Sarah Lavallée

MA student examining how urban wild food provisioning in green and blue spaces contributes to cultural ecosystem services, with research grounded in environmental justice, sustainable food, and socio‑ecological systems.

I am a second year MA student in Human Geography with a specialization in Climate Change. I’m part of the Social Ecology and Conservation Collaborative, supervised by Dr. Vivian Nguyen. My thesis explores wild food harvesting in urban blue and green commons (e.g. public parks, lakeshores) in the lower Great Lakes. Using a mixed methods approach that combined surveys, focus groups, and participatory mapping, I engaged with diverse urban populations to better understand the benefits, barriers, and cultural ecosystem services derived from urban foraging and fishing. My research aims to explore the possibilities with an urban food commons approach to the natural spaces in our cities.