#50 It's all happening at the Toronto Zoo! A conversation with Dolf Dejong
Emerging Environments28 Heinä 2025

#50 It's all happening at the Toronto Zoo! A conversation with Dolf Dejong

In this episode, we are speaking with Dolf DeJong, Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Zoo. Dolf has had an exciting career at the intersection of conservation, public spaces and education. Dolf joined the Toronto Zoo in 2018 after acting as Vice President and General Manager of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre. At the Toronto Zoo, Dolf has focused on strengthening the zoo’s relationship with the surrounding community, and finding new and creative ways to connect the public with animals and conservation science to help raise awareness and fight extinction.

Chatting with Dolf, he reflected on his personal journey into conservation and how it relates to the scientific and strategic work happening at the Toronto Zoo. We explore how the Zoo's location within Rouge National Urban Park informs its partnerships with Parks Canada, and the exciting plans for the Zoo’s upcoming Conservation Campus, which is being built in collaboration with the University of Toronto Scarborough. We also talked about the emergence of so-called “de-extinction” technologies and their implication for both wildlife conservation and zoos. We then reflect on a recent trip to East Africa that Dolf and I took part in with some colleagues and unpack some of the ethical and ecological complexities of ecotourism in developing nations. In the wildlife conservation world, Zoos are sometimes portrayed as relics of an outdated conservation ethos. But we hope our conversation with Dolf works to dispel that view, highlighting the vibrant science happening at the zoo, and the deep connection to applied conservation biology.

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#26 The frontier of microplastics research with Chelsea Rochman

#26 The frontier of microplastics research with Chelsea Rochman

For episode 26, we welcome Chelsea Rochman. Chelsea is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. She studies the sources, fates and eco...

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#25 On the resurgence of wetlands and the ecology of Phragmites biocontrol with Rebecca Rooney

#25 On the resurgence of wetlands and the ecology of Phragmites biocontrol with Rebecca Rooney

In today’s episode, we are speaking with Professor Rebecca Rooney of the University of Waterloo. Rebecca is a wetland ecologist who specializes in studying the influence of human disturbances, such as...

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#24 Urban just transitions with Laura Tozer

#24 Urban just transitions with Laura Tozer

In this episode, we are speaking with Professor Laura Tozer. Laura is a social scientist who studies environmental politics and governance focusing on actions that address the climate crisis and also ...

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#23 Crisis, complexity and the path to hope with Thomas Homer Dixon

#23 Crisis, complexity and the path to hope with Thomas Homer Dixon

This week on the podcast we’re speaking with Professor and author Thomas Homer-Dixon. Thomas has a background in political science, but his research and writing over the years has been incredibly inte...

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#22 Roots of change: exploring agroecology with Marney Isaac

#22 Roots of change: exploring agroecology with Marney Isaac

Our guest on this episode is Marney Isaac. Marney is a Professor at the University of Toronto-Scarborough and Canada Research Chair in agroecosystems and development. Marney conducts interdisciplinary...

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#21 Climate change at the museum with Soren Brothers

#21 Climate change at the museum with Soren Brothers

Today we are speaking with Prof. Soren Brothers, the Allan and Helaine Shiff  Curator of Climate Change at the Royal Ontario Museum. Soren is a limnologist by training and spent several years as an As...

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#20 Beloved beasts and the preservation of possibility with Michelle Nijhuis

#20 Beloved beasts and the preservation of possibility with Michelle Nijhuis

On today’s podcast, we are speaking with journalist and author Michelle Nijhuis about her beautiful new book, “Beloved Beasts: Fighting for life in an age of extinction”. The book traces the conservat...

3 Kesä 202251min

#19 Automatic for the species: fixing Canada's Species at Risk Act with Joe Bennett & Audrey Turcotte

#19 Automatic for the species: fixing Canada's Species at Risk Act with Joe Bennett & Audrey Turcotte

Today on the podcast we’re speaking with Joe Bennett and Audrey Turcotte. Joe received his PhD from the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia in 2012. He held a postdoctoral resear...

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