Brendon Larson (He/Him)

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.

• Ecology/biodiversity conservation and society

• Connection to nature

• Perception of nature

• 2015 Not-for-Profit Governance Essentials Program, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Ontario

• 2004 Ph.D. Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program, Science and Society, University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), U.S.A.

• 1997 M.Sc. Department of Botany, University of Toronto, Ontario

• 1994 B.Sc. Honors Biological Sciences, with Distinction, University of Guelph, Ontario

• 2016,19,21 Outstanding Performance Award, Faculty of Environment, U. Waterloo; internal

• award for outstanding teaching, scholarship and/or service

• 2011 Early Researcher Award, Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation

• 2011 Oravec Research Award in Environmental Communication (National Communication Association, U.S.) for Metaphors for Environmental Sustainability

• 2016-22 Associate Dean – Undergraduate Studies, Faculty of Environment (ENV), University of Waterloo

• 2014-16 Chair (elected), Board of Directors, Invasive Species Centre

• 2010-12 President (elected), Board of Directors, Ontario Nature

• ENVS 200 - Field Ecology
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026
• ERS 102 - Sustainability and the Really Long View
  • Taught in 2024, 2025, 2026
• ERS 283 - Ontario Natural History: Species and Patterns
  • Taught in 2021

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• a. Books2026 4. Larson, B. The Naturalist’s Paradox: How Our Love for Nature May Harm It. Under contract for Fall 2026 publication list with McGill-Queen’s University Press (Montreal & Kingston).

• 2011 3. Larson, B. Metaphors for Environmental Sustainability: Redefining Our Relationship with Nature. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 320 pp.[Refereed: both proposal and submitted manuscript. Reviewed in Science (Aug. 5, 2011). Book panel, Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts, Kitchener, Ontario, Sept. 2011. Paperback edition released, Feb. 2014.]

• 2009 2. Nerlich, B., R. Elliot and B. M. H. Larson (eds.). Communicating Biological Sciences: Ethical and Metaphorical Dimensions. Burlington, VT: Ashgate. 250 pp.[Refereed proposal]

• 1999 1. Larson, B. M., J. L. Riley, E. A. Snell and H. G. Godschalk. The Woodland Heritage of Southern Ontario: A Study of Ecological Change, Distribution and Significance. Don Mills, ON: Federation of Ontario Naturalists. 262 pp.

• b. Chapters in books2025 13. Larson, B. M. H. The ethics of scientific language about the environment. Submitted for The Routledge Handbook of Ecolinguistics. 2nd edition (H. Penz, M. Döring, G. Marko and A. F. Fill, eds.). New York, NY: Routledge. [Invited]

• 2018 12. Larson, B. M. H. Environmental metaphor. Pp. 645–648 In Companion to Environmental Studies (N. Castree, M. Hulme and J. Proctor, eds.). New York, NY: Routledge. [Invited]

• 11. Larson, B. M. H. The ethics of scientific language about the environment. Pp. 367–377 In The Routledge Handbook of Ecolinguistics (A. F. Fill and H. Penz, eds.). New York, NY: Routledge. [Invited]

• 2016 10. Larson, B. M. H. and S. Barr. The flights of the monarch butterfly: Between in situ and ex situ conservation. Pp. 355–368 In Animal Ethics in the Age of Humans: Blurring Boundaries in Human-animal Relationships (B. Bovenkerk and J. Keulartz, eds.). New York, NY: Springer. [Volume refereed; invited chapter]

• 2014 9. Larson, B. M. H. Seeking citizenship: The Norway Maple in Canada. Pp. 176–190 In Urban Forests, Trees, and Green Space: A Political Ecology Perspective (L. A. Sandberg, A. Bardekjian, and S. Butt, eds.). New York, NY: Earthscan/Routledge.[Refereed, invited]

• 8. Larson, B. M. H. The metaphorical links between ecology, ethics, and society. Pp. 137–145 In Linking Ecology and Ethics for a Changing World: Values, Philosophy, and Action (R. Rozzi, S.T.A. Pickett, B. Callicott, C. Palmer, and J. Armesto, eds.). New York, NY: Springer. [Invited]