Keith Ferguson

Keith Ferguson, Staff Lawyer

Growing up on military bases on the edge of London, England, Keith Ferguson grew accustomed to concrete, pollution and bomb alerts. As was typical for many city kids, Keith was brought up to view undeveloped land as "wasteland", and his idea of a fun day out was at the local airport doing that most curious of English hobbies, plane-spotting.

Keith’s first real connection to nature came when he took a job as a waiter at a lodge in the highlands of Scotland, giving him the opportunity to explore and fall in love with the rugged mountainous terrain. "Growing up in the city, I simply didn't know it was possible to develop such an attachment to the land," he says.

Not surprisingly, Keith was drawn to the mountains of western Canada. He only planned on staying here for a few years, but one summer in the Rockies was enough to hook him, and Keith has lived in western Canada for most of the past 18 years. His early camping trips in Canada had many a sleepless night thinking about the bears and other wild creatures that were lost from Europe many years ago.  But he quickly came to cherish them and to realize the tragedy of Europe losing so much of its original wildlife.

Before turning to environmental law, Keith spent a number of years in school, obtaining a BA in Mathematics from Cambridge University, an MSC in computer graphics from Oxford University, and a PhD in Medical imaging from the University of Calgary. His work experience was equally varied, including accountancy, aircraft simulation, teaching, paragliding instruction, prosthetics and ultrasound.

Eventually his love of nature and the personal experience of what was happening to it led Keith to environmental law.  Before even enrolling in law school, Keith had his eyes set on Ecojustice. He obtained a law degree from the University of Victoria, during which time he worked on environmental law with the government of the Northwest Territories and with the Polis Project on Ecological Governance.

Keith first joined Ecojustice as a co-op student, then articled with us, and became a staff lawyer in 2006. As Keith explains it, "after my long path to get here, I feel tremendously privileged to have this opportunity to help protect the environment in the company of the dedicated lawyers, staff and volunteers who work here."

Keith's recent work has included the Mackenzie pipeline hearings, fighting a mine project in the Taku watershed, ensuring species at risk are taken into account under BC’s Water Act, commenting on the environmental impacts of trade and investment agreements, and helping the fight to maintain organic farming in the face of GMOs.

Keith believes that fundamental change to a sustainable world is possible, but that it will only occur if enough of us insist upon it and realize its roots.  "As a society we are starting to recognize that the environmental problems we face are deeply embedded in our economic system with its mantra of never-ending growth. Although massive challenges await us, seeing more and more people get excited over the possibility of revolutionizing our economy in the name of sustainability gives me great hope."