Beth has always felt connected to the natural world and all its wonders. Growing up in Wellington County, Ontario, Beth enjoyed camping, swimming, and cross-country skiing with family from a young age. Her love for the outdoors was further cemented when she completed an outdoor environmental education and leadership program as both a student and later an Assistant Teacher in high school.

In 2021 Beth graduated from the University of Waterloo where she majored in Environment, Resources, and Sustainability with a Joint Major in Social Development Studies and a Specialization in Individual Well-Being and Development. During her undergrad, Beth worked in several environmental sectors including waste management, green infrastructure, and environmental education. Through her work experiences and undergraduate thesis study, she wove together her two passions: human psychology and environmental sustainability. Beth’s research investigated the mental health impacts of climate change on undergraduate Faculty of Environment students studying at the University of Waterloo, using Photovoice Methodology (a participatory action research approach based in participant photography), both as a means of data collection and a potential intervention tool.

While completing her master’s of Environment, Resources, and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo, Beth will collaborate with the SEE LAB to research the affective load of interdisciplinary environmental studies and its impacts on student motivation, knowledge retention, and behavioural commitments to continued study and work in the environmental sector. Her research is partially funded by SSHRC’s Partnership Development Grant (Wolfe).