Organization: Vancouver Island University
Location: The Regional District of Nanaimo, City of Parksville, Town of Qualicum Beach, Snaw-naw-as First Nation, Qualicum First Nation, and traditional territories of five other Coast Salish and Nuu-chah-nulth Nations
Country: Canada
Other Organizations Involved:
Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute
Although many stakeholders, nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies individually monitor and record environmental data in the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region (MABR —designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), public availability of these data and information sharing between these groups is limited. This pilot project will address this gap through a new web-based application (titled the Bee App) that offers a simple yet effective means of uploading environmental and social data within the region to a publically available database available to residents, NGOs, government agencies, and researchers. It is anticipated that the methods used and the app will be of interest to other biospheres in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
The overarching goal of this research project is to create a mechanism for collaboratively monitoring environmental and social aspects of the MABR. Citizens, community groups, government agencies, and researchers can all be involved in this collective and community-based science project. By analyzing patterns in data collection, the problems, priorities, and data gaps will become apparent. As patterns emerge, we will work with groups, agencies, and researchers to determine collectively the best methods for addressing the issues. We will also actively work to involve local residents as “citizen scientists,” as our residents have the greatest level of local knowledge on the area.
The main activities of this projects are as follows:
This project will allow the local community to quickly identify the issues/features that are important and worthy of inclusion on the community map, demonstrate patterns of occurrences, and allow governments and agencies to target resources and work plans to resolve these community identified issues. Practical results will be achieved within the timeframe of NAPECA support. Through this process, the wider community will gain valuable education and awareness of environmental and cultural issues in the region and resources will be targeted to solve critical issues.