Next week’s IRES Seminar features 2 IRES students!
January 16, 2025: IRES Student Seminar with Caleb Sinn and Yoshi Tanaka
Time: 12:30pm to 1:20pm
Location: Beaty Museum Allan Yap Theatre (Basement, 2212 Main Mall). Please check in at front desk on main floor before going downstairs.
No food or drinks allowed in the Beaty Museum.
Available on Zoom
Aquatic ecosystem metabolism and carbon biogeochemistry as indicators of stream health in the Deadman River watershed near Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Talk summary:
Aquatic ecosystem metabolism is the balance of organic carbon produced and consumed within an aquatic ecosystem and forms the basis for food webs and biogeochemical cycles in streams. By integrating biochemical and physical components, metabolism represents an ecosystem-level indicator of stream health in relation to stressors such as land-use change, wildfire, or climate change. This research explores how aquatic ecosystem metabolism and carbon biogeochemistry reflect stream health in the Deadman River watershed near Kamloops, British Columbia. This research is part of the Tsecmenúl̓ecwem-kt (We Repair the Land) project, lead by the Skeetchestn Indian Band, which aims to evaluate watershed health and recovery as well as the effectiveness of restoration treatments in the Deadman River watershed following a severe wildfire.
Caleb Sinn, IRES Msc Student
Bio:
Caleb is an MSc student in the UBC Ecohydrology Lab, supervised by Dr. Mark Johnson. His research interest is the use of ecosystem ecology to support stewardship and management of freshwater at the watershed scale. Prior to coming to UBC, Caleb completed a BSc in General Science with a double-major in Biology and Chemistry at the University of Alberta, and then worked as a Program Manager with the Alberta Lake Management Society where he managed year-round and province-wide community-based lake monitoring programs. In his free time you’ll find Caleb cooking, gardening, trail running, or spending time with family and friends.
Reawakening Traditional Ecological Practices to Revitalize Satoyama Stewardship in Japan: finding adaptive capacity of Japanese village ecology, culture and spirituality
Talk summary:
Traditional ecological practices in Japan have shifted drastically due to rapid modernization and urbanization over the last century. Some practices survived; others fell asleep. While onset societal change has made village life isolated, Yoshi’s relatives in the village have worked daily to maintain the culture by adapting to changes throughout their lifetime. Inspired by these people’s wisdom and efforts, he studies the fluid ways of village life by listening to them and experiencing the daily life with them. His autoethnographic approach reveals elements of his ancestors’ traditional ways, and how linearity of time can be unraveled by witnessing the adaptability of his relatives, to this day thriving in their element where ecology, culture and spirituality are kept woven tight. He believes that documenting this continuum will aid the bridge for the future generations, extending beyond his village.
Yoshi Tanaka, IRES Msc Student
Bio:
Despite being raised in urban Nagoya City, Yoshi has privileged connection with his maternal ancestral village. Spending ample time of his youth in the village, his deep connection with the people, mountain, creeks and creatures has shaped his worldview and developed deep awareness towards his environment, an advantage for his scholarly endeavor. Curiosity strongly drives him in weaving commonalities among differences across circularity of time and space, in the entanglement of humans as a part of nature. A citizen of Japan, a permanent resident of Canada, a descendant of Pacific Rim cultural zone.
See you next Thursday in the Beaty Museum Allan Yap Theatre!
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Bonnie Leung
RES Program Support (she/her/hers)
Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES)
University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus | Musqueam Traditional Territory
Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory (AERL Building)
Room 429 – 2202 Main Mall | Vancouver, BC | V6T 1Z4 | Canada
Email: bonnie.leung@ubc.ca
Tel: 604-822-9249