My Family’s Environmental History

May 5, 2026 By: Emma Lang

For this assignment, I will be evaluating the environmental history of my great-grandparents and my grandparents on my mother’s side, and then I will evaluate my parents and my own environmental history. There has been extensive research done about my mother’s side of the family and this will help me provide an in-depth analysis about my family’s environmental history. During the Second World War my Grandad and Nana witnessed the transformation of England and Europe’s environment. England and Europe’s landscape was transformed by warfare during this time. My Grandad was a bridge builder during World War II and transformed the landscape by building bridges to help increase the mobility of Allied forces. My Grandad did not discuss the war much as it was a traumatic experience for him, but he did say that he was bothered by the number of dead horses that he saw. This story illustrates how my Grandad did have a love and respect for the environment and for animals in particular.

My Grandad became sick during the war, and my Nana was one of the nurses who nursed him back to health. They got married and in the early 1950s they immigrated to Canada with my grandma who was five years old at this time. Following the war England was economically unstable and the air quality was poor which made my grandma quite sick. This forced my Grandad and Nana to make the difficult decision to leave and head to Canada. In Canada, my great-grandparents and my grandma settled in Nanaimo. By the time they arrived in Nanaimo in the early 1950s, Nanaimo had undergone man-made development. Nanaimo incorporated its man-made structures with the natural environment, as it is located near the ocean and is surrounded by vast forests. Nanaimo was also spread out at this time, and my Grandad worked at Kelly Douglas, which was a food warehouse. My Grandad had to walk across town every day to get to work as they did not have a vehicle at this time. Food production which sustained the Kelly Douglas company was significant as it provided my Grandad, my Nana, and my grandma with a source of income. Nanaimo was also heavily involved in the fishing industry, and my great-grandparents and grandma relied on that for their sustenance.

My grandma spent a big portion of her life down on the lower mainland. She raised my mom and my aunties in Nanaimo before moving to Fort St John. From there, my grandma and grandpa went on to live in Dawson Creek, Quesnel, and Prince George. Similar natural resources continue to sustain my grandma and grandpa now. Many of the places where my grandma lived are man-made environments that are surrounded by the natural environment. My grandma’s current home in Prince George is a mix of man-made development and natural environment, as they live rurally and are surrounded by a thick forest and wildlife. My grandpa’s passion for carpentry has been key in their ability to transform their environments. They have done tons of work on their current property and have made additions to our family cabin that is located on the Southern Gulf Islands. They have altered this environment by adding a garden, garage, and an office space to the property. They did this in a sustainable way so that they would not cause significant damage to the environment. Both my grandma and grandpa love nature and the environment and it has become an important part of their lives.

My mom moved from Nanaimo to Fort St John and met my dad in high school and they have continued to live here ever since. The natural resources that have sustained my parents here includes agriculture, forestry and other natural resources that are key for our survival. Fort St John and our home is man-made, but we are also surrounded by the natural environment.My parents have not done much to transform the environment here. My mom does work in finance for an oil and gas company, and my dad is a principal, and are not directly involved in resource extraction. My dad did work construction and mill jobs in the past which were involved in the transformation of the environment.

All of the relatives that I have discussed above have used the environment in different ways, but they have also had a mutual love and respect for it. My family believes that balance and sustainability is important when it comes to the environment. I cannot speak on behalf of my family members, but I do think that I worry more about the long -term impacts that humans are having on the environment. The world continues to prioritize industry and natural resource extraction over the environment. I understand that we require these things for our survival but the rate that it is occurring at is not sustainable. I wish more people were aware of this or cared about this more. My relatives have or had a deep love and respect for their environments but our perspectives on the environment likely differ due to different lived experiences and circumstances.