blarson@uwaterloo.ca
Environment 2, room 2016
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Brendon is interested in how people’s relationship to nature and their conservation actions are being influenced by interwoven ecological, social, and technological changes. He identifies as a social scientist, but his work is highly interdisciplinary because it draws on his connection to other beings, as a life-long naturalist, as well as his initial training in biodiversity science (evolutionary ecology and taxonomy). His current book project with McGill-Queen’s University Press – expected to be published in Spring 2026 – collates his decades of experience across these domains: its working title is The Naturalists’ Paradox: How Our Love for Nature May Harm It.
He has published three books, 90 refereed papers and book chapters, and 50 consulting reports and newspaper articles. He is an engaging speaker who has been invited to give more than 80 lectures to over 6,000 people – including more than two dozen keynotes and invited plenary lectures – in nearly 20 countries on six continents.
His recent research has involved collaborations with students and colleagues around the world on how factors such as the following affect connection to nature: cultural and religious variation, eco-anxiety among children, and species identification apps (such as iNaturalist, currently funded by a SSHRC Insight Development Grant). He has also worked extensively exploring critical debates for conservation – such as invasive species and assisted colonization – in this era of dramatic socio-ecological change. His award-winning first book, Metaphors for Environmental Sustainability (Yale, 2011), concerned how scientific language about the environment influences its contribution to sustainability.
Brendon has had several leadership roles over the course of his career, including as President of Ontario’s largest conservation not-for-profit, Ontario Nature (2010-2012), and as Associate Dean – Undergraduate Studies in Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment (2016-2022). He is currently the associate editor of "Climate, Ecology and Conservation" for the journal, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews (WIREs) Climate Change.
Brendon loves teaching undergraduate students and advising senior thesis projects and graduate student research. Each spring term, he teaches i) a one-week residential field course (ERS283) on the Bruce Peninsula, where students learn the natural history of birds, insects, and plants (among other organisms) – and conduct group projects in pollination ecology; and ii) the Faculty of Environment’s introductory ecology course (ENVS200), which he redesigned for the faculty in Spring 2025. Each winter term, he teaches a first-year core course in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability on big history, At Home in the Universe (ERS102).
If you are interested in collaborating with Brendon or in joining his group as a senior thesis student or for your MES, PhD or a post-doctoral fellowship, he encourages you to contact him to discuss your ideas.
Research Interests
- Ecology/biodiversity conservation and society
- Connection to nature
- Perception of nature