David Borish

David Borish wins "Poster to Publication" award at the ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting!

Congratulations to David Borish for winning the Arctic Science Poster to Publication Award in the category of Indigenous Sciences for his poster entitled "HERD: Inuit voices on caribou" at the national ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting. David’s research is led by Inuit from the Nunatsiavut region and the NunatuKavut region. A Steering Committee is guiding his project, with members from the Nunatsiavut Government, NunatuKavut Community Council, Torngat Secretariat, and academic researchers.

“The Arctic Science Poster to Publication Award was developed in 2019 to recognize exemplary posters at ArcticNet in three categories: Marine, Terrestrial, and Indigenous Sciences. The posters are chosen by the Editors-in-Chief, Drs. Greg Henry and Lisa Loseto, based on the quality of the science, imagery, and scope of the project presented on the poster.” For this Award, David received an Article Processing Charge waiver (value of $1575 CAD) to publish his work in Arctic Science.

Congratulations to David for being recognized with this award!

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Arctic Science Poster to Publication Award

2019 ArcticNet ASM

Award Winning Poster: David Borish

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This summer, we are profiling award winning posters presented at research conferences. At the 2016 ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting, David Borish won the poster presentation competition, for his work on using participatory film to examine the relationships between caribou and Inuit in Labrador.

Award Winning Poster

2016 ArcticNet ASM

David leads a National Geographic Student Expedition in Alaska

Written by David Borish, PhD Student Over the past two weeks I was incredibly fortunate to co-lead a National Geographic Student Expeditions (NGSE) trip in Alaska. NGSE offers photo and video-oriented programs for High School and Middle School students worldwide. Hired as the video-focused trip leader, my role was to provide guidance and support to six students from various parts of the US and China who were interested in producing some form of video for their final “on assignment” project.

I wore many hats during my time in Alaska. I planned day activities, organized events, facilitated a positive environment for all levels of learning, drove over 1,500kms, cooked, listened when students needed someone to talk to, dealt with both positive and negative group dynamics, and, most importantly, became a friend and mentor to some amazing, smart, and passionate youth.

Simply put, the trip was a blast. We hiked in Denali National Park, went on an Arctic wildlife safari, ice climbed, trekked on the Matanuska Glacier, kayaked in Kachemak Bay, went tide pooling, interacted with a National Geographic wildlife-tracking expert, and visited the Alaska Native Heritage Center, among other things.

Relating to my personal PhD research, I had an opportunity to see and photograph Alaskan caribou in Denali National Park. I also received some insight into the diverse connections between caribou and Alaskan Natives across the state, from Inupiat to Aleut. I hope to learn more about these connections in Alaska as they can inform my research moving forward.

Photo credits: David Borish

Reflecting on the Arctic Change Conference

Written by Jacqueline Middleton, PhD Candidate This year’s annual ArcticNet meeting (Arctic Change 2017) was held in the historical Quebec City, QC, from December 11-15, 2017. The international conference hosted Arctic researchers, stakeholders, and community representatives from across the North. Over 60 topical sessions and more than 350 posters across disciplines encouraged learning and discussion among attendees. The venue also promoted relationship building as it conveniently provided space for side meetings necessary for project partners to collaborate.

Once again, a fantastic Student Day was held with a focus on ‘International Cooperation and Collaboration in Arctic Research’, and had its inaugural ‘Elevator Pitch’ competition, where students from across disciplines were challenged to engage audiences with a one-minute oral presentation on their poster. The Harper Lab’s own Anna Manore participated in this competition – presenting on her Master’s work with the PAWS project on shellfish contaminants in Iqaluit.

The Harper Lab contributed a number of oral and poster presentations, showcasing our research group’s work on environmental health surveillance and monitoring, mental wellbeing, as well as water and food security.

After an engaging week learning about the forefront of Arctic research, the conference ended with a beautiful banquet where awards and acknowledgements were presented, including PhD candidate Alex Sawatzky who won first place in the Health and Social Sciences category in the graduate student poster competition! The evening closed with a fantastic performance by Iqaluit artists The Jerry Cans. It was a privilege and a tremendous pleasure to participate and attend Arctic Change 2017. The Harper Lab can’t wait for next year!

 

EcoHealth Posters at ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting

Written by Sherilee Harper The poster session is one of my favourite aspects of the ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meetings, and this year was no exception.  Of all the conferences that I have participated in, the ArcticNet poster session is among the best attended and most engaging poster sessions.

Our research group had a number of posters presented at this conference, showcasing work that ranged from climate change impacts on mental health and wellbeing, to community-based climate-health monitoring, to place-attachment and maternal health, to caribou documentaries, to one-health projects.

Members from our research group were awarded 1st and 2nd place in the Graduate Student Poster Competition!  Congratulations David and Alexandra for your 1st and 2nd place win (respectively)!