January 2025

In this new year it’s hard to ignore the weight the world carries. In the global landscape, environmental crises that exacerbate ongoing economic challenges and geopolitical tensions feel overwhelming. These realities didn’t pause for fireworks or countdowns. They reminded us of the work ahead.

On a deeply personal level, our loss of a young life that was so full of promise and potential casts a shadow over the hope a new year is meant to inspire. On November 1^st, Isobel Fanaki, my late, beloved cousin’s daughter who I had the privilege of calling my goddaughter, died suddenly while teaching abroad in Japan. Only twenty-five, Isobel’s death is a sharp reminder of dreams and opportunities that can go unfulfilled. 

The glorious flower arrangements at Isobel’s funeral reflected her strength and beauty, but it was one in particular that really caught our attention. By far the most unassuming, it was a symbol for Isobel’s undergraduate thesis, crafted by her former colleagues at the High Park Nature Centre. 

Isobel was a Renaissance thinker like her grandfather, an atmospheric physicist who loved to paint and play his many different musical instruments, including piano and guitar. His PhD thesis, The Study of Heat Flow in The Lower Troposphere by Laboratory Simulation, led him into the early days of climate change research with the Canadian federal government. 

Isobel was also an accomplished artist in addition to her focus on environmental science and ecology. For her biology thesis, she studied the link between the unusual population spike in uncommon mason bees and the abundance of non-native snail shells in Hamilton and parts of Niagara. She and her research colleagues discovered that the shells provide optimal nurseries for the bees’ offspring, allowing them to thrive as the broader population of wild native bees, including the honeybee, remains under threat. The success of these very effective pollinators supports the overall pollination needs of our food system by increasing the quality and quantity of the harvest.

Amid the enthusiastic rush into revitalized biodiversity markets, Isobel’s unassuming discovery is a quiet reminder that substantive outcomes require effort. Appropriately valuing and commercializing nature-based economic enablers demands the steady work and rapid adoption of under-funded yet urgently needed research and observation. 

In her book Medicine Wheel for the Planet, Dr. Jennifer Grenz shares the moment in her ecological restoration career that made her realize she couldn’t keep working solely with a Western science worldview of seeing the world in one way instead of in relation with everything else. Canada’s recent integration of Indigenous knowledge and experiential, land-based learning enabled ecologists to recognize that the invasive European grove snails were benign, eating only dead plants, and therefore should be left alone. Because they were left alone, Isobel and her colleagues were able to further study them and thus identify their usefulness to the Canadian ecosystem.

Isobel’s careful research must be balanced with urgent action. While acting without robust data risks perpetuating inefficiencies and inequities, delaying efforts to refine valuation models risks irreparable damage to critical ecosystems. Proposed solutions include taking immediate steps to protect and restore ecosystems based on current knowledge while investing in research to refine future valuations. Creating the innovative market systems that will help achieve Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy and biodiversity net gain goals will require a more rapid alignment of science, policy, and finance.

The regret for this lost life is immense, as is the determination to honour Isobel’s memory. 2025 is a year to remember the promise of those we’ve lost – in addition to Isobel there was the sad passing of the catalytic Niilo Edwards in December – by carrying their light forward. It will be a year of uncertainty, but it also offers the hope of progress.  Whether it’s through collective action, innovation, or simply showing up for one another, this is the year to lean into our challenges with courage and optimism – for those we’ve lost, for us, and for the world we strive to build.

Isobel’s mother Janet Fanaki and brother Sam Fanaki have created a memorial fund, which is being used to support the causes Isobel cared about most: Nature conservancy, education, and addressing food insecurity. Donations can be made here. 

Isobel Fanaki studied biology at McMaster University, where she became a Teaching Assistant and was honoured with publishing her final year thesis on the ‘Nesting of local mason bees in empty exotic snail shells’. In addition to lifeguard and swim instructor, Isobel held roles as an Educator at Ripley’s Aquarium and a Teacher with the High Park Nature Centre before moving to Hiroshima, Japan to become an Assistant Language Teacher.