Weeks 1-3

Week 1: Introductions
In the first week, I was nervous yet very excited by the idea of beginning a project that may have a real impact on a community and working with a team that would be equally enthusiastic as I was about the opportunity to carry out hands-on field work related to our interests in environment and sustainability. Moving quickly, by the second class, we had already decided upon our community partners and formed teams. While choosing the community partner I wanted to work with, I was aware that although I was interested in working with the Alex Fraser Research Forest I was also limited in experience and knowledge in forest land use management. Despite this feeling, I was determined to take on the challenge and engage in the opportunity to learn from this community partner.

After meeting my Alex Fraser Research Forest team, we were assigned our first task – to visit the False Creek Flats as a team and to get to know each other better. As with most collaborative team work, finding a time where everyone could meet was problematic. Of course, I learned that this also meant that my team members were busy and well involved in their community and interests. At the outset, I saw how important it was for our team to establish a working agreement, a schedule of tasks and effective ways of communication in order to work efficiently with each other.

Week 2: The Researcher’s Role (Positionality and Ethics)
With no previous experience with community-based research, hearing Madeleine’s guest lecture made me more aware of the components of this type of learning and the importance of the responsibility I had as a researcher to my community partner. Madeleine asked us to consider an “asset-based and capacity building approach” which describes a collaboration with community partners that builds upon skills and resources they already have, creating sustainable methods of using these assets and meeting their objectives. Madeline also highlighted the importance of recognizing that our community members are knowledge holders and “co-educators.” With these new considerations, I am even more aware of the need to develop a deeper understanding of the priorities of our community partner and to actively listen, observe and reflect on our engagement with them. During our first meeting with Cathy, our main contact with the community forest, my team members and I felt eager to begin working on ideas but also prepared to have an asset-based approach. We quickly realized from our conversation with Cathy that there were many aspects of the community forest that we needed to first familiarize ourselves with, including the different values of stakeholders, governance structures, and resource allocations. In accordance with Madeline’s lecture, Cathy also emphasized that it was critical for us to first understand the values and objectives of the community through conversations with them.

This week’s activities also underlined the importance of self-reflection in this course and in our research. Prior to this course, I had not thought about of how my positionality and former experiences might affect my biases and how others may perceive me. I will continue to keep this in mind and reflect on what this might mean for my research. As suggested by Madeleine, I have also established goals and hopes for my learning in this course. As part of my personal growth, I would like to improve my writing skills and develop a personal and mature voice in my writing through my blog posts and weekly activities. I also hope that through this course I will develop research skills and understand the process of applying academic theoretical frameworks and data to the usefulness of real issues in a community. Additionally, I hope that in my research and experience, I will improve upon my professional skills and knowledge in effective communication and resource management.