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ARCBIO field technicians. Image: ARCBIO
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It’s time for another Blue Futures Pathways round-up! It’s your regular reminder of what’s happening for youth, employers and educators in Canada’s Sustainable Blue Economy. If you missed the last edition, you can read it here.
In this edition, we’ll hear from Nunavummiut youth who contributed to the Arctic BIOSCAN program. We’ll also hear about the importance of empowering young people and early-career professionals during the UN Ocean Decade.
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The PORT’s job board hosts ocean and water job opportunities from across Canada, curated for young people (18-30 years old). Employers can also post jobs there directly. Here are just a few of the many openings currently posted on the job board:
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Interested in supporting Indigenous communities embarking on clean energy projects? Indigenous Clean Energy (ICE) is seeking 20 participants for its three-month 20/20 Catalysts Program, which includes three-weeks of on-site intensive sessions at venues across Canada. Working collaboratively with the guidance of Indigenous leaders and clean energy practitioners from across the country, participants will gain the skills and tools needed to maximize the social and economic benefits communities gain through clean energy initiatives.
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Connect with our team during the conference (we'll be in SOI t-shirts!), or visit us at the Ocean, Freshwater & Us interactive room, which we’ll co-host with our friends from the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition and ECOP Canada on December 5. Let us know if you’d like to set up a meeting by clicking the button below!
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In September, Ashley Bowes took part in SOI Foundation’s inaugural Ocean Conservation Expedition as the national coordinator for ECOP Canada. Watch a recap video of the expedition below.
Ashley says it’s important that youth and early-career professionals are empowered with opportunities to contribute to the UN Ocean Decade.
“Youth and early-career professionals will be the ones who will inherit decisions made about the ocean today,” she writes in a blog.
“By strengthening their voices through experiential learning, coastal connections, capacity and community-building, we can empower these future and current ocean leaders to implement innovative solutions for a healthy ocean.”
Click the button below to read Ashley’s blog.
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Meet Kumau Qavvik, Carter Lear, and Michael Aqilriaq. They’re among six young Nunavummiut who spent the summer working as field technicians for the Arctic BIOSCAN (ARCBIO) project in the Kitikmeot region.
The ARCBIO project seeks to bridge biodiversity science, DNA technology and Inuit knowledge in order to improve the capacity to monitor environmental changes in the Canadian Arctic.
As part of that work, the youth collected insects and other arthropods in terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments with training from scientists at Viventem, University of Guelph and Centre for Biodiversity Genomics. The samples are then sorted, labeled, and then shipped to University of Guelph to be DNA barcoded at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics.
The youth also led the process of uploading their observations on the SIKU platform (Indigenous Knowledge Social Network) for improved regional accessibility and usage of the data.
Carter has worked with ARCBIO for three seasons. Having grown up in Cambridge Bay, he learned about the project at a community event in 2019. He saw it as an opportunity to “work with and on the land” in his home territory and explore the world of insects, something that always interested him.
“Many of the things I have learned working with Arctic BIOSCAN are interesting to me,” says Carter. “But the most interesting thing is probably the diversity of insects in the Arctic, how they all play their part in their ecosystem and even in our lives.”
“I am looking forward to hearing about the results of this field season and to know if we found anything different from the past year,” he added. “I would love to make a career out of this someday.”
Kumau, who plans to study engineering after high school, found out about the project from his teacher. Describing his home community of Kugaaruk as a “beautiful landscape” with mountains and hills along the ocean shoreline, Kumau says he’s drawn to the job with ARCBIO because he loves being outdoors.
For Michael, who is from Gjoa Haven, social media was where he learned about the role with ARCBIO. He’s found it “fun and enjoyable” to catch and learn about insects.
This year, ARCBIO’s monitoring activities expanded outside of Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk to include Kugaaruk, Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak, thanks to funding from SOI’s Blue Futures Pathways program and Polar Knowledge Canada. A total of 11 long-term biodiversity monitoring sites were initiated and serviced by the team of technicians.
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Blue Futures Pathways is made possible thanks to support from:
Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, Mitacs, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, ECO Canada, and the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship.
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