Vet student teaches youth how climate change impacts wildlife and human health

Jun 10

Mikayla Astroff distributing climate education toolkits at a Let’s Talk Science STEM event for children. Photo submitted by Mikayla Astroff

By Patricia Lane & Mikayla Astroff

Veterinary medicine student Mikayla Astroff earned a Starfish Canada 2026 Climate 75 Fellowship for her work helping youth understand the impacts of climate change on our ecosystems. This 23-year-old combines her interest in wildlife health and zoonotic disease with her climate advocacy.

Tell us about your interests.

Understanding how global warming is changing the health of our ecosystems requires us to understand both wildlife and human health. For example, as temperatures rise, the habitat for white-footed mice that host the ticks that carry Lyme disease is expanding northward. This shift causes a range of changes in ecosystem dynamics, affecting host species and raising public health concerns for humans.

I am interested in spotting the signs of zoonotic spread to alert decision-makers so they can safeguard the health of humans, ecosystems and animal communities at large. While I don’t know what exactly a job in this field will look like for me, I’m curious to keep exploring it.

How did you get interested?

I participated in a University of Guelph summer field school course in Madagascar, exploring some of the ecosystem and social dynamics behind why lemurs are disappearing. Lemurs and humans facing economic hardship share the same forest. Slash-and-burn farming is a culturally important livelihood strategy that also poses a risk to lemur habitat. Working in this space must be integrated with community leadership, as well as culturally appropriate veterinary and conservation science. This ‘One Health’ approach appeals to me because it looks at human, animal and ecosystem health holistically.

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YCAA recipients

Peter Allan

Vet student teaches youth how climate change impacts wildlife and human health

Tell us about your interests.

How did you get interested?

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