Master’s Student

Research Interests: Nature-based solutions; Global environmental governance; Climate change and conservation nexus

Marina is a climate actor and youth mobilizer, born and raised on traditional and unceded Coast Salish territory (Richmond and Vancouver, BC). She is the Founder and Partnerships Director of Youth4Nature, a youth-led international organization that is mobilizing young people to advocate for and lead on nature-based solutions for climate change. Previously, Marina has worked on conservation and climate change at home with the provincial and federal government, abroad as a research exchange fellow in India, and with the United Nations as an intern with the UN Environment Programme.

Marina’s research interests revolve around the role biodiversity and ecosystem conservation plays in climate mitigation and adaptation, and how to design policies and strategies that address both the climate and ecological crises (often called “nature-based solutions”). As a masters student, Marina plans to study how the idea and practice of nature-based solutions is shaping and re-shaping aspects of conservation governance. She is particularly interested in who is engaging with nature-based solutions narratives, and how we can better foster holistic and systems-thinking solutions that work for climate, nature, and people.

Marina holds a B.Sc. in Natural Resources Conservation from the University of British Columbia. She is a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholar, a Students on Ice alumnus, and has recently been named as one of Canada’s Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders and Top 25 under 25 Environmentalists. She loves 70’s rock, good vegan food, and the BC coast.