I am an MA student in the socio-cultural anthropology research stream. As a former park ranger, my interest in anthropology and ethnographic research stems from questions that arose throughout my time working in Ontario’s provincial park system. I began my studies at the University of British Columbia in 2021 to focus on interrelated research interests including protected areas, understandings of place, land management, Indigenous–conservationist relations, and ethnographic film. I strive to produce consequential research that will help inform policy decision-making and strengthen mutual understanding between various groups working in the area of land management.

My research aims to examine the settler conception of protected areas and the ways in which this conception embeds within it a notion of Indigenous people as being outside of the contemporary. This project will explore how parks and conservation areas are products of the settler imagination, and yet have also come to shape and reinforce settler understandings of place and effective land management. I am interested in the effect that these understandings have on conservationists’ actions and, in turn, how these actions influence relationships and political formations with Indigenous peoples. Ethnographic film will be employed as an active research tool to document interactions, produce educational resources, and disseminate critiques of widely relevant environmental, political, and sociocultural topics. This research will be carried out in various protected areas, of varying classification, in British Columbia. I am interested in conducting ethnographic research—through participation observation, informal conversation, and interviews—with park visitors, park staff, citizens of nearby urban areas, and conservationists involved in parks and non-profit organizations. In addition, I aim to conduct interviews with Indigenous groups whose ancestral and traditional lands are currently within the boundaries of protected areas, focusing primarily on their relationships with conservationists.

Dr. Charles Menzies