Zinta Upitis is a student at Dalhousie University, currently completing a BA in Sustainability and Urban Design. Zinta grew up in Kingston, Ontario, where she was continually influenced by, and exposed to, the outdoors. Her mother started an off-grid wilderness centre called Wintergreen Studios, located in the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve, where Zinta spent most of her time contemplating sustainable systems thinking.

A love for the outdoors became a value that she implemented into her research at university, and her creative work through video and photos. Zinta believes the outdoors can offer solace and creativity, elements that can help pave a path for a sustainable future.