Wayfaring the BW project

9.Covid-19 Remote interviews

"Our territorial government collaborators are currently working from home with no field work permitted for the foreseeable future, and southern labs remain closed. We are working on plans to achieve our community goals remotely, but the full impact of COVID-19 on both lab work and field work remains to be seen." (schedule H report March, 31, 2020).

One year later, by March 2021, the project PI’s reported to have adapted their strategy to the Covid-19 restrictions on travel from the South and to the national public health social distancing practices in force. The polar bear denning surveys that had been planned for the region, had been executed under local leadership, and methods to compile TEK had been adapted together with Co-PI Leonard Netser to allow southern BearWatch team members to “participate remotely.” Despite the fact that much effort, technology and resources were put into the adaptation of these TEK interviews to take place with involvement from the South, the interviews were dis-continued after one pilot interview and the first interview with a Coral Harbour elder. The material circumstances required to record and livestream these interviews proved to be too disruptive for the task at hand.

You have bumped into an ice-pressure ridge. Follow it to learn more about how the material aspects of our Covid-19 adaptations interfered with the dynamics between interviewer and interviewee. Understand why it was considered unworkable, and why a cup of tea was suggested as a replacement technology. Alternatively, you can take the pilot recording in which Leonard shares his detailed knowledge on Southampton Island, and keep going.

Ice pressure ridge: Tech, TEK and Tea

10. Fieldtrip BW Team Coral Harbour Summer 2021

Although collaborations had already taken place remotely between local PI Leonard Netser and the PI’s from the South, it was only in the Summer of 2021 that the respective team members from the North and the South got to meet each other for the first time within the community. A short 5-day introductory fieldtrip was organized to visit Coral Harbour. During this trip several BearWatch researchers presented the proposed research activities that were upcoming to the Coral Harbour HTA and other interested community members. The time was also used to set up material equipment for a simple local lab to support further community lead sampling efforts, to be conducted over late 2021 and early 2022. The trip was finally used to visit some of the sampling areas that were pointed out by Leonard and elder [name] during the TEK mapping interviews of 2020.

Tag along, and get a sense of Southampton Island in the Summer. Otherwise, move straight ahead to the second leg of this fieldtrip, towards Gjoa Haven.

Invitation: Drive across  the Island

11. Fieldtrip BW Team Gjoa Haven Summer 2021

31-03-2022 Work on 4.1 “Impacting Governance and Policy” focused on three main areas. The first was the co-creation and dissemination of the polar bear quota restriction impacts on Gjoa Haven residents. Saskia De Wildt, as part of her PhD work, has been leading this effort. The previous ROC report captures some of the community partnership work on this part of the project. Saskia also carried out the following activities during the reporting period; i) editing of recorded narrations, ii) motion graphic animation of Danny Aaluk’s artwork and, iii) creation of polar bear IQ calendar. These efforts are leading to a participatory video designed to widely share, and expose the impacts of polar bear quota reductions, on the community of Gjoa Haven, to a wider public of Nunavut communities and policy makers. Much of the video production occurred during the reporting period, final edits based on community viewings were conducted subsequently, and the launch of the video will be reported on during the next reporting period. Second, a text-based online timeline associated with the quota restriction story was created during the six-month reporting period based on sanction received during the Sept/August 21 community visit to Gjoa Haven. Final design and launch will happen during the next reporting period. Third, extensive re-working of the academic paper on the quota impacts occurred during the six-month reporting period. A final draft based on edits from project leads and community representatives is ready for submission to an academic journal. Finally, a wireframe (draft design) has been set-up for a Gjoa Haven advocacy webpage, that will be launched to share all prior-mentioned work, as well as insights and documentation resulting from the final workshops with researchers, policymakers and Inuit hunters, youth and elders from multiple communities.

30-06-21 We have participated in numerous calls with GH partners using zoom and conference calling technology. PhD student Saskia de Wild is leading the effort on our polar bear impacts paper, bringing a new approach to the research analysis that minimizes the southern research team from the interpretation of the results and enhances our GH partners in the process through their narratives linked to a timeline of management events.