Garnering support to protect lush forests or threatened ecosystems, informing people about pressing environmental issues, working towards changing behaviors to protect the environment — these represent just a few of the many things that environmental communicators undertake.

Environmental Communicators may:

• Act as a spokespeople for an environmental organization.
• Write stories on environmental issues for newspapers or magazines.
• Develop audio-visual products like Web sites, videos, films and photos that highlight sustainable forms of development and showcase nature and promote conservation.
• Develop and implement communication strategies to inform target audiences about an organization’s environmental policies and goals.

Where you could work:

• Media outlets such as newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations
• Environmental advocacy organizations
• Environmental consulting firms.
• Federal and provincial governments
• Self-employment
• Nature reserves, parks, museums and other heritage or cultural sites

Strong written and oral communication skills are necessary for this type of job, which BES students develop through writing research papers, leading class discussions and preparing creative writing assignments. The Faculty’s interdisciplinary nature and the inclusion of a variety of perspectives foster skills in transmitting a more balanced account and the ability to look at issues from a variety of angles. Students also explore issues around and gain experience in community organizing. In addition, students can use the video equipment, editing bay and darkroom in the Faculty’s Media Centre, and they can participate in the annual Eco-Art and Media Festival.