Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories
Year(s) Funded: 2008-2009
Topic Area: Knowledge Sharing / Education Contact: Erin Freeland ([email protected]) Partners: Arctic Health Research Network, Fort Good Hope Elders Council and University of Oxford Title: Our Land, Our Life, Our Future: Community Health, Climate Change & Community Based Adaptation Solutions toward Wellness
Action: The Fort Good Hope Youth Video Research Crew (YVRC) was created and trained as part of the Sustainability’s Paradox, a University of Oxford PhD research project partnered with the Fort Good Hope Elders Council and Arctic Health Research Network (AHRN) to continue video research in the area of climate change, health impacts and health adaptations. The project worked to expand current community research capacity and to establish an inter-community learning network to share results and work towards solutions to climate change and health impacts on community. The YVRC carried out interviews both in the community and out on the land with youth, Elders, leaders, hunters and trappers at the Our North, Our Future Youth Gathering in Tuktoyaktuk and with the Fort Good Hope On-the-Land-Gathering pilot project. Interviews were carried out and the youth then watched and edited the videos, looking for common themes and suggested adaptations actions. Youth learned how to engage critically with climate change issues, understand the effect climate change can have on health and what steps can be taken to adapt to these changes to enhance and support health and wellness in the community and region. Results: The project revealed that there are many changes happening on the land. Learning, education and sharing information were noted as important adaptations, as were harvesting and learning about traditional food, Dene Laws and cooperation. There is an enthusiasm from the youth to learn more about the land, how to take care of it and to be included more in community decisions about the future. Overall, climate change is happening and the changes are affecting the health of community members. Capacity was built in research, media, planning and managing projects. Youth learned about setting goals, public engagement, sharing information, critical thinking, analyzing data and carrying out interviews. Outputs: The creation of a blog titled ‘Our North/Our Future’. Additional Resources & Publications
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