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What motivates conservation stewardship? What are the ingredients of a successful community conservation approach? And, how can communities work more effectively with partners to achieve both conservation and sustainable livelihood goals? Last month, members of the ECGG attended a meeting of the Community Conservation Research Network (CCRN), which has been conceived specifically to grapple with these questions.

There is a productive debate between qualitative and quantitative researchers on what makes the cut when it comes to determining high quality, robust research methods. Those who favour quantitative methods often argue that valid research is based on the scientific method of developing a hypothesis and then using a standardized tool such as a survey or random sample in an attempt to falsify the initial claim.

In our pursuit of more effective and novel ways to tell stories about our research, the ECGG recently visited the Felt Lab (@REAPWaterloo), a digital media laboratory that is part of the Research Entrepreneurs Accelerating Prosperity (REAP) research initiative. Named for its home in an old felt manufacturing facility in St. Jacobs, Ontario, the Felt Lab provides space for creativity and innovation based on interactive digital display technology.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of giving a talk to a group of graduate students in a course on ‘Sustainability Applications’ taught by Dr. Derek Armitage in Environment and Resource Studies here @ the University of Waterloo. I drew on my research experience in Quebec and New Brunswick, Canada to discuss embedding social networks in an ecological context and what a social network perspective can and cannot tell us about power. By clicking on the title slide below you can link to the full presentation on slideshare.

I submitted my idea of Art + Science Alchemy as my best solution to address complex environmental change. The poster submission is below. I draw on my doctoral research, my proposal for a non-profit and I linked it to some of the music I have been composing with Post-Normal.

During the week of January 20-27, 2013 I had the opportunity to travel to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (NWT) to attend a joint NWT Environmental Monitoring Annual Results Workshop that was hosted by the NWT Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program (CIMP), Government of the NWT and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).

There is often discussion in academic circles about the need to share research results beyond our own tight-knit circles of similarly minded researchers. As a graduate student I have attended classes, participated in workshops and conferences, and read peer-reviewed papers and opinion pieces that consistently advocate for better communication from scholars. The arguments typically stem from the need for integration across disciplines and/or the need to make our research more accessible to the public. There have been some active discussions recently on Twitter about open access publications and the importance of making the results of our publicly funded research available to the general public. There is undoubtedly also value in receiving feedback on our research from people who come from diverse backgrounds and who can add valuable insights for broader knowledge production.

The Cau Hai lagoon is the southernmost section of a series of four interconnected lagoons that are more commonly referred to as the Tam Giang lagoon. Over the last few months I have been living in Huế City and doing fieldwork with some excellent people at the Huế University of Agriculture and Forestry (HUAF). Most of my work has been facilitated by Ha and Nam, who are junior faculty at HUAF (in photo below). We work together to refine research tools and they set up interviews and focus groups and provide translations.

So…how can young scholars best navigate social media to expand their voice and impact as scientists and citizens?

A recent paper in Ecology and Society examines the interplay of social wellbeing and resilience in applying a social-ecological perspective. In resilience thinking, the ecological dimensions have been more influential and better theorized than the social ones.