FENV Changemakers

Matthew Syvenky (He/Him) | Resource and Environmental Management, Minor in Physical Geography, certificate in Geographic Information Systems

What makes Matthew a Changemaker?

Matthew is an undergraduate student who dedicates his free time towards stewarding ecosystems and advocating for positive environmental action. When Matthew is not in school, he is usually out hiking, scuba diving, or committing himself to his various volunteer roles.

Matthew is on the board of directors for the Invasive Species Council of Metro Vancouver and the Cariboo Heights Forest Preservation Society, using his unique position as the youngest person on these boards to offer diverse perspective on discussions. Matthew helps run booths for the Cariboo Heights Forest at city-wide events like Rivers Day and Burnaby Blooms, where he engages with the public to share stories about the forest and the importance of protecting urban green spaces. The Cariboo Heights Forest, the city's largest unprotected continuous green space, has been zoned for development for decades. Through advocacy and collaboration with the city of Burnaby and the general public, the Cariboo Heights Forest is proposed to be protected in Burnaby's new planning proposal.

As part of his participation in the Canadian Conservation Corps three years ago, Matthew initiated an ecosystem restoration project called Rubus Restoration. Through collaboration with the city of Burnaby, the Cariboo Heights Forest Preservation Society, and BC Hydro, Matthew recruited volunteers to dedicate 235 volunteer hours, removing roughly 300 kilograms of invasive Himalayan blackberry. He and volunteers restored the site with hundreds of native seeds and over 60 nursery plants.

Sukhman Khosa (She/Her) | BEnv, Resource and Environmental Management

What makes Sukhman a Changemaker?

Sukhman has stepped in to a volunteer role to inspire the next generation of Changemakers back in her hometown of Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, India, at her former high school—Smt. Maina Devi Public School. She began a Co-op work term in January with A2P Energy in Mohali, Punjab. 

She used the opportunity of being back near her hometown to connect with the principal at Smt. Maina Devi Public School and offered to share knowledge from her studies at SFU with students at the school who are interested in environmental issues. Sukhman is helping to foster positive change through this connection with her former high school. The program is still in the early stages, but she is "planting the seeds" to inspire and lift a project of interest off the ground and we're excited to see what unfolds.

Information below was added after the voting period concluded:

In her co-op placement, Sukhman has been working on addressing the issue of stubble burning in India, which is a major environmental challenge contributing to air pollution and climate change. Her work focuses on finding sustainable solutions to manage agricultural waste and promote bioenergy alternatives.

Additionally, Sukhman participated in the 2023 inaugural field school in Arusha, Tanzania, where she worked on climate change and community resilience projects. During her time there, she collaborated on community mapping, sustainable agriculture initiatives, and field research on Indigenous Maasai communities.

Rameesa Rahman (She/Her) | Environmental Science

What makes Rameesa a Changemaker?

Rameesa is passionate about driving meaningful environmental and social change, which is why she has dedicated her time to climate equity, sustainability and community leadership at SFU.

As a Climate Equity Facilitator with Embark Sustainability’s Climate Equity Collective, she works alongside her team to organize workshops that bridge climate science and social justice. Their goal is to create engaging, accessible opportunities for students to explore sustainability through an equity lens while taking meaningful action. One example of this is the Upcycling Workshop, where they guided 10–15 participants in transforming old t-shirts into tote bags. This hands-on activity not only encouraged creativity but also reinforced the importance of reusing and recycling—demonstrating how sustainability can be both practical and artistic.

Another workshop, Penning Palestine, provided a space for students to write letters of solidarity, highlighting the connection between environmental justice and broader social justice movements. They have more workshops planned to continue fostering conversations and action on climate equity. Through these efforts, Rameesa is committed to ensuring that climate solutions are inclusive, accessible, and community-driven.

Geography Student Union (GSU)

What makes them Changemakers?

The Geography Student Union (GSU) is one of the most active Departmental Student Unions at SFU. Over the years, the group has built a strong community of undergraduates within the Department who are engaged and committed to helping every geographer within their department shine. Most recently, the GSU organized an academic conference, RANGE, that brought high schoolers, undergraduates, graduates, and faculty together to share ideas and learn about geography. RANGE 2023 attracted almost 100 attendees who participated in various conference sessions themed around physical geography, geographic information systems, human geography, and sustainability/advocacy. The conference was an excellent opportunity for students to learn from each other and to build connections within and across the Department.

Apart from RANGE, you might find GSU members organizing degree planning socials, planning experiential learning trips, and running social events that help other students within geography and beyond to make the most of their university experience.

Relevant links:

https://linktr.ee/sfugsu
https://the-peak.ca/2024/01/gsu-hosts-inaugural-range-conference/

Maria Preoteasa (she/her) | BEnv, Resource and Environmental Management

What makes Maria a Changemaker?

Maria researched Food Forests in many different ways, from her Spring 2023 REM 495 capstone project on Vancouver’s policy pathways to food forests, to SFU's Environmental Education field school in Indonesia, where she researched more about sustainable agriculture and cultural practices, to the ideation of the new Food Forest Outdoor Learning Space. Inspired by the existence of global food forests dating as far back as 11,000 years ago, she decided to make use of a pre-existing food forest site at SFU's Burnaby campus.  She is helping to fight the collective forgetting of human nature-based skills. Currently, she is partnering with faculty and community members to integrate this space into SFU classes, Indigenize the curriculum, and make this a place of belonging. She is also planning events for community involvement. As a student holding the Major Entrance Scholarship, she has always been a devoted student, and her dedication to the environment has only grown in these past years as she was President of the Bachelor of Environment Student Union during 2023, Vice President from 2021-2023, and also other titles. Maria has been invited to speak at the Invasive Species of Metro Vancouver Council’s 2024 Stewardship Series to share her experience with creating Food Forests across Metro Vancouver. 

Please note this nominee received multiple independant nominations and submissions were synthesizes to the above nomination.

Eli Hacker | BEnv, Resource Environmental Management

What makes Eli a Changemaker?

Eli has worked tirelessly to create a vibrant community for students. He helped to establish REMSA, REM’s new departmental student union, so that REM students would have a stronger voice and feel more connected to the School of REM. As the first President of REMSA, Eli has increased student engagement by planning fun, accessible events with his team. He is also part of the Student Leadership Team, where he helps to organize faculty-wide social activities such as the annual FENV Career Night, an opportunity for students to connect with alumni to learn about career paths and job-search experiences. Eli led campus tours and provided information about academic resources to new students as an EnvironMentor last year. He also mentored and supported a high school’s Environment Club in their green initiatives through the Bridging Environments community outreach program. In addition, Eli’s passion for forestry management led him to volunteer with the Fire and Ecosystems Research Lab at SFU.

Relevant links:

REMSA’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sfu_remsa/
FENV Career Night Info Page: https://www.sfu.ca/fenv/events/career-night/
EnvironMentors Info Page: https://www.sfu.ca/fenv/students/current-students/undergraduate-students/get-involved/meet-mentors.html
Bridging Environments Info Page: https://www.sfu.ca/fenv/students/prospective-students/undergraduate/bridging-environments.html
Fire and Ecosystems Research Lab Info Page: https://www.fire-ecosystems.com

Emma Kingsland (she/her) | BEnv, Resource Environmental Management, Biology Minor

About Emma
Emma Kingsland is currently a student at SFU studying Resource Environmental Management and Biology.  She is passionate about coastal stewardship, wildlife conservation, and environmental education.  Emma works as the Conservation Stewardship Assistant for the B.C. Wildlife Federation (BCWF) and is one of three Co-Leads on the Year of the Salish Sea (YOSS) initiative.  Through her work with the BCWF Emma has helped develop workshops that engage members of the public in conservation stewardship and restoration projects across the province of BC.  To advance radical coastal stewardship in the Salish Sea region Emma has worked with other SFU students to develop the YOSS initiative. The initiative calls on coastal municipalities to act as a catalyst for other governing bodies, organizations, and community groups to join a collective effort to improve the health and management of the Salish Sea and raise public awareness about the importance of a revitalized and healthy sea.  Ten municipalities along the coast of BC and Washington have proclaimed June 8, 2022 to June 7, 2023 the Year of the Salish Sea.  Working with municipalities and ENGOs to advance conservation stewardship initiatives has allowed Emma to participate in community events, dialogues, and conferences as a young environmental professional.

What makes the nominee a changemaker?
Emma Kingsland is currently a student at SFU studying Resource Environmental Management and Biology.  Emma is one of three Co-Leads on the Year of the Salish Sea initiative.  The initiative was developed at SFU through the Semester in Dialogue program.  Once the program ended Emma and a few other students continued to work on the initiative.  The initiative calls on coastal municipalities to act as a catalyst for other governing bodies, organizations, and community groups to join a collective effort to improve the health and management of the Salish Sea and raise public awareness about the importance of a revitalized and healthy sea.  Emma has presented at municipal council meetings about the importance of collaboration in the management of the Salish Sea and the urgency for climate action.  This has resulted in 10 municipalities along the coast of BC and Washington proclaiming June 8, 2022, to June 7, 2023, the Year of the Salish Sea.  Through municipal proclamation, the Year of the Salish Sea opens opportunities for increased public education and engagement opportunities, collaboration in ocean initiatives, and advocacy for policy change in ocean management.  Emma has given talks about collaboration in ocean initiatives and youth leadership in conservation at events such as the CPAWS BC Ocean Fest Speaker Series in collaboration with IMPAC5, Ocean Wise Ocean Bridge Developing Lcoal Environmental Initiatives Program, and Coho Festival Tent Talks.  Emma additionally supports the YOSS initiative by attending outreach events and coordinating stakeholder engagement.

Spirit Mayo (He/him/his) | BEnv, Global Environmental Systems

About Spirit
Spirit Mayo is a 3rd year Global Environmental Systems Major in SFU's Department of Geography. He is a current member of SFU 350, the Faculty of Environment's Student Leadership Team and the Bridging Environment's and Environmentors Programs. Currently, Spirit works as a community advisor for SFU Residence, enahancing student's on-campus experience.

What makes the nominee a changemaker?
Spirit is a core leader of SFU 350, a student-led climate activism club at SFU. He participates in the group's reinvestment initiative, following their successful divestment campaign in 2021, to encourage universities to move 10% of their endowment and working capital fund into community investments that support a vibrant and local economy, amongst other recommendations. Spirit also volunteers for the faculty of environment student leadership team, bridging environments and environmentors programs. While Spirit works on residence as a community advisor he connects residents with opportunities to contribute to a positive environmental change with resources at SFU from the faculty and other on-campus climate activism organizations and programs. Spirit aspires to provide ways that everyone can contribute to creating an equitable and sustainable world.

Relevant links:
www.linkedin.com/in/spirit-mayo-8735b9206

Ellen Watters (She/hers) | BEnv, Resource and Envrionmental Management, Planning stream

About Ellen
Ellen Watters (she/her) hails from Vancouver Island on the traditional and ancestral lands of the Tsartslip Nation. She was raised in a blended family with 5 siblings of Jamaican and Japanese heritage, and is of Thai and Cree heritage herself. As someone who expresses their creative outlet through cooking and baking, it has been a fun and delicious journey connecting to her heritage and cultural background by learning how to make food.

Alongside being a creative outlet, Ellen believes making food (especially for friends and family) is a celebration and an expression of love. Her love for food has also transferred over in her studies at SFU as an Environmental and Resource Management Planning student where she has a special interest in sustainable food systems. She is excited about the challenge of incorporating food systems planning in an urban context.

In her spare time, Ellen enjoys novice bird watching at Burnaby Lake, open-water swimming, and slowly knocking books off her TBR list.

What makes the Ellen a changemaker?

Ellen has been integral in the food justice community at SFU this past year. She started off as a Food Justice volunteer at Embark Sustainability Society, where her commitment to learning and growing with her team resulted in the implementation of Nourishing Perspectives, a Food Justice Exhibition event in 2022. Within this event, Ellen and her team created a space for 5 student artists to share their experiences and relationships to food justice and food (in)security. The event also allowed about 35 student attendees to listen and learn from food justice advocates in the community and engage with them.