A day in the life

Green politics

The first time Lars Boggild visited Halifax from his native British Columbia coincided with the worst Easter weather the city had experienced in some time. But it wasn’t enough to deter him from coming back to attend Dal.

“I got so many positive reviews about the city and university that I had to try it,” he says. “It’s such a warm culture here. The people are incredibly kind—it’s not an urban myth. There’s an incredible music scene and there’s such a great sense of history here—I have friends who live in houses that are as old as Canada. It’s a fantastic student town with a great nightlife.”

Lars knew he wanted to do a double major with Environment, Sustainability and Society, but was initially enrolled in Community Design. After his first year he switched to Political Science to focus on his interest in environmental policy.

“It’s hard to find a combination like this anywhere else in Canada, where you get a very strong social sciences program combined with a new and up-and-coming environmental studies program,” he says. “Looking at historical political philosophies really helps you understand where different ideologies are coming from in the present day and how they relate to the real world.”

Lars had the opportunity to experience politics and sustainability at work in the real world when he attended the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico in the fall of 2010.

“I went independently but it was amazing how much Dal wanted to be involved,” he says. “The faculty realized that the hands-on experience was invaluable and gave me an incredible amount of support. The experience made me realize why this combination of study is so important. Understanding the relationships that exist between countries helps illuminate what’s going on in international environmental policy negotiations.”

After he returned from the conference, Lars presented his experiences to various classes at Dal. It’s part of the collaborative nature of the classroom he says he enjoys.

“Learning from my peers has been an amazing experience,” he says. “People are really interested in their classes and what they’re studying. You’re not just learning from the professor, you’re also getting great insight from group discussions and projects where everybody brings unique and different perspectives.”

Lars will be spending the winter term of his third year studying environmental politics on exchange at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad in Copenhagen, and plans to intern with the Nova Scotia Climate Change Directorate. He’s laying the groundwork to one day hopefully work for the Canadian government, the UN, or perhaps the World Bank.

“I want to cultivate an expertise in international environmental governance,” he says. “Multi-lateral governance is becoming essential to deal with large-scale environmental problems, so it’s important to have people with experience in multi-lateral policy negotiations.”