EDRAite of the Month - Janet Loebach, PhD |
Janet Loebach, PhD April 2016
I have been an enthusiastic EDRA member since I discovered it in 2002, and was so grateful to find a home with such a diverse, talented group of like-minded peers. I served as the Student Rep on the EDRA Board from 2009-11, and worked to establish an annual Graduate Student Workshop, which is now going into its 7th year! I now stay involved as the co-chair of the Children, Youth and Environments Network. After many years working as an environmental design consultant and project manager, I completed my doctorate in 2013 at Western University in Ontario, Canada, where I studied children’s outdoor and neighbourhood behaviours. I focused not only on understanding the critical role of outdoor / neighbourhood engagements on children’s development and well-being, but also advancing the methods and tools we use to understand children’s relationship with their everyday environments, including participatory approaches, digital activity monitoring and qualitative GIS. Last year I had the unique opportunity to explore additional arts-based research methods during a fellowship with the Young Lives Research Lab on Prince Edward Island (quite possibly the most beautiful province in Canada-though it’s a tight race), including participatory filmmaking with First Nations youth. I am very proud to be a part of the EDRA community, where I have found inspiration and generous support for both my research and practice for almost 15 years. I will always come home to EDRA. |