Terre Satterfield Explores Queasy Questions, the Quest for Environmental Justice, and the Narrative Imperative in Ecosystems Services Research

Queasy questions shake us. It’s that nervous strangeness of surveying the very limits of what we know. For Dr. Terre Satterfield, anthropologist and environmental social scientist, that queasiness has fueled a career bridging critical and constructive perspectives. In this conversation with UBC colleagues and co-hosts Kai Chan (professor and Canada Research Chair) and David R. Boyd (professor and legal expert on human rights and the environment), Terre unpacks ecological justice, cultural ecosystem services, and the value of stories in reshaping how we see culture, land, and justice itself.

Across decades of research, mentorship, and collaboration (especially with Indigenous communities), she has shown that respect is non-negotiable, that stories are truths, and that futures worth striving for are co-produced. The trio reflects on the responsibilities of scholars and the power of empathy in navigating transformative change. The result is a deeply human conversation on how to listen, learn, and lead one another toward more just and livable futures.

*Terre gratefully acknowledges the work of Nicole Kaechele, Ph.D. Candidate at IRES, for their collaborative work on compensation. Nicole’s research centers the revitalization of Indigenous legal processes and the negotiation of compensation agreements for historical losses (read more here).

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Episode Transcript, with Annotations