Dr. Margot W. Parkes
Margot Parkes is a Professor in the UNBC School of Health Sciences, past Canada Research Chair in Health, Ecosystems and Society, and current Co-lead of the UNBC Health Research Institute with three decades of learning from eco-social approaches to public health.
Dr. Parkes’ research connects social and ecological determinants of health especially in rural, remote and Indigenous communities, drawing on background in medicine, public health, human ecology and eco-health, and collaborations spanning New Zealand, Oceania, Europe and the Americas.
In all her work, Margot prioritizes working and learning with others – across regions, cultural contexts, disciplines and sectors – to foster better understanding of land, water and living systems as foundational for health, equity and well-being; and to strengthen collaborations that reflect these connections and foster capacity for integrative approaches to research, education and practice that address health, environment, and equity concerns.
Margot has a strong history of partnered research, involving health authorities, watershed organizations, not-for-profit groups and Indigenous-led organizations especially in rural and remote contexts.
Margot is a founding Co-lead of the Canadian Community of Practice in Ecosystem Approaches to Health; Co-lead of the pan-Canadian and internationally partnered Environment, Community Health Network; Co-chair of the Ecological Determinants Group on Education in Canada; founding member of the Global Working Group on Waiora Planetary Health for the International Union of Health Promotion and Education; member of the Editorial Advisory Group for The Lancet Planetary Health; and an Honorary Professor at the University of Otago, Aotearoa/NZ.