[4] Bennett completed her Bachelor of Arts cum laude in biology and environmental studies with a minor in chemistry at Oberlin College.
[5] Her PhD thesis, under the supervision of Stephen R. Carpenter, was on patterns of soil phosphorus across urban, suburban and agricultural landscapes.
[6] Bennett accepted a post-doctoral research position at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (2002–2005) where she coordinated the Scenarios Working Group of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.
Bennett has also been a reviewer for several scholarship and grants, including the WWF Kathryn Fuller Fellowship for postdoctoral students, NSERC, and FQRNT.
[18] Some of the large themes in her lab include agricultural, urban, and aquatic ecosystem services, anthropogenic impacts, and Good Anthropocenes.
[19][20] She is co-founder, along with Garry Peterson and Oonsie Biggs, of the Seeds of a Good Anthropocene project,[21] where emerging strategies are developed to engage in a more prosperous and optimistic future.
Additionally, in collaboration with colleagues at McGill University, she helped develop a modelling framework that links the interconnectivity between land use, biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Her research also involves improving the modelling of ecosystem services by synthesizing existing understanding and by identifying key gaps.
[24] This research network monitors and models ecosystem services in landscapes across Canada with focuses on food, energy, timber, carbon storage, flood regulation, recreation and spiritual enhancement.
At McGill University, she has won several awards for teaching excellence, graduate supervision, and sustainability contributions to the campus and community.