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Delta Dialogue Network
Kiri Staples
January 26-30, 2015
www.usask.ca
About Me
Inland Deltas in Northern Canada
▪
▪
▪
Saskatchewan River and Delta, Saskatchewan
Peace-Athabasca Delta, Alberta
Slave River Delta, Northwest Territories
Challenges/Opportunties
▪
Inland deltas face similar challenges
a)
b)
▪
climate change
regional development upstream
Opportunities to learn from each other and share
experiences
www.wired.com
www.climate-change-guide.com
Problem
▪
Research and monitoring research, community groups,
etc.
a)
b)
c)
▪
▪
water
air
wildlife
Information does not always reach the the people who
need and want it
Isn’t always heard by decision makers/policy makers
www.intlalliance.org
Goals
▪ To: understand and build upon the best
practices of how knowledge is shared across
the deltas so that it is accessible,
meaningful and useful to communities,
decision-makers and academics
http://pademp.ca/
▪ Three main projects:
a) Evaluate existing knowledge sharing efforts in the Slave
River Delta (Master’s student Veronica Mauel);
b) Sharing knowledge with managers and policy in the PeaceAthabasca Delta (Master’s student Sarah Baines); and
c) Sharing different perspectives on water quantity in the
Saskatchewan River and Delta (Master’s student Evan
Andrews).
About Me
I am here because the Slave River and Delta Partnership has
voiced a need for understanding how well the information from
monitoring and research programs is reaching the broader
community.
I am interested in looking at how that information is being shared
with the rest of the community, and whether it is it is
understood by those who use it or need it.
I am also interested in looking at how that information is
communicated, whether there are any barriers and whether
there are opportunities to overcome these barriers.
Partners and Collaborators
▪ Charlebois Community School
▪ Shaun Greer, Ducks Unlimited
▪ Sarah Rosolen, Aurora Research
Institute
▪ Mary Head, Opaskwayak Cree
Nation
▪ Government of the Northwest
Territories
▪ Parks Canada
▪ Slave River and Delta Partnership
▪ Peace-Athabasca Delta Ecological
Monitoring Program
Slave River and Delta Partnership
Peace-Athabasca Delta Ecological Monitoring Program (2014) –
www.pademp.ca
Interdisciplinary Co-Investigators
Toxicologist
Ecologist
Engineer
Policy Scientist
Geographer
Social scientist
Political Scientist
Social psychologist
Systems
Analyst
Environmental Scientist
Chemist
What we’ve done so far
▪ Received grant in March 2014
▪ Summer 2014: face-to-face meetings (Sask River, Slave River, and
Peace-Athabasca Deltas)
▪
Data collection in Sask. River Delta
▪ September: Two Master’s students brought on to project (for
Slave River and Peace-Athabasca projects)
▪ October: Program Manager (me!) brought on
▪ November: Visited with partners in the Peace-Athabasca Delta
▪ December: Launched DDN website http://www.usask.ca/research-groups/ddn
▪ January: open houses in Fort Smith and Fort Resolution
What we’re going to do next
▪
Peace-Athabasca Delta Ecological Monitoring Program
Forum in Fort Chipewyan (Feb. 10-11, 2015)
▪
Hire community coordinators – Fort Chipewyan, Fort
Resolution, and Fort Smith (April 2015)
▪
Develop research questions with partners in the Slave
River Delta and Peace-Athabasca Delta – data collection
in summer 2015
▪
Applying for grant to pursue more opportunities for
engaging youth in the Saskatchewan River Delta
Thank you!
Contact:
Kiri Staples
(306) 966-7135
kiri.staples@usask.ca
Toddi Steelman
toddi.steelman@usask.ca
Don’t forget to check out our website:
http://www.usask.ca/research-groups/ddn