Since 2021 began, Elaine has been wrapping up her dissertation and disseminating her results in a variety of ways. Her defense is now scheduled for July, and she is finalizing three manuscripts for publication, based on her dissertation chapters (with other manuscripts related to the work in the early stages).
In addition, she has been sharing her work in a variety of ways:
- Summary reports from a cumulative effects indicators workshop (.pdf) and from expert interviews (.pdf), published at the start of January;
- An invited article in The Conversation, featured in their national news section ahead of World Water Day – Indigenous youth are playing a key role in solving urgent water issues
- An invited presentation (.pdf) to the Southern Ontario Stream Monitoring and Research Team at their quarterly meeting in March – Comparison of freshwater monitoring approaches: strengths, opportunities, and recommendations
- An article in Water Canada – Reconceptualizing water quality monitoring
- Hosting a virtual table to discuss the Grand Expressions virtual art exhibit at the Virtual Water Gallery social event – part of the Global Water Futures Annual Open Science Meeting (opening presentation (.pdf))
- A poster (.pdf) presented at the Global Water Futures Annual Open Science Meeting – A decolonized approach to community-based, cumulative effects monitoring
- A presentation at the 64th annual conference of the International Association of Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) – Cumulative effects monitoring in the Grand River and Lake ErieElaine in the lab at Algoma University, recorded a video demonstrating water quality testing in her role as Project Coordinator for the Lake Huron Collaborative (Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre).
As Elaine’s PhD winds down, she has begun a new chapter in Great Lakes research in Northern Ontario. In January, Elaine became a Research Associate at the Northern Ontario Research, Development, Ideas and Knowledge (NORDIK) Institute at Algoma University. She is currently working a contract position with the Rural Agri-Innovation Network (RAIN) at the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre, where she is coordinating the creation of the Lake Huron Collaborative. In these positions, Elaine has been rapidly growing her network of freshwater professionals and interested parties on Lake Huron’s North Shore. There are numerous research projects that Elaine has been invited to collaborate on in the near future, in addition to her involvement in creating a pitch to host the Canada Water Agency (or one office of it) in Sault Ste. Marie.
From July 1, 2021 until June 30, 2022 Elaine will also be taking on a Postdoctoral position in Biology, under Dr. István Imre, at Algoma University. The project, Community-based water monitoring and Two-Eyed Seeing in the St. Marys Area of Concern, is being led by Elaine in partnership with the NORDIK Institute, Algoma University, Waterlution, and Garden River First Nation. It is supported jointly by a Great Lakes Local Action Fund grant from the Government of Ontario, a Mitacs Postdoctoral Fellowship, and a subsidy (for staffing the project) from ECO Canada.