Research Team

Through my academic and professional careers, I've been fortunate to benefit from excellent mentors and mentorship strategies. Building upon my experiences with the SEE Lab, I aim to replicate this flat-er hierarchical relationship while at the same time recognizing both 1) that senior scholars may have 'tips and tricks' to share as wisdom and 2) everyone has unique mentorship needs and preferences. I work hard to create an atmosphere where students can feel safe to ask questions, make mistakes, and (as Ms. Frizzle says) get messy as they explore their research interests.


Having completed my doctoral work and co-creation of the SEE Lab during the COVID-19 pandemic, I'm used to mentoring at a distance - though very happy to meet in person when time and space allows!

Yinuo Lu

MEM Royal Roads University

Yinuo holds a BA in Psychology from the University of British Columbia and a MSc in Developmental and Educational Psychology from University College London.

During her undergraduate studies at UBC, Yinuo spent two years as a research assistant in the Behavioral Sustainability Lab, where her work brought her into direct contact with the everyday realities of human environmental behaviour: from auditing misplaced waste across office building recycling bins to guiding participants through botanical gardens as part of experiments. These hands-on research experiences sparked a genuine and growing curiosity about what truly motivates people to act in environmentally responsible ways. Following her MSc, she worked as an instructor at a private educational institution in China, where she taught Academic Writing and Research skills to high school students. This experience gradually deepened her interest in how people learn to think critically and communicate complex ideas.

Yinuo is currently pursuing a MA in Environment & Management at Royal Roads University. Her research explores how environmental identity shapes emotional pathways to pro-environmental behaviour. Outside of her academic work, Yinuo enjoys solo travel, photography, and watching films.

Hania Peper

MEM Royal Roads University

With a BA in Communications & Cultural Studies and an Honours Minor in Sustainability, Hania has spent the past six years applying her knowledge to build cross-sector partnerships and public outreach campaigns aimed at protecting ecosystems and addressing climate change.

Her career began in the private sector, where she worked in environmental communications to monitor sustainability trends and translate complex environmental data into clear, compelling campaigns. She later transitioned to the nonprofit sector, leading conservation programming, communications strategy, and partnership development at a national environmental foundation. Across these roles, she developed a growing interest in a persistent challenge: why it is so difficult to translate environmental awareness into action.

This experience has led her to focus on the dynamics between environmental communications, knowledge production, and cultural and sectoral factors that shape how information is received and acted upon, with particular attention to gendered dimensions of environmental labour.

Hania is currently completing an MA in Environment & Management at Royal Roads University. Her research explores how motivations to engage in environmental work differ across genders and how these patterns are reflected in climate communications.

Sophie Peters

MEM Royal Roads University

After completing her BA in Environmental Studies and Linguistics at the University of Victoria, and one year on the Surfrider UVic Club board, Sophie has spent the past four years working in the grassroots environmental non-profit sector. This has included working with local and provincial governments campaigning for environmental policies, organizing regular educational community events, developing internal and external communications, and in-field data collection.

Planetary care has always been her top priority, whether working to reduce plastic pollution or advocating for the rights of wild salmon. Sophie is very familiar with the importance environmental communications in public participation and engaging with policy makers. She is also passionate about equity in planetary care work, particularly in grassroots organizations, where resources can at times be limited.

Sophie’s environmental focus is now on pathways to effective climate action, community empowerment, and strategic climate communications in a rapidly changing political and digital landscape. She is pursuing a Master’s in Environment & Management at Royal Roads University with a research focus on environmental communications, emotional perceptions, and personal motivations of planetary care workers in the environmental non-profit sector.