S4 E05 Kate Landry - WWF Canada

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Meredith Meeker 0:00

Hello, and welcome to all my fellow community scientists. I'm your host, Meredith Meeker. And this is another episode of how do I do this and environmental career podcast. This week, I sit down with our guests, Kate Landry. She leads national bilingual community action programs for WWF Canada. And these programs aimed to help increase biodiversity and restore habitat across Canada. She developed strategy and oversees the implementation of projects to mobilize individuals and communities to take measurable conservation. So let's get into it. Kate, thank you so much for being with meet, today on the call to start us off. Would you mind saying your full name and your

Kate Landry 0:47

pronouns? Sure. My name is Kate Landry and my pronouns. Are she her or L.

Meredith Meeker 0:55

Oh, amazing. I'm not fluent in French, so we're going to do this in English, but appreciate that for any of our Francophone listeners. And to start this thing off, what is your favorite thing to do in nature? Either an activity or just something that helps you feel connected?

Kate Landry 1:13

Yeah, I. I enjoy exercising in nature the most. I think it's not one favorite thing, but I, wherever I am in the world, I've, I've lived outside of Canada for a significant portion of my adult career where I've gotten to hike mountains and go diving which are things I really appreciate. Moving back to Ottawa where I'm from now. I love taking advantage of the bike trails. I've also been running in the winter this way. This is my first winter and running. So, anything you can do that kind of gets you out and gets you moving with beautiful surroundings is, is is yeah. Is something I'd like to do

Meredith Meeker 1:52

the mountains diving. Those are two different extremes and in elevation. Absolutely. Cool. Yeah. Okay. If you wouldn't mind telling us a little bit more about what you do and why does

Kate Landry 2:05

celebrate. Sure. Yeah. So I work at WWF Canada. I've been there just under two years and I'm our senior manager for community action. And it's important because people need to be aware of the big problems that the climate is facing or rather that we're facing. And that nature is facing With the climate crisis and with biodiversity loss. And they also need to know that they have a role to play. I think that we, you know, we all understand that reducing our plastic use or turning down in our lights, things like that, our sustainability actions that make a difference and they do, but The big role that my team focuses on is looking about how we can engage community communities to take nature based climate solutions which at its core means planting native plants. Native plants are. Plants that are kind of local to your ecosystem and have co-evolved over a tens of thousands of years to provide food and shelter and habitat to wildlife, like insects and pollinators and birds. And that feeds all the way up to the food chain. And so there, there is such an important part of our ecosystem and it's so easy to plant them. They're beautiful. They're colorful. And just as nice to have in your gardens or in your school yards alongside. You know, other non-native plants or even in a complete native plant garden. So, what my team really focuses on is kind of the education piece and, and why W, you know, why people need to care about the climate crisis, understanding what it is that they can do to impact it. We also support planting of native plants and also just trying to kind of keep that connection going. For people you, you asked me, what do you like to do in nature? You know, a lot of people like to garden or they like to have their coffee and nice place, but you know, taking, taking action to be able to restore the habitat around you, whether it's just a little kind of pot on your balcony or in a yard or in a school that does bring benefits. And so we, we focus on kind of bringing those elements together, the education, the planting, and the kind of connection that you get with nature together.

Meredith Meeker 4:19

That is so important because I do think people are becoming more and more aware of the climate crisis and people want to know what they can do, like what is in their power, because I think some of, so much of it feels outside of our control. Sure. You can vote, but you can't actually pass a bill. So, yeah. Being able to feel like you can look outside your window, whether it's a balcony or in your backyard and see, and feel like you're making a difference. I feel like that's really important work and that you actually, you know, cumulatively are making a big difference. So WWF I would think a lot of people have heard of that organization. And it is one that's recognized globally. So this isn't, I mean, you were talking about working in other countries, so obviously you haven't spent your entire career there. Can you take us through a bit of your journey and how you got to where you are?

Kate Landry 5:20

Sure I'd be happy to. Especially because I, it seems unconventional, but there's a through line and, and that through line is social justice. I started off my career in international development, working for international NGOs. The first place I was deployed was Afghanistan working on programs that supported Afghan entrepreneurs to connect to business opportunities. From there I transitioned to Haiti, which was recovering from a big disaster. And the NGO I worked for in Haiti, worked with communities to help recover from disasters like earthquakes and typhoons, but also to build resilience to them. Which is the important piece. I eventually moved with that same organization to the Philippines and I spent six years there. The first couple of years working on post typhoon recovery projects, helping people to strengthen their, or to build safer homes, but it became completely clear that it's not enough just to respond to disasters that you save a lot more time and effort and, and lives. When you're making people more, you're helping people to build resilience in their homes to begin with. And so. The, the kind of later focus of my work was on helping communities strengthen their homes before disasters to, to kind of better withstand the effects of that. And, and what that really gave me. It was an appreciation first for how much the climate crisis affects people in developing countries. And second to also see the power of community action is, is that you know, people don't need handouts. They're people with autonomous decisions and should be leading leading solutions. Help build resilience to, to the climate crisis that that's kind of been facing around us. And so. I kind of took those big lessons. When, when I decided that it was time to come back to Canada and I could have gone to an international development NGO, but the thing that we have in Canada is so much intact nature. And what we do here can actually make a difference to. The people that I knew in the Philippines or in Haiti and other disaster prone areas. And so, I wanted to explore the environmental NGO space. And, and I was able to, to get a role with WWF Canada. Fortunately because like I say, we have community action programs and, and again, what you do here in Canada it impacts of course what's happening in Canada, our, our habitat, our wildlife, our nature here, but it has repercussions around the world. So yeah, kind of an unconventional journey. But at the core, I, I call myself a project manager and a community action specialist and, and, and that has multiple applications.

Meredith Meeker 7:58

I think that is such an important story to share and something that I think we're really trying to highlight this season is the unconventional path, because. So we need to engage people, just, you know, outside of just the sciences and the hard scientist sciences, we need to engage communities. And that might not be a scientific, traditional scientific person because well, a lot of these communities have been disenfranchised by scientists and maybe, you know, we're not the best people to be. On the ground where you need to accept people with different stories and different strengths to like move this forward. So thank you so much for coming back to Canada and using your strengths. I don't think

Kate Landry 8:45

I do. Yeah. I appreciate that. And I'd add one more thing, which is that local communities have local knowledge, which is so important. And that was a big lesson and eventual emphasis for me in international development. Right? Like sometimes people's houses blew down and a typhoon because they didn't have the right materials, but they did know the best way to make their roof as strong as possible using only fishing wire. And so there is local. There. And there are certain ways that people like their homes to be laid out architecturally, all this kind of stuff. They're like local communities have power and input, and it's important that they become stakeholders in the process. And I think that that's equally true here in Canada as well, especially with the indigenous and first nation communities that we have throughout the country. And, and I'm, I'm grateful or I'm, I'm hopeful. Hopefully, this is the wrong word. I'm heartened to see that there's more emphasis being placed now on learning from indigenous communities and first nations who have been the stewards of the land since time immemorial.

Meredith Meeker 9:48

Yeah. That's a really important piece to add. You know, there's a lot of different places to get our knowledge and a lot of people who need to be at the table to like be included in these decisions because. Ultimately a lot of these communities are the most effected, so they need to have a say. So I guess looking back at your journey, there is the through line, but is there any like piece of advice that you wished you had given yourself then, or, you know, you would give to somebody just starting out in their.

Kate Landry 10:25

I think two pieces of advice the first is to get out in the field. For me, especially, I, I learned so much by just being immersed in an environment and from listening to others. And so the more that. Give yourself the chance to kind of be in the environment that you're trying to work in, or that you're trying to change the better it's, it's worth it. Even if you're getting bitten by mosquitoes, like living on that data for weeks at a time, it's totally worth it. And the second piece of it is networking, which is really, really important. And I would a lot more shy, especially starting out in my career, especially as a woman, I can't You know, especially in the stem fields, we know that women and minorities are, or are not as represented. And so it, it does take a little bit of a barrier to kind of get that confidence up to, to be stronger and networking. But down the road, it kind of led to professional benefits. For me, I'm very confident in public speaking and can kind of. Give your presentation with two minutes notice in front of 500 people. And it's a skill that I kind of built up over time. And so investing in your networking skills I, I would highly suggest to do, and it also gives the kind of personal benefit of meeting people who are like-minded and getting those social connections and people that you're able to talk to about, you know, things that you care about together.

Meredith Meeker 11:48

Yeah. And I mean, personally, I love it when you can merge those two. Like if you can go out into the field with an expert, I learned so much more that way too. And I dunno, it can be really fun as well. So there's a lot of benefits to getting to know your field better and the people in it.

Kate Landry 12:06

I agreed.

Meredith Meeker 12:08

So we've talked a lot about your journey. And it sounds like you have a very interesting position now. So can you tell us what the best part of that job

Kate Landry 12:19

is? Yeah, I. I mean, this is personal, but I love to learn and I get to learn continually, which is really great. Again, kind of looking at my own career. I, I worked for small NGOs when I was outside of Canada and a draw for me, working for WWF was getting to a larger organization and kind of. Oh, that worked. And the benefit for me now, you know, personally is getting to hear from my colleagues across conservation, who might be working on Marine shipping issues, or like, you know, different different types of work that are kind of outside of what I'm doing now. And, and I still get to learn and, and I love that. We've also been given a lot of flexibility to to explore our, or kind of continue professional development in terms of indigenous knowledge and connections to the indigenous land, where we are. And, and I really appreciate that opportunity. But I also get to learn from people and, and that's so neat as well. I'm a big proponent of behavior centered design or human centered design which is basically designing your solution. With your audience, not for your audience, kind of going through a process of building empathy, understanding where they're coming from, what their needs are, making small prototypes testing, and tweaking along the way and, and understanding that failure is okay, and you can iterate the process. And so you get to the point where you're, you're able to launch something bigger. And I get so much from that process and being able to get. Learn again from people who are affected or, or who have a stake in what's happening or who want to see change wherever they're coming from and, and working together to to try and test and build and grow. Would

Meredith Meeker 14:03

you mind if we went into that, like just a little bit more, like, what does that process look like in terms of like nature based climate solutions and because native plants have already done a lot of the evolving for us, so. Just wondering how that

Kate Landry 14:18

works. Yeah. So, you know, a good example might be to understand, like, you know, at WWF Canada, we think everyone should be planting native plants wherever they can. That's my, that's my kind of big goal, but you know, that's not necessarily possible for everyone or it's, it's one part of a larger educational experience that's happening. So if you think about partnering with a school We have a go of wild school Ganz program where we make a micro grants available to schools to, to kind of build pollinator gardens or do other things. We're not very prescriptive and in how the funds can get used. But we, we favor or encourage. Applications that are using nature-based climate solutions as much as possible. And so, we're learning a lot from our school audiences on what it is that they need in order to better feel equipped to take action in their own school yards. And part of that is curriculum-based. And part of that is just understanding where to get native plans, like which nurseries and growers should I go to? What, you know, what makes the most sense for me? And, you know, And, and understanding as well, what influence children and, and school kids can have within their communities and with their parents as well. And so, we, we wound up doing kind of a pilot project of, of getting an action plan together. Schools wanted a resource that we're, you know, we were able to take Work with a sustainability scholar, take various resources and kind of put together a tool that schools can use to kind of audit their school yard. And of course there's going to be, or we hope there's going to be a few trees. It's unlikely. In urban areas, but more likely, and in less urbanized areas that the hair's kind of untouched habitat, it could be there. It could not, there might be some garden beds. There's certainly going to be hard infrastructure like parking lots and and, and walkways that you can't move with it. And so that's kind of the first step is to say like, okay, where are we now? And then to envision, what can we do next? You know, based on the light that our school yard gets and the types of soil and the availability of native plants around us, like what is the next thing that we can do? And maybe you plant a garden bed and you. Use plants that are more appropriate for a water and it doesn't actually work. Or maybe you, you know, I did full sun planets and it's actually a shady piece and that's an iterative process and you learn, but if you've got this commitment to be able to kind of increase the number or the percentage of natural habitat in your school yard, as, as you go through this process and kind of figure it out, you'll, you'll get that.

Meredith Meeker 16:56

That makes total sense. And like going back, you're giving the schools the tools to like kind of work through the process so that they have power and autonomy over, over their yards, because I can only imagine how many hoops schools must have to go through to be able to bring like nature into the school yard. I mean, I grew up there. Jungle gym and lawn and the lawn wasn't even really lawn probably most of the year. Yeah.

Kate Landry 17:27

Yep.

Meredith Meeker 17:29

And I'm sure that's how, how they've liked it for so long, but it would be really cool to see that those sort of things changing for sure. So that's the best part, which means we kind of have to talk about the flip side. What's the most challenging or unexpected. Part of your job.

Kate Landry 17:51

Yeah. It's a good question. And I think they're two different questions because I actually liked the unexpected again, I were project manager and kind of dealing with what comes up is, is a fun thing for me, not necessarily a challenge, but thinking about challenges. I think the biggest one is just not to get overwhelmed. I. You know, I'm feeling more and more climate anxiety. It's a real thing. And this is the something I struggled with when I was in international development, as well as like how much good am I really doing? And, and what is my role in everything? And What I try to do is focus in on what I know that I have control over and ensure that I feel good about the impact that I can have, that it kind of does no harm to the expense extent possible and is you know, abroad. Outcome that more people than just myself want. And, and that's sort of what I kind of have learned over the years for my mental health and what I need to do, and to kind of be able to keep motivated and keep inspired in the work. And, and I'd say that actually getting out into nature is a great way for me to reset and kind of remind myself of The case that I have that have been given to me just by virtue of being here. And, and, and it's a good reminder about what we're trying to help as well.

Meredith Meeker 19:13

That's a, that's a great answer. And actually we're going to get into like a bit of skillset stuff, but you've talked about being a project manager. Now a couple of times, That tends to be where a lot of careers go. Like if you want to keep, you know, moving up, but that's not necessarily something that a lot of us get real training in. So is there, I guess, like how, and you say you enjoy that part, right? So like, what are the kind of the key skills that you would kind of pull out of that project manager role?

Kate Landry 19:48

I think There's the kind of nitty gritty technical skills of being able to Conceive a project to be able to put a budget toward it, to identify risks, maybe to come up with implementation plans and, you know, identifying what resources you need. Do you need vehicles to get to the field? Do you need to be providing lunches for people, that type of things. So being able to. Envisioned exactly what you need to do in order to do a project, what budget needs to go with it and what staffing resources need to go with? It are kind of what I started doing at the first stages of my career. But as I've grown, I've become a lot more strategic and I think this is the good, you know, the kind of way to advance as well as. Instead of thinking kind of at the micro project level to zoom out a little bit and start thinking strategically about the change that you want to see. It might not happen within a few years. You know, right now at WWF, we're working on a 10 year strategic plan through 2030, we see sustainable development goals that are 15 year increments. It's it's okay to be thinking long-term, but do think strategically about the change that you want. And then working to build a project from that I think is very helpful as well. And so, yeah, I think, I think for me, project management is those two elements. It's kind of the nitty gritty skills on being able to organize and define people, budgets, resources, and kind of immediate outcomes that you want to have. But eventually being able to center that into the much bigger strategic vision. The other point I want to make about project management is that. It is a good way for people who don't have traditional scientific backgrounds to be making an impact in the environmental sector. I came across this a lot in international development as well. It was like, yes, it is appropriate that some roles are dedicated to agronomist or botanists by the, you know, biodiversity restoration experts. But you also need people who. Who, who can do that coordination piece, who can fundraise as well? There are different ways to kind of make an impact. And I think project management is is, is for me, I found personally a way to really feel like I am able to make an impact and bring a pretty unique skillset to the table.

Meredith Meeker 22:06

Yeah. I, it sounds like being able to. It feels like the nitty gritty. Maybe there's like templates and things in your organization that help you get there. But it really sounds like having the vision is something that you really have to work to develop or figure out yourself. So, yeah, that's a really important skill and can probably really help you, like advance your career because you're planning your career, I guess, in some ways, like where you want to go.

Kate Landry 22:35

I think that part's really important actually, because that's the other piece. I think when you're, when you're first starting out, you're a bit responsive to the opportunities that are around you, but as you gain skills and experience this has certainly been my case. I've wanted to. Be a bit more judicious about where I go and what I spend my time on. Cause I've, I've been able to hone in on what really brings me satisfaction and where I know, and, and, and that is, you know, directly related to the contribution that I know that I can make. And so, for me, that that's all tied in with project management, but something for others to think about as well is, is not just kind of taking the job in front of you, but thinking about how it, it centers and what you want to do.

Meredith Meeker 23:16

I think it's really important. I've gone back to school because you know, maybe my career path, wasn't totally going the direction I wanted, but now that I'm here and I'm enjoying it very much, but I'm already thinking kind of what's afterschool. And it's like, well, what are my skills like that I really enjoy using? And what do I want to develop? And is that what I thought I wanted to do before I went to school? Maybe not like I really. You know, doing this podcast and communicating with people. So, and I think I'm pretty good at it. So like how, how do I use those skills in the future and creating that vision for myself, I guess maybe not a project management role, but I think it's really important to, to bring that into your own career as well. So I mean, project management skills, they might not be what gets your foot in the door. Cause maybe you need some experience. Hone those skills. So going back, is there a particular skill set that you think helped you break in to? I mean, international development is another really competitive field, similar to the environmental or more traditional environmental. So is there some skill that you think helped break, you know, helped you break into the industry or would help others that are trying to break in now?

Kate Landry 24:37

Ah, that's a good question. I I'm a bit. Lucky because I, you know, and again, my advice is to network. I really truly believe that, but the first jobs I got I was kind of able to get cold. And I think that, I think that a big reason why is Because I try to present myself really authentically and being able to humanize yourself on a cover letter, for example, is so important. I think too, to show you have a real connection to the work and to let your passion comes through is, is maybe the key. And again, that, that comes with confidence as well. So I, I think, yeah, I would, I would say it was maybe that.

Meredith Meeker 25:19

Yeah. I mean, it is kind of, I don't know. I don't want to say rare, but when you apply to jobs cold, it does sort of feel like you're in this giant pile of applications and we're always looking for ways to make ourselves stand out. So I guess, humanizing and really making the, I guess really conveying that you care about the job is probably a pretty, pretty good place to start. So, okay. So that's kind of it for career stuff. And having heard your list of countries that you've lived in and worked in, I'm really excited for this next question, but do you have a favorite nature moment? We call it nature because nature is so neat. So it can either be while you were at work or, or just out exploring.

Kate Landry 26:04

Yeah, I have so many, but when I come back to a lot is when I was diving in the Philippines and I got to just observe to cuddle fish. They actually eventually wound up mating as like, while I was there, but I had this great experience with them for like three to five minutes where we were just kind of both floating along and I got to see them shift color. Like I think, I think watching how fish move. Just incredible, especially, especially kind of larger ones like octopus and and turtles who have more limbs than just a streamlined Biche, for example, and just getting to see them kind of float around and getting to see how they shifted skin is the wrong word, but it shifted their kind of exterior based on the rocks that they were floating, you know, floating by and, and eventually getting to see them. Mate was just a really awesome yeah. Experience inside. Yeah, it is very buoyant Ristic, but at the same time, I was privileged to be able to, to get to see that

Meredith Meeker 27:04

that's amazing. And I think so I don't die, but I've snorkeled. I know it's not the same. My sister has her diving and she is always trying to get me to get my license so we can go together. But I feel like because we're terrestrial beings just as a species. You just feel like you're in a different world and it gives you, I think, an appreciation for how diverse and cool our planet is when you get to go under the

Kate Landry 27:31

water. Yeah, I agreed.

Meredith Meeker 27:35

So I guess we kind of touched on this next point about a little bit about what keeps you inspired because we are so used to, to burn out. So maybe you could elaborate on that. You know, talk about maybe some, some climate based actions people can take who are listening to, if they are feeling a little burnt out themselves.

Kate Landry 27:57

Yeah. What keeps you inspired? I would definitely say, yeah, getting, getting outside and getting to see firsthand, whether it's as part of the work that I'm doing or just in my personal life with, with nature is good. And, and like I say, I love learning and I love hearing about women in stem and then the kind of advances that are getting made. I love hearing Hearing from indigenous people and the work that they're doing as well as BiPAP communities. And I also love hearing a lot from the innovation sector. I think that's so, important. And, you know, I think there's a multiple of ways that we're going to get to a better climate and, and rivers biodiversity loss. And some of it is big at the policy level and others is small at the grassroots. And I also think. There's this innovation sphere that is incredible and is generating so many ideas and it's okay. That not all of the work but to see, to see the kind of multiple it, of ways that people are taking what they know and what they're passionate about and trying to solve a solution in the way that they best can I find really inspiring. Yeah.

Meredith Meeker 29:06

My partner works with a stem program for high school stuff. And he's convinced that we will solve climate change simply because these young, brilliant minds are like innovating these amazing technologies, like, using duck weed to create totally transparent solar cells and they're flexible. Like, so I, I do find that is actually quite hopeful. Yes, we still need to take climate change seriously. Like obviously if we don't do anything, we are headed to not a great place, but getting out and seeing how much we still have left and how much it's worth to protect. I feel like that's yeah, that's a really good way to just keep yourself going. So last question. If somebody wanted to get involved with, you know, your community engagement type programs or WWF, learn more about what you're doing, where should they go? What should they check?

Kate Landry 30:05

Sure. I mean, definitely our website, wwf.ca you can find us on social media. I, especially for this audience as well, one of the programs and my portfolio is living planet at campus, which works specifically with the kind of campus audience on sustainability actions. And we have a living planet leader certification a set of 40 actions that you can do throughout your post-secondary. You get a certification and a badge on LinkedIn and everything. So, we're getting good feedback from those who have been certified and, and kind of it's usefulness to them for potential employers and, and seeing that they've been able to demonstrate leadership and. Academic and personal applications of sustainability. So all of that is wonderful, but I don't know when this is going to come out or recording in March. I would definitely say plant native plants this season as well. In the spring and in the fall, we we actually have a partnership with Loblaw and we're selling native plants in their garden centers in the kind of. GTA Southern Ontario Ottawa to Montreal corridor. We're hoping to expand more throughout the country in years to come. But you can also just, you know, do a quick Google of your local native plant nursery to figure out the best place to buy them. Yeah.

Meredith Meeker 31:20

Yes. I have personally bought native plants from Loblaws in their garden center. And you just need to make sure you look for the little tag that's got the distinctive WTF. Logo on it. So that, you know, you're getting right. One because they sell, I don't know. I'm always confused. They have like red Osier Dogwood, but they're horticultural versus native. So got to keep an eye out.

Kate Landry 31:42

Yes. Oh, I'm so glad to hear that you bought them.

Meredith Meeker 31:45

Yeah. And I, I always do, and I talked to the guard cause I'm curious about it. And from the people who work there, they seem to be pretty popular. So it's a great program. I think everybody listening should check it out. Kate. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. It was a pleasure chatting with you. I

Kate Landry 32:05

really enjoyed it as well. Thanks Meredith.

Meredith Meeker 32:10

a huge, thank you to Kate for sharing her story with us and also being one of ELBs mentors. If you're interested in learning more about our mentorship program and how to connect with Kate, check out our webpage. And of course, if you want to hear more episodes, don't forget to like, and subscribe to our podcast and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to find out more about job opportunities and cool events. Okay. That's all from me. Talk to you again next week until then happy.