BARIN Newsletters

BARIN BEAVER PROJECT: UPDATE

By Helen Wheeler (on behalf of the BARIN Team)

We are now entering year two of the BARIN project (researching ‘Beavers and socio-ecological resilience in Inuit Nunangat’). Across the team, people are starting to engage in fieldwork and data collection again. We are taking this opportunity to share our first BARIN newsletter, with updates on the project.

Spring/summer 2022 was the first field season where we focussed on environmental aspects of the project. Thanks to Camelia Gray, Max Kotokak Sr. Josh Teddy, Lennie Emaghok, Lawrence Rogers, Angus Alunik, Trent Gordon, Trevor Kaglik, Troy Tumma and Dale Rogers, who all supported us as community researchers in the field.

In November 2022, we held an Arctic Beaver Observation Network and BARIN joint meeting in Yellowknife. Thanks to all who participated. A longer report from the meeting will be shared shortly. In the lab and office, the team have been working with satellite imagery to see if we can detect beaver ponds, both now and in the past. We are also analysing shrub pucks to test methods for assessing when beavers were present at various locations in the past.

This summer we will build on the preliminary field work and expand the research to see how the impacts of beavers are affecting people’s lives and livelihoods. We will be reaching out to HTCs in Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk and Aklavik for this work.

We are always interested in ideas and suggestions for the project, so please contact individual researchers or email BARIN@aru.ac.uk. You can also join our facebook group using the following link: https://tinyurl.com/Barin1

You can read the full newsletter here.

BARIN BEAVER PROJECT: UPDATE

By Helen Wheeler (on behalf of the BARIN Team)

I write this as many of us are returning from fieldwork on the BARIN project. It has been great to see all the work taking place for BARIN from different collaborators and project partners. I hope this newsletter gives an idea of the breadth of work this summer. We would really like to thank everyone who has supported the project and made us feel very welcome in the region, sharing their expertise and observations, helping us move the project forward, connecting us with community researchers, wildlife monitors and interview participants. Thank you also to those who participated in the research, keeping us safe in the field and collecting field data with us, sharing knowledge through interviews and providing guidance during workshops.

We are now working through recordings and samples to process the information collected and knowledge shared. We will continue to share updates through our Facebook group and please get in contact with questions, ideas and suggestions via email (helen.wheeler@aru.ac.uk) or Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/Barin1

In November our funder – the Canada Inuit Nunangat United Kingdom research program (CINUK) – is holding a conference for all projects they have funded. We are currently arranging for the Imaryuk monitors to join us in the UK for this to further discuss the project and we look forward to hosting them in Cambridge. We will also post updates and photos from the meeting to share with you all on Facebook.

Thanks again for you support with the research project. We look forward to returning and seeing you soon.

You can view the full newsletter here.

BARIN BEAVER PROJECT: UPDATE

By Helen Wheeler (on behalf of the BARIN Team)

It has been a busy winter so far for the BARIN team and collaborators. A highlight was the BARIN and CINUK meetings in the UK. It was exciting to have both Max Kotokak Sr. and Kevin Arey visit us in the UK and to be joined by many Canadian and UK university partners. Thanks to all who were able to come. An enjoyable time was spent discussing how to progress the project and coming up with new ideas for working together. In particular, we are looking to work with EMSA to create a beaver monitoring app that can be used by the community.

In February, a number of us will be attending the Arctic Beaver Observation Network (ABON) meeting, both presenting BARIN research and sharing knowledge about beavers. We will also be providing an update at the FJMC annual meeting. Thanks again to everyone who has and continues to support BARIN, sharing knowledge, providing advice, working together on funding applications to extend the work, and participating in and collaborating on the research. We look forward to further ongoing discussions.

Full newsletter is available here.

BARIN BEAVER PROJECT: UPDATE

By Helen Wheeler (on behalf of the BARIN Team)

The last few months have been a busy time for the beaver project. Members of the BARIN team helped to organise, presented at, and participated in the Arctic Beaver Observation Network (A-BON) meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska. Thanks to all who got involved, including Herb Nakimayak, Shannon O’ Hara, Kirt Ruben, Max Kotokak Sr., Lennie Emaghok, Kevin Arey, Charles Klegenberg and J.D. Storr. It was interesting to hear perspectives from different regions on beavers and about the research happening in Alaska and elsewhere in Inuit Nunangat. People at the meeting were also interested to hear about the work happening in the ISR and research partnerships.

We are now entering our third year of funding for BARIN and looking how to create useful products from the research and finish up our analyses. We are also looking for ways to continue the research in the coming years. This will require us to apply for new funding and we are keen to hear of new and emerging priorities that we should focus on.

As part of this, I am exploring ways to collate information related to people’s priorities for beaver research from across the Arctic. This is something we discussed at the A-BON meeting and people had the opportunity to sign up to be involved. Please email me or contact me on Facebook, if you have any questions or would like be involved. Email: helen.wheeler@aru.ac.uk

We look forward to continuing work and returning to the ISR in the summer.
Thanks again to everyone for their support and involvement in the project.

Full newsletter is available here.