreational. I do not depend on the fish I catch to survive or earn a living. I recently got my hunting and firearms licences as well, although I have not actually gone hunting yet. Part of my interest in hunting probably comes from the same appreciation I have for fishing, camping, and spending time outside.
I think this difference between my grandpa and me says a lot about how relationships with the environment have changed over only a few generations. Pete worked in an industry that physically transformed forests through logging and road construction. Natural resources were connected to employment and supporting a family. By my generation, I have the ability to experience many of those same types of environments mostly for enjoyment. I can go camping or fishing because I want to rather than because my livelihood depends on the forest or what I can get from it.
There is also a bit of a contradiction in my own relationship with nature. I really enjoy being outside and appreciate forests, rivers, lakes, and mountains, but I also grew up with all of the conveniences of suburban life. I drive to many of the places where I go fishing or camping, buy equipment that has to be manufactured and transported, and live in a neighbourhood that was itself created by clearing and developing land. Before taking environmental history, I probably would not have thought much about that contradiction.
Looking at these three generations has made me realize that my family’s relationship with the environment has not necessarily become stronger or weaker, but it has changed. For my grandpa, nature was closely connected with work, resources, hunting, and fishing. For my mom, growing up in a more urban environment and focusing on education created a different relationship with it, although she still made camping and being outdoors an important part of my childhood. For me, nature has mainly become a place for recreation through camping, fishing, and hopefully hunting in the future.
Going forward, I would like the outdoors to remain an important part of my life. I think there is value in having places where people can fish, hunt, camp, and simply spend time outside. At the same time, looking at my own family’s history has made me think more about how much these environments have changed between generations. The forests my grandpa worked in, the suburban environment my mom grew up in, and the places where I fish today are all part of the same larger environmental history. My relationship with nature is different from my grandparents’, but some of my appreciation for it was still passed down through my family.