Elena Bennett

I am a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Sustainability Science at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. I’m probably best known for my work on ecosystem services (the benefits people get from nature) in multifunctional agricultural landscapes and for my work on the possibility of achieving a good Anthropocene.

I believe that people can interact with their environment in a more sustainable manner through purposeful action guided by research, education, and empathy. Unfortunately, we often lack critical information about how human actions affect different outcomes of interest. I work with my students to study these human-environment interactions to improve ecosystem management. Our research fosters critical thinking about environmental systems in a setting where communication of ideas between diverse audiences is valued.

I earned my PhD in Limnology and MSc in Land Resources, both from the University of Wisconsin, and a BA in Biology and Environmental Studies from Oberlin College. I was a Leopold Leadership Fellow in 2012 and an EWR Steacie Fellow from 2017-2019.

I hope to use the opportunity of the Guggenheim Fellowship to reflect and write on the nature of human interaction with the environment, especially in multifunctional agricultural landscapes.