Dr. Ian Mauro, Associate Professor (Geography) at the University of Winnipeg, is launching a new project called Climate, Cinema and Cartography that merges participatory filmmaking and geographic visualization to tell the story of how climate change will affect the Canadian Prairies. This collaborative initiative is designed to inspire citizen engagement, community-level adaptability, and long-term social, cultural and economic stability. This is a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) funded project.
To kick off the project, Mauro will be on a short speaking tour in Saskatchewan with renowned environmentalist David Suzuki to discuss climate change and its implications for the Prairie region. Suzuki and Mauro will be speaking at a National Farmers Union event entitled Climate, Food and the Future as well as events at the University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina. This is Mauro’s fourth speaking tour with Suzuki, which have taken the pair across Canada engaging citizens on these issues.
Mauro will be talking about his climate change research across Canada, including films he’s made in the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific regions, as well as the upcoming Prairie project. Over the next five years, with SSHRC funding, Mauro and co-investigators in the Department of Geography (Drs. Danny Blair, Matt Dyce and Chris Storie) will explore how climate change projections interface with place-based knowledge, and local strategies to transition to vibrant, low carbon communities within the Prairies and beyond.
Farmers, foresters, fishers as well as scientists, policymakers and other citizens will be asked to respond to maps about their regions under different climate scenarios. Based on these interviews, interactive documentaries will be developed that allow viewers to explore the cartographic and climatological landscape where these Prairie-focused videos have been developed. These interactions between climate and human systems will be presented in the Prairie Climate Atlas and further shared through participatory film screenings, workshops and deliberative dialogues in collaboration with the Prairie Climate Centre.
This project holistically links natural and social sciences – considered a major challenge of climate research generally – and will leverage knowledge into action. Although the Prairies is a region that is highly vulnerable to climate change, this project seeks to find tangible solutions for communities, governments and business that move them from risk to resilience.
SASKATCHEWAN TOUR
Sunday, September 18, 2016
An evening with David Suzuki and Ian Mauro
National Farmers Union
Climate, Food and the Future
Broadway Theatre, Saskatoon 7:30 PM
Monday, September 19, 2016 afternoon
A special presentation at the University of Saskatchewan by David Suzuki
with an introduction by Ian Mauro of the University of Winnipeg
Convocation Hall, University of Saskatchewan campus
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.: Climate change discussion
2:30 – 3:00 p.m.: Book signing
Monday, September 19, 2016 evening
A Conversation with David Suzuki
This event is open and free to the community.
University of Regina, Education Auditorium
7:30-9:00pm, book sales & signing to follow
