Dr. Felipe Montoya
Associate Researcher
Dr. Felipe Montoya is an Associate Researcher with the Young Lives Research Lab and Co-Investigator on the Partnership for Youth and Planetary Wellbeing project. He is a professor and the Project Director of Las Nubes Eco Campus and Chair of Neotropical Conservation.
Dr. Felipe Montoya is an Environmental Anthropologist and the Project Director of York University's Las Nubes Eco Campus. He also serves as the Chair of Neotropical Conservation and a Professor in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change. With over 30 years of experience teaching, researching, and working alongside rural communities in Costa Rica, Dr. Montoya focuses on sustainable development, environmental conservation, and community wellbeing.
His interdisciplinary research bridges Environmental Anthropology, Peasant Studies, Socio-Ecological Wellbeing, Bio-Cultural Diversity, and Community-Based Environmental Conservation. His work also explores the Arts in Community Wellbeing and Conservation, Ethnographic Documentary, and the Commons.
Dr. Montoya is a Co-Investigator on the Partnership for Youth and Planetary Wellbeing, working alongside Dr. Kate Tilleczek to advance research and action on youth-centered approaches to climate change, wellbeing, and sustainability.
Dr. Montoya holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of New Mexico, a Master’s in Tropical Plant Ecology from the Universidad de Costa Rica, and a Bachelor’s in Biology from the University of New Mexico.
The goals of environmental integrity, social justice, and human livelihood improvement drew Dr. Montoya to York’s Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, where he is inspired to share his decades of experience in community development and environmental conservation in the Neotropics, particularly Costa Rica. Guided by the belief that collaboration can drive meaningful change, he continues to engage students and colleagues in efforts to create a more sustainable and equitable world.
Contact Dr. Felipe Montoya: fmontoya@yorku.ca
Select Publications
Espinoza-Cisneros, E., Montoya-Greenheck, F. (2023). Peasant Livelihoods and Geographies of Sameness in the Alexander Skutch biological corridor, Costa Rica. In Brunn, S. y Gilbreath, D. (eds.). Geography Of Time, Place, Movement and Networks: Personal, Local, National and Global Scales. Springer; New York.
Montoya, F., González, G., Martínez, A.M., Hard, J., and Poirier, M. (2023). Indigenous Land Struggles in Costa Rica: Legal Rights and Spiritual Responsibilities. In From Rights to Responsibilities: Toward a Biocultural Resurgence. Langscape Magazine, Volume 12, Summer/Winter 2023 in the northern hemisphere.
Poirier, M.J.P., Barraza, D., Caxaj, C.S., Martínez, A.M., Hard, J., and Montoya, F. (2022). Informality, Social Citizenship, and Wellbeing among Migrant Workers in Costa Rica in the Context of COVID-19. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 19, 6224. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19106224
Martínez, A.M. and Montoya-Greenheck, F. (2021). The Socioecological Evolution of a Biological Corridor: A 15-year Case Study of the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor in Southern Costa Rica, Journal of Rural and Community Development. 16(1):37-67.
Montoya Greenheck, Felipe. (2020). Pura Vida: Costa Rican Peasants Fight for a World That Contains Many Worlds. Langscape Magazine, Vol. 9, Issue (Summer/Winter 2020 in the northern hemisphere): https://terralingua.org/langscape_articles/pura-vida-costa-rican-peasants-fight-for-a-world-that-contains-many-worlds/
Filmography
2022. (Director). We Walk the Earth (Caminamos la Tierra). Feature documentary of Indigenous land struggles in Southern Costa Rica. Grounded Project. York University. https://youtu.be/W60bVbp_wUE
2022. (Director). Buried Seeds (Semillas en la Tierra). Feature documentary on Peasants in Southern Costa Rica. Grounded Project. York University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlWwzguffRo
2021. (Director). More Than Migrants (Más que Migrantes). Feature documentary on Nicaraguan migrants in Costa Rica. Grounded Project. York University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDuBRoO6BHE