Profile: Amy Berry and Meagan Symington

Peer Education on Coastal Impacts of Climate Change and Water-related Health Risks

Amy (left) and Meagan are both completing the last year of their BA degrees, Amy at Dalhousie and Meagan at Saint Mary’s University. Amy’s major is International Development and her honours thesis is on tourism and sustainable development in Ghana. Meagan’s majors are French and International Development and she did her honours thesis in The Gambia on local perceptions of water quality and health related risks. Both completed a Master’s in IDS at SMU in 2015..

Current Location (2020 Meagan): Shirley, Vancouver Island, BC

Current Activity (Meagan) Owns and operates a west coast inspired wood fired pizzeria and local market, which we opened in 2017. We are advocates of the local food movement and work hard to support other small businesses. Our menu features local ingredients from farms and producers in the surrounding area and our market highlights local makers and artisans from across Vancouver Island. We have also started up a very small fundraising initiative called “Juan Love” where we donate a portion of our merchandise sales to support different community-based social or environmental groups in the Juan de Fuca electoral area each year.

Value of RRT: The environmental education project that my co-facilitator and I completed, thanks to RRT funding, helped me foster important organizational skills, such as grant application, project management and teamwork as well as flexibility and adaptability in the field. I am no longer directly in this field of work, however, the management and organizational skills that I acquired as a result of this project have indirectly helped me in my endeavor to open and operate a successful independent small business that gives back to the community whenever possible.

Links: Symington&Berry Final Report (pdf)
Poster Report: Gambia 2013-14 (pdf)
Thesis: Symington Masters thesis Community-Based Conservation and Development
Thesis: Berry Masters thesisThe Adverse Effects of Climate Change on Coastal Communities