IHACC collaborator Kate Bishop-Williams was featured in the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College Bulletin this week. To read the OVC Bulletin post, click here.
University of Guelph collaborators Kate and Vivienne in Uganda
Two IHACC collaborators from the University of Guelph are currently in Buhoma, Uganda collecting birth outcome data on local communities from Bwindi Community Hospital. Kate (a PhD student at the University of Guelph) and Vivienne (a McGill University graduate now working as a Research Assistant at the University of Guelph) are helping collect data for Sarah MacVicar's M.Sc. thesis project. The two will be in the field until the end of March. The IHACC team wishes them the best of luck, and a successful field experience!
Congratulations to Joanna on the completion of the MA thesis
A big congratulations to Joanna Petrasek MacDonald, whose MA thesis "From the minds of youth: exploring Inuit youth resilience within a changing climate and applications for climate change adaptation in Nunatsiavut, Labrador, Canada" has been accepted. Joanna would like to thank the community members, academic peers and funding agencies for their collaboration and support that made this thesis possible. Joanna is currently the project coordinator for IK-ADAPT, and you can find her bio here: http://www.jamesford.ca/about#joanna
Abstract: The Canadian North is experiencing rapid social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental change that have direct impacts on the lives of Inuit living in this region, as well as serious implications for the future of the Inuit youth. Essential to facing this challenging context is a resilient youth population with the adaptive capacities and coping skills to respond to multiple stressors and pressures. This thesis considers the question of how to foster youth resilience and support youth protective factors that enhance youth well-being and can help young people deal with change, specifically climate change. To answer this question, a systematic literature review, a community-based, youth-led, cross-cultural participatory video project, and a regional community-based study were undertaken to explore youth-identified protective factors and examine challenges to these factors from youth perspectives and experiences. Specifically, this thesis characterizes the protective factors that influence Circumpolar Indigenous youth mental health resilience to climate change; explores participatory video as a process that can foster protective factors thereby demonstrating potential to be used in adaptation as a way to enhance youth resilience; documents youth-identified protective factors that support mental health and well-being amidst change (i.e. social, cultural, economic, or environmental); and examines how climatic changes and related environmental impacts challenge these factors throughout the region of Nunatsiavut from a youth perspective. The findings from this work highlight the importance of youth voices, perspectives, and involvement within research and practitioner communities, and contributes to the growing body of research on Circumpolar Indigenous youth resilience that can inform climate change adaptation efforts.
Congratulations to Kate Bishop: 2nd place at the Arctic Change Student Poster Session
Kate Bishop, a PhD student at U of Guelph received the 2nd place at the Arctic Change Student Poster Session at the Arctic Change conference in Ottawa (December 8-12 2014). She presented her poster : Seasonal Changes in Prevalence of Acute Gastrointestinal Illness in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada (Bishop-Williams K, Berrang-Ford L, Edge VL, Ford J, Thomas K, Shiwak, I, RICG, IHACC Research Group, Harper S). To view her poster, click here
IHACC at the Arctic Change conference in Ottawa
Many IHACC researchers and researchers from James Ford Climate Change Adaptation Research Group (www.jamesford.ca) are at the Arctic Change conference in Ottawa from December 8-12, 2014. You can find all the Arctic Change 2014 programs here.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10th
T17. Community Adaptation and Vulnerability in Arctic Regions. Co-chairs: Tristan Pearce, James Ford, Barry Smit. Room 210
- 10:30 Pearce, Tristan Vulnerability and Adaptation Research in the Arctic
- 10:45 Tjensvoll Kitching, Knut The Dynamics of Climate Change Vulnerability in the Southern Baffin Region, Nunavut
- 11:15 Bunce, Anna Inuit Women and Climate Change: Perspectives and Experiences Regarding Climate Change and Adaptation in Iqaluit, Nunavut
- 11:30 Parker, Colleen Freezer Space and Food Security in Ulukhaktok, NWT
T04A. Education in Inuit Nunangat in a Time of Change. Co-chairs: Lars Kullerud, Mary Simon, Thierry Rodon. Room 201
- 10:45 Lalonde, Genevieve Examining Perceptions of Learning Success among Inuit and Southern Educators
T26C. Health and Well-Being in Arctic Communities: Advancements in Practices, Processes and Outcomes. Co-chairs: Chris Furgal, Eric Loring. Room 206
- 11:15 Jasiuk, Linnaea Inuit Women’s Perspectives on a Healthy Life
- 11:30 Cunsolo Willox, Ashlee IlikKuset-Ilingannet/Culture-Connect: Promoting Cultural-Based Youth Mentorship Programs to Support Mental Health, Resilience, and Cultural Sustainability in Nunatsiavut, Labrador
- 16:15 Finner, Kaitlyn Context Matters: Developing an Approach for Food Systems Research in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut
T09B. Arctic Wildlife Co-Management Challenges and Solutions – Bringing Together Inuit and Scientific Knowledge. Co-chairs: John Cheechoo, Lisa Loseto, Gregor Gilbert. Room 210
- 16:30 Tjensvoll Kitching, Knut Tuktu and Climate Change: Inuit Harvesting on Southern Baffin Island
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11th
T10. Arctic Youth: the Future to a Sustainable Arctic Environment. Co-chairs: Graham May, Justina LeeStolz, Jenna Gall. Room 102
- 11:00 Petrasek MacDonald, Joanna Youth-Identified Protective Factors for Mental Health and Well-Being in a Changing Climate: Perspectives from Inuit Youth in Nunatsiavut, Labrador
T24B. Addressing Food (In)security in the Arctic. Co-chairs: Leanna Ellsworth, Laura Bennett, Tiff -Annie Kenny. Room 206
- 16:00 Statham, Sara The Nunavut Food Security Coalition’s Value Toward and Need for Food Security Research
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
#7 Lalonde, Genevieve The cultural negotiation of Inuit education #37 Parker, Colleen Vulnerability of an Inuit Food System to Climate and Socio-Economic Change #48 Ford, James Inuit Traditional Knowledge for Adapting to the Health Effects of Climate Change #49 Jasiuk, Linnaea Inuit Women’s Conceptualizations of and Approaches to Health in a Changing Climate