“I am indeed grateful for, and highly motivated by the support of, the Elizabeth Henry Scholarship of a project that seeks to empower marginalized individuals who work assiduously in promoting environmental sustainability through waste recovery” — Dare Sholanke

Congratulations to Dare Sholanke, recipient of the 2018 Elizabeth Henry Scholarship

About Dare

Dare is a Masters student in the Department of Geography, University of Victoria, British Columbia. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Environment Management and Toxicology at Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria in 2015.

During his undergraduate program, he had an internship at the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) where he worked concurrently with the pollution control department and the laboratory services department. After graduation, he worked for a year at the Niger State Environmental Protection Agency as an Environmental Officer. His passion for community and environmental health and sustainability was born out of his experiences working with these Environmental Protection Agencies in a developing nation.

His current research under the supervision of Dr. Jutta Gutberlet seeks to map waste governance in relation to the informal recycling sector, with the aim of empowering marginalized individuals who contribute immensely to environmental sustainability through waste recovery.

About this Project on the Informal Recycling Sector

As waste generation continues to increase globally, its management has become problematic. Through waste recovery, the informal recycling sector has contributed significantly to reducing landfill jam and carbon footprints. However, individuals in this sector are generally marginalized, impoverished, and are mostly excluded from the formal waste management system — and Canada is not an exception.

Using a comparative case study approach and mixed method, this study examines waste governance in two Canadian cities with the aim of identifying how through policymaking, political actors affect waste recovery and the level of inclusiveness in the waste management system. The study will investigate the role of grassroots social innovations in improving the livelihoods of these individuals. Results from this research will help inform authorities, policy makers and practitioners on the need for an inclusive waste management system and will provide strategies for improving the livelihoods of this sector while promoting sustainability in the city.

Biography

Ada grew up on a small farmstead in rural Wisconsin where her family’s vegetable patch was surrounded by endless rows of corn and soybeans, sparking her interest in questions around food security, food sovereignty and food literacy.

She completed her BA in Anthropology and Environmental Studies at Wellesley College where her honors thesis focused on food security and environmental justice on the small island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. That research took Ada back to the Caribbean where she spent two years developing an Edible Schoolyard and permaculture garden curriculum at an alternative education center for girls in the Dominican Republic.

Her current research as an MA Candidate working under the supervision of Charles Menzies at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC expands upon her academic interests and real-world experiences in seeking to understand what the key components or mechanisms are needed to successfully "operationalize" food sovereignty for remote First Nations communities in BC.

"The support of the Elizabeth Henry Scholarship exemplifies, in the Sm'algyax language, bax laansk  – or how we can come together in collaborative research and in decolonizing approaches toward a just and sustainable food system." - Ada Smith

Project Summary

In July 2017, working in partnership with Gitxaala Nation, Ada began her research, seeking to understand the role of Gitxaala’s community garden project and other local food production activities in supporting food sovereignty in their community. Specifically, Ada’s role is working in collaboration with Gitxaala’s Health Services and Lach Klan School during the months of July and August to bring garden and "food literacy" activities into the summer reading program and school curriculum. Both the research process and outcome aim to support Gitxaala’s effort toward cultivating a community garden program that will provide more sustainable mode of food production for the community while offering fun learning opportunities for youth.

Bio

Kim-Ly is a Masters student at the University of Victoria’s School of Environmental Studies (Coast Salish Territory). She is of Vietnamese, Scottish and Irish ancestry and was raised along the shores of the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario (Haudenosaunee Territory). She earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and Environmental Studies at McGill University in 2015 (Haudenosaunee Territory).

During the last two summers of her undergraduate studies, Kim-Ly was privileged to be welcomed to the Territory of the Gitga’at Nation where she studied the feeding behaviour of local humpback whale populations. Upon completing her B.Sc., she worked for the Gitga’at First Nation as a biological data analyst, working closely with the Gitga’at Guardians to study the health and abundance of traditional foods and other environmental indicators. Through her Masters project, she hopes to contribute to the well-being of a place and people who have offered her innumerable lessons.

"I am very grateful for Elizabeth Henry Scholarship’s support of a project that aims to bolster the voice of Gitga’at harvesters and knowledge holders in the ongoing stewardship of their territory in a time of rapid social and ecological change." - Kim-Ly Thompson

Project Summary

Ninety percent of Gitga’at people consume traditional seafood on a daily basis; the relationship held between Gitga’at and the ocean since time immemorial is alive and well. However, this social-ecological system is being stressed by a changing climate, resource mismanagement, industrial shipping proposals and other barriers to passing on ancestral teachings. Kim-Ly’s Masters research was designed with community leaders and seeks to inform a Gitga’at-owned monitoring program to document information and knowledge produced by Gitga’at people while harvesting and preparing traditional coastal resources. In the words of Hereditary Chief Albert Clifton: “We monitor our environment by living here”. The program will inform Gitga’at marine resource management, climate change adaptation, and bolster intergenerational knowledge transfer.