This essay presents a narrative of a psychosocial research investigation into the complex experiences of environmental degradation, conducted as a field study in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Using in-depth, psychoanalytically informed research interviews, the study explored the presence of ambivalent, contradictory narratives, suggesting that the experience of environmental degradation may in fact be constituted in part by loss and mourning, which may manifest as a form of environmental melancholia. Such insights are directly relevant for how we conceptualize and imagine theories of agency, engagement and participation. I discuss aspects of the research design, methodology, opportunities and challenges of the project and suggest the need to apply qualitative, psychosocial research methods to the immensely challenging and charged ecological challenges we currently face.