James Stinson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, specializing in environmental and planetary health communications. With a PhD in Cultural Anthropology, James Stinson is an interdisciplinary scholar and educator specializing in political ecology, protected area management, planetary health and sustainability education.
A primary focus of James’ research and teaching is the political ecology of biodiversity conservation and protected area management. James’ graduate research examined the promotion and practice of community-based and Indigenous-led conservation in Belize, Central America. His most recent research in this area examines the phenomenon of “smart conservation” and the us of digital surveillance technologies, big data, and artificial intelligence to facilitate “real time” pre-emption and “predictive policing” of poaching and wildlife crime in parks and protected areas.
A second area of James’ research and teaching is the field of planetary health and sustainability education. As a member of the Young Lives Research Lab and Dahdaleh Institute of Global Health Research at 91ɫ, James has collaborated with a transdisciplinary group of scholars and community-based partners across the Americas on several projects of youth-led research and educational outputs related to wellbeing, climate change and planetary health. This work has involved participation in several collaborative projects at the Dahdaleh Institute, including the Planetary Health Film Lab (Mark Terry PI), the Partnership for Youth and Planetary Wellbeing (Kate Tilleczek PI), New Journey to Save Fish (James Stinson PI), and the Planetary Health Partnership: Anishinaabe youth guardians, land-based learning, and the practice of living well with the world.
Previously, James was a Postdoctoral Fellow, Planetary Health & Education with the Dahdaleh Institute
Research Keywords
Biodiversity conservation; planetary health; Indigenous wellbeing; youth wellbeing; digital ecologies
Themes | Planetary Health |
Status | Active |
Related Work | |
Updates |
Spotlight – James Stinson, Reflections on a Postdoctoral Exploration of Planetary Health Education | January 20, 2026
Canada’s First Digital Wellbeing Hub Is Live! | January 7, 2026 |
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