Q & A with Jenny Gough

Interview by: Ainslee Nellis

HOW DID YOU DEVELOP A CAREER AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER?

I studied chemical engineering way back when ‘environmental engineering’ wasn’t yet a discipline – but have always had a keen interest in the environment – so I sort of pinballed in that direction.

I’ve done a lot of different types of environmental work over the past 25 years, and my passion evolved in the direction of remediation, as well as deconstruction, demolition, and restoration. Bringing ecosystems back to health, restoring natural habitat, being able to work with the land and the water, and to help it heal… those are the projects that I truly love.

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WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE PROJECT YOU’VE WORKED ON, AND WHY?

Many of them could qualify as a “favourite”, in different ways. Projects that I am truly proud of are those are environmentally or historically significant, and which feed my soul, inspiring me to do better by the Earth - from protecting sensitive environments, remediating contaminated sites, and seeking innovative solutions to environmental problems. At this stage in my career, I am focusing only on these types of purposeful environmental projects.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE SEEKING A CAREER IN YOUR FIELD?

The environmental field is widely faceted, and the available knowledge has grown considerably since I started out. I wish I knew then at least half of what I have learned along the way!

My best advice would be to explore different topics and pursue the one that pulls your interest as strong as the moon pulls the tide.

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Also - don’t lose sight of creative pursuits, even while immersing yourself in science and engineering – I learned the hard way how critical creativity is to one basic human need – JOY!

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WHAT KIND OF CREATIVE ACTIVITIES DO YOU PURSUE?

“Work” was my main priority for many years, but I found myself on the wrong career path, and had lost sight of my goals. Having no creative outlets, my work nearly killed me.

Now, creativity is an integral part of everything I do - imagining what once was, acknowledging what currently is, and visualizing what CAN be – whether I’m working, writing, renovating houses, or playing music. All of these pursuits revolve around remediation in some way - whether restoring the environment, bringing an old house back to life – and even healing personal stumbling blocks, what I think of as “soul remediation”. Creative restoration is immensely satisfying!