With her twin passions for policy and environmental research, Arielle Earn has already contributed significantly to the field of ecological preservation. A member of Victoria College, Earn is graduating this fall from U of T with a double major in biodiversity and conservation biology, as well as political science.
Her undergraduate experiences in research, policy, educational planning, activism and mentorship led her to an internship with the Arava Institute, a cross-border environmental organization located on the border between Israel and Jordan.
In a recent conversation, Earn reflected on the many ways she has been helping to stem the increasing loss of ecological diversity on Earth.
How did you come to select your area of study?
I’m really interested in applying environmental science through conservation, so conservation biology was an easy pick. Political science came from my enrolment in the Vic One program — I was drawn to the Pearson stream, which involves political science and history. There was hardly any crossover between the two areas, but majoring in both allowed me to experience the University in really different ways.
One way was that I got interested in policy. I was super excited about the research that Chelsea Rochman was doing. At the end of first year, I wrote her and asked, is there any way I could work with you next year? She said yes, and encouraged me to apply to Arts & Science’s Research Opportunities Program (ROP).
In addition to research, I got to write policy briefs for some of the work she’d been asked to do on the state of plastics pollution in the Great Lakes. It was a way to translate scientific data for policymakers, which is something I’m really passionate about; I think science can often be quite inaccessible to a lot of people. That’s something Professor Rochman cares a lot about, too.
You also worked extensively with the U of T Trash Team, which was also established in collaboration with the Rochman Lab. What did you do there?
The Trash Team does public outreach on plastic pollution and waste literacy, as well as educational programming. I got involved with helping with cleanups around U of T and the Don River, went to meetings and came up with ideas. We got to create an educational platform for kids in elementary school to learn about all sorts of plastic, and come up for solutions to deal with it. I helped plan the curriculum they were developing for fifth-graders and worked on a lesson plan with another student, which was a really cool experience.
You also worked on different projects in Shelby Riskin’s lab, including continued research on microplastics. What else did you do there?
One of the things I loved best at U of T was the opportunity to work on independent research projects. I started talking about media with Professor Riskin and we developed a project to do with endangered species, and how they’re portrayed by the media. She’d been thinking about how people perceive this problem, whether perception is different depending what demographic you’re in and so on. So I ended up doing a sort of media analysis with her, looking at the way the science on endangered species is translated for the public via the news, and how these perceptions might affect conservation outcomes. To do this, I looked specifically at the vaquita, which is an endangered porpoise in the upper Gulf of California.
Now you are many miles away, working for the Arava Institute. What are you doing there?
I’m a research intern, and I’m working on an ecotourism project which is a joint effort between Israel and Jordan. The institute’s slogan is “Nature has No Borders.” I’m really passionate about water conservation and thinking about the ways our environment is changing. The work they’re doing on desertification and water scarcity is really interesting, though as I learned from my work on the Great Lakes, cross-border work —even between Canada and the United States — can be really challenging. In a zone of conflict it’s even more so. Still, I’m reminded that these borders are human; nature and animals don’t recognize them.
What was your most interesting experience at U of T?
The first thing that comes to mind was presenting my group work at the ROP Fair. That was the first conference-style event that I’d ever been to. It was so exciting to talk about the work I’d been doing. We were an all-female group, and it was exciting to be part of an elite group of women who were doing that together. I’d also say that finishing my degree during COVID-19 was hard, but I appreciated that even during that time I was still able to brainstorm and think questions out with two thesis advisors who came from different backgrounds — one from social science, one from natural science. That was a really special experience.