Julie Lopez, Digital Campaign Organizer at Nature Canada.

This blog post was written by Julie Lopez, the Digital Campaign Organizer at Nature Canada.

Jenny Jachtorowicz is a second year student at Carleton University, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Forensic Psychology. Jenny first became involved with Nature Canada as a Young Woman for Nature mentee for the Women for Nature mentorship initiative, shortly after being a member of the Youth Council with Ontario Nature.

As a student of Forensic Psychology, Jenny will have a unique entry point to the environmental industry, and her Women for Nature mentor, Margaret Beckel, the Director of the Museum of Nature, has helped her connect the dots between her passion, studies and professional aspirations. Joining her love for the environment to her interest in Forensic Psychology, Jenny is looking to base her upcoming thesis on the reasoning and factors behind civil disobedience motivated by environmental concerns. The subject of environmental crime and psychology is incredibly interesting, and, with little research on its subject to date, further studies of it will make Jenny an innovator in the field.

Her love for the environment, and learning in nature spurred in grade 10, when her high school collaborated with the Public Board Bronte Creek Project: Trail Program. In this program, Jenny was able to complete four high school credits in an outdoor setting. Their classes would take place in a cabin; however, they spent the remainder of their time doing work outside and in nature. This experience opened her eyes to sustainability and enabled her to get out of the traditional classroom setting.

As an Ontario Nature Youth Council Member

The following year, Jenny became a member of Ontario Nature’s Youth Council. Her journey with Ontario Nature began after she saw a post about their Youth Summit on social media, and was motivated to meet other people that were equally passionate about the environment.  Following the weekend retreat, she became involved with the Ontario Nature Youth Council and began her journey championing various environmental endeavors across Ontario.

Over the past three years, Jenny has been involved in many projects with Ontario Nature. One of the most prominent projects was the Pollinator Project – for which Ontario Nature partnered with Bee City Canada to encourage towns, regions and cities to put forward declarations to take actions to protect spaces for pollinators. Jenny was the driving force behind making Halton, her hometown region a Bee Friendly region, and is setting her sights on making Carleton University the first ‘Bee Friendly Campus’ in the nation’s capital.

The Ontario Nature Youth Council. Photo provided by Jenny.

A Young Woman for Nature Mentee

Most recently, Jenny became a Young Woman for Nature mentee with Nature Canada, and a mentee as part of the Women for Nature mentorship pilot. She said her experience as a mentee was interesting, eye opening and motivating.

Jenny mentioned how valuable it was to have Margaret as a mentor because, while she does not have a nature or environmental degree, she was, nonetheless, working as the Director for the Canadian Museum of Nature. Jenny mentions how “it was interesting to speak with someone in the environmental field,” and that, “as someone that is pursuing a degree that is not directly connected to nature, it is interesting to see how other people can get there.”

Margaret helped her see the possibility for any educational experience or degree to cater to environmentalism, in addition to how to gain different, and useful skill sets that will advantageous when entering the workforce.

Next Steps

This summer Jenny will be working as a research assistant at Carleton University for the Geography and Cartography Department. She will also be continuing to champion to make Ottawa a better environment for pollinators – and is working toward having Carleton University become the first Bee Friendly Campus in the Nation’s capital.

Nature Canada would like to thank the Women for Nature members for generously supporting this mentorship pilot.

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