Almost exactly a year ago I wrote my first blog post regarding the beginning of my journey in the MACAL program, and first thoughts of the design challenge process. A few of the same feelings have remained constant throughout the year- the excitement and intrigue about the potential of this methodology to create solutions- and the strive to embrace issues from as wide of a transdisciplinary lens as possible.

One question I postered in my first reflection was wondering “what the next step is, and how this process can be transcribed into action. I believe this is a valuable tool to explore in the quest to climate adaptation, but I need to learn more about testing and implementation as steps in the process.”

Which is exactly what happened. Through the various steps of the design thinking process- prototyping, ideating, testing, more iteration and collaboration, I feel like I know exactly what the next steps would be for our design.

Along with the overall success of the design thinking challenge many things occurred which I did not anticipate. First and foremost, the fractality of diving deeply into an issue, and being so intentional about the process. And to my surprise, after hours and hours of brainstorming, testing and feedback- it was often the simplest ideas and concepts that held the most potential. Something as simple as sharing a story could be a solution.

From a practical level, the duration of the assignment and weight of the question were draining at times. There was undoubted value in having the design thinking challenge question in the back of our minds while taking each subsequent course, however after about six months of it, it began to become quite wearing. Tackling this process as a team was an absolute necessity, the intelligence and resilience of my teammates were exemplified at every step.

I would probably have to write a whole novel to relay all the revelations, reflections and learnings that occurred this past year. However, since presenting our final design framework last week there has been one concept that has overwhelmingly been a part of my reflections- that of right relations.

Looking back now, the first reading we were assigned was about right relations and decolonization practices in climate action work. In research from Gram-Hanssen et al. (2021) they share that “[t]ending to these relations is a prerequisite for tending to climate change itself.” In CALS 503, before diving into risk assessment methodology we unpacked Indigenous New Zealand author Linda Tuhiwai Smiths work “Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples” where she illustrates the incongruencies with advocating for Indigenous voices in Western research paradigms (Hall & Smith, 2000). Beginning to understand how positionally, and unknowingly I may be perpetuating colonial systems made me completely rethink our design thinking challenge. And now I feel like I have a better foundation for understanding how Indigenous practices can be and should be incorporated into climate action work.

Storytelling became an integral part of my team’s prototype, and the basis for establishing trust and connections with participants in hopes to bridge gaps and focus on commonalities. This practice, which we didn’t necessarily have a name for- but we understood the intention of and potential result of was later defined by Michael Lickers. In our Unit 4 seminar, Mike shared a traditional Haudenosaunee greeting practice called a “Thanksgiving Address” which involves attendees to share and ultimately unite the group on common ground (Lickers, Personal Communication, March 14, 2022). This intentional practice, to reframe a conversation before it had even begun was exactly the type of practice we wanted create in our prototype. Sharing stories is something everyone does, and yet somehow this practice seems to be largely absent in professional settings. As Gram-Hanssen et al. (2021) said, addressing relationality is paramount to addressing climate change as they share root causes. After a year of reflecting how this can be done- and spur action, sharing stories to connect people to how they are similar rather than different is approach I would recommend to anyone willing to listen.

“Our awareness can grow bigger than our disturbance”- Young (2020)

References

Gram-Hanssen, I., Schafenacker, N., & Bentz, J. (2021). Decolonizing transformations through ‘right relations.’ Sustainability Science, 17(2), 673–685. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-00960-9

Hall, T. D., & Smith, L. T. (2000). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Contemporary Sociology, 29(3), 567. https://doi.org/10.2307/2653993

Repairing emotional isolation by reawakening deep nature connection | Jon Young | TEDxGrandPark. (2020, April 23). YouTube. Retrieved June 10, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMWSvUp0CYk&t=476s

Building community resilience is a mechanism of climate adaptation. But what does that mean? How do we build adaptive capacity in a community- and hope it increases resilience for when climate change impacts occur?

The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment define resilience as “the capacity of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to adapt by resisting or changing in order to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning and structure”(CCME, 2021). This definition relates well to the built environment and infrastructure that we rely on. However I am partial to the way Christine Nieves recounts her personal experience of resilience, and shares the importance of the underlying community bonds that are not as easily recognized, but prevailed in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. In her TED talk she describes the resentment she had had for Puerto Rico after growing up experiencing the limitations that its colonial heritage had left the island void of opportunity for her (Why Community Is Our Best Chance for Survival—a Lesson Post-Hurricane Maria, 2019). However after the storm, her community rose to the occasion and created opportunities and purpose which were not evident before. Similarly, many Indigenous peoples have substantial adaptive capacity based on intergenerational lived place based experience (Whitney et al., 2020). There is importance in tying in cultural heritage and generational knowledge to community groups and networks in the effort to strengthen social adaptation. Especially knowledge or practices that may be divergent from colonial practices that have inherently reduced social bonds. 

Moser (2019) in a meta-analysis of interpretations of resilience poses the question of if it is necessary to experience adversity prior to fostering resilience, or if it can be initiated proactively? Articulating how to create meaningful, captivating and motivating discussions on climate change action in Alberta has been compelling. Our groups prototype has evolved to include multiple components to facilitate connection, with the goal of having local, and achievable proactive climate adaptation outcomes. We have created a framework for a facilitation package to be used in workshops or at community events to help identify links between local climate hazards and the places people care deeply about. Place attachment can be a beneficial tool in building community adaptive capacity (Beery et al., 2021). This idea branched from many conversations, including the interviews our group conducted but one overarching theme was that the prototype should at its core remain hopeful. This was emphasized as our group was extremely cognizant of the risk of accidentally fostering apathy within participants. 

The predominant risk I associate with the design thinking challenge and prototype development, is that it simply will not be effective enough in its outcomes- and that there may not yet be enough space for people to understand the risks of climate change for them before they experience them first hand. There are inherent limitations in our approach in terms of our positionally as a group, the resources we have to put towards the project, and who we are able to account for to provide diversity and representation as “[t]ackling resilience challenges like climate change will require collaboration from a wide range of disciplines and practitioners”(Moser, 2019). Collaboration and sharing of knowledge, and stories in particular is integral to our approach as storytelling is an effective way to engage people, and connect them to one another (Bayer & Hettinger, 2019). As Christine Nieves exemplified, stepping up and reiterating hope in the face of a disaster can set a ripple effect and encourage others to contribute however they can to their community.

“Adaptations are manifestations of adaptive capacity.” (Smit & Wandel, 2006)

References

Bayer, S., & Hettinger, A. (2019). Storytelling: A Natural Tool to Weave the Threads of Science and Community Together. The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 100(2), e01542. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1542

Beery, T. et al (2021). Community Climate Conversations: Engaging and Empowering Local Action in a Changing World. Retrieved from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol57/iss6/24/

Moser, S. C., Meerow, S., Arnott, J., & Jack-Scott, E. (2019). The turbulent world of resilience: Interpretations and themes for transdisciplinary dialog. Climatic Change, 153, 21-40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2358-0.

Smit, B., & Wandel, J. (2006). Adaptation, adaptive capacity and vulnerability. Global Environmental Change, 16, 282–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.03.008.

Whitney, C. K., Frid, A., Edgar, B. K., Walkus, J., Siwallace, P., Siwallace, I. L., & Ban, N. C. (2020). “Like the plains people losing the buffalo”: Perceptions of climate change impacts, fisheries management, and adaptation actions by Indigenous peoples in coastal British Columbia, Canada. Ecology and Society, 25(4), 1–17. 

Why community is our best chance for survival—a lesson post-Hurricane Maria. (2019, October 8). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBddgaPzHIQ