Research Area: Cultural and Ecological Health

A major research and community engagement initiative in the Clayoquot Sound region is the “Clayoquot Alliance for Research, Education and Training”. This is a partnership of the University of Victoria and the communities of the Clayoquot Sound region, through the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust as a conduit. The partnership is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada under its Community-University Research Alliance program. Several projects are in progress or under development with community partners as key contributors. Some of these include: studies on sustainable resource management, creation of learning materials for Nuu-chah-nulth language training, extension of the Clayoquot archives for community access and use, expansion of the Long Beach Model Forest Society’s sustainable forestry research inventory and database to include human and ecosystem health. In addition, a major project to develop consensus on protocols and guidelines for community-based research with local community groups and the central region Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations is in progress under the guidance of a local working group. In this dialogue session, community and university representatives will provide an overview of the Clayoquot Alliance for Research, Education and Training and briefly describe some of the projects for discussion, feedback and identification of participatory opportunities.

This panel will discuss the flow of information between research institutions, communities, and government. We will present three projects that aim to support community instigated research. The first is a newly initiated project based in coastal British Columbia(Canada). Modeled on the Dutch “science shops”, this project aims to facilitate community-led research on human and ecosystem health in cooperation with university researchers. The second project involves citizen volunteers in wetlands research in an urbanizing watershed. It is a cooperative venture between the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, Princeton University, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, with a primary aim to increase public understanding of policy alternatives by actively involving citizens in the research process. The third project concerns the history and evolving theory of a proposed Research Natural Area for the Warner Creek fire area in Oregon’s Willamette National Forest. Founded on collaborations between scientists, activists, and managers, this Fire Process Research Natural Area is one model of a research and education oriented advocacy group. Panel presentations and discussion will focus on the following questions: • How is scientific information communicated among various sectors of civil society? • How does the process of generating information and conducting research affect the way in which results are integrated into regional, federal and international policy-making? • How can communication be improved to support mutual learning to address complex social and environmental issues?