On-the-land STEM Camps for Students in the Western Arctic

Main Project Contact:

Garfield Giff

Project Start Date:

2019

Project End Date:

2022

Project Name:

Growing Climate Change Awareness Amongst Western Arctic Students Through On-the-land STEM Camps

ARI Team:

Garfield Giff

Celtie Ferguson

Greg Elias

Edwin Amos

Kata Kuhnert 

Overview:

The way-of-life and culture of the Western Arctic communities are closely intertwined with the land. Therefore, any negative impact on the environment of the Western Arctic will affect the way-of-life and culture of the people. Growing climate change awareness amongst youth is a key step in supporting Western Arctic communities in developing and implementing climate change mitigation strategies.

Effectively informing youth on the effects of climate driven changes on their communities requires methodologies that visibley identify these effects in an interactive, informative, and fun-filled manner. This project includes an on-the-land programs that infuses Traditional Knowledge (TK) with Earth and Space Science (ESS) with the goal that youth will be engaged in:

• The local effects of climate driven changes;
• The use of ESS and TK in identifying these changes;
• The Application of ESS and TK to mitigate against the effects of these changes.

Objectives:

The two main goals of the project are firstly, to provide students from Western Arctic communities with hands-on experience of the effects of climate change on their community and the application of ESS in identifying, monitoring, and mitigating against these effects. Secondly, to develop a set of tools which will be used for educating other youths on the effects of climate driven changes. This land-based learning opportunity will highlight the application of ESS and TK to climate change activities, as well as incorporate students’ findings and experiences into a set of interactive teaching tools.

Location:

The project will take place in the Beaufort-Delta Education Council School District of the Northwest Territories. See map below courtesy of the Beaufort-Delta Education Council.

Methods:

The on-the-land program will be developed using the following methodologies: curriculum development, geomatics data collection techniques, GIS methodologies, map and StoryMap making methodologies, video production techniques, Traditional Knowledge, project management, lesson planning, literature review on STEM and Traditional Knowledge integration, Climate change monitoring, interviews of Elders and community members on the impact of climate change on their community, and workshops.

The results of the project will be communicated through videos with supporting lessons, and interactive maps and StoryMaps all illustrating the use of on-the-land activities to grow the awareness of the effects of climate change on Western Arctic communities.

Schedule:

External Partners:

Alice Wilson, Northwest Territories Geological Survey 

Emma Stockton, Carleton University

American Geophysical Union: Centennial Program

Beaufort Delta Education Council

Keywords

On-the-land programs, climate Change; GIS, STEM; Traditional Knowledge; StoryMaps; interactive maps; lesson plans for on-the-land programs; earth and space science.

Updated May 2021