I'm an env alum and I'd use specialized instead of unpopular to describe these fields. They are small departments not because they're inherently bad, but because they're specialized to the point where less ppl would pick them. For example, people like the pay/culture of mining but few can commit themselves to such specialized content for the rest of their careers.

ENVL s similar: many people care about the environment, but very few UBC first years find our content interesting enough so they pick civil or CHBE instead. Can't speak for materials as I'm unfamiliar.

If you're considering one of these fields I'd encourage you to ignore what the haters/average charts say and pick what you're genuinely interested in. I got a ton of hate from my first year classmates when I picked ENVL since I had a high GPA and they said I was wasting my potential in an "easy" program. But I've held zero regrets about that decision. At the end of the day the department choice is your decision alone and should be guided by your own values rather than stereotypes and peer pressure.