Karen Landman

“From this place and of this place:” Climate change, sense of place, and health in Nunatsiavut, Canada

As climate change impacts are felt around the globe, people are increasingly exposed to changes in weather patterns, wildlife and vegetation, and water and food quality, access and availability in their local regions. These changes can impact human health and well-being in a variety of ways: increased risk of foodborne and waterborne diseases; increased frequency and distribution of vector-borne disease; increased mortality and injury due to extreme weather events and heat waves; increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease due to changes in air quality and increased allergens in the air; and increased susceptibility to mental and emotional health challenges. While climate change is a global phenomenon, the impacts are experienced most acutely in place; as such, a sense of place, place-attachment, and place-based identities are important indicators for climate-related health and adaptation. Representing one of the first qualitative case studies to examine the connections among climate change, a changing sense of place, and health in an Inuit context, this research draws data from a multi-year community-driven case study situated in the Inuit community of Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada. Data informing this paper were drawn from the narrative analysis of 72 in-depth interviews conducted from November 2009 to October 2010, as well as from the descriptive analysis of 112 questionnaires from a survey in October 2010 (95% response rate). The findings illustrated that climate change is negatively affecting feelings of place attachment by disrupting hunting, fishing, foraging, trapping, and traveling, and changing local landscapes-changes which subsequently impact physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being. These results also highlight the need to develop context-specific climate-health planning and adaptation programs, and call for an understanding of place-attachment as a vital indicator of health and well-being and for climate change to be framed as an important determinant of health.

Constructing resilient, transformative communities through sustainable “food hubs”

The papers in this special issue describe a research project in Ontario, Canada, that drew on the expertise and embedded connections of faculty/activists and student/activists within their “communities of food” (Fridman and Lenters 2013, Campbell and MacRae 2013; Waddell 2005, Friedmann 2007). The rapid data gathering as well as the depth and highquality information and insights reported here reflect the trust and commitment placed in these researchers as integral members of their food communities. In the following sections we describe the research project goals and methods. Using this project as a test ground we then propose a working definition for food hubs. Following a comparison of findings from the papers, we conclude with a discussion of theoretical approaches that shed light on how to move food systems in a more transformative direction.

Climate change and mental health: an exploratory case study from Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada

As the impacts from anthropogenic climate change are increasing globally, people are experiencing dramatic shifts in weather, temperature, wildlife and vegetation patterns, and water and food quality and availability. These changes impact human health and well-being, and resultantly, climate change has been identified as the biggest global health threat of the 21st Century. Recently, research is beginning to indicate that changes in climate, and the subsequent disruption to the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health, may cause increased incidences and prevalence of mental health issues, emotional responses, and large-scale sociopsychological changes. Through a multi-year, community-led, exploratory case study conducted in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Labrador, Canada, this research qualitatively explores the impacts of climate change on mental health and well-being in an Inuit context. Drawing from 67 in-depth interviews conducted between January 2010 and October 2010 with community members and local and regional health professionals, participants reported that changes in weather, snow and ice stability and extent, and wildlife and vegetation patterns attributed to climate change were negatively impacting mental health and well-being due to disruptions in land-based activities and a loss of place-based solace and cultural identity. Participants reported that changes in climate and environment increased family stress, enhanced the possibility of increased drug and alcohol usage, amplified previous traumas and mental health stressors, and were implicated in increased potential for suicide ideation. While a preliminary case study, these exploratory findings indicate that climate change is becoming an additional mental health stressor for resource-dependent communities and provide a baseline for further research.

Barriers to the local food movement: Ontario's community food projects and the capacity for convergence

This article presents results from a survey of community food projects, and explores the relationships between organisational type, rationales and the barriers that prevent each from increasing the scale of their operations. Organisations were divided according to their primary rationale (e.g. rural economic development and distribution), and then subdivided – by form – as a non-profit, private business, governmental agency or cooperative. Data from the interviews and surveys were coded using a qualitative grounded theory approach, to reveal the barriers experienced by each. Overall, access to long-term stable income is a recurrent theme across all types of projects, but income sources dramatically change how these organisations prioritise barriers. Similarly, the organisations primary rationale and experiences influence the interpretation and approach to collaboration and education. Despite these differences, our results suggest a large degree of convergence that cuts across organisational forms and rationales, and offers a base for broader regional food system conversations.

Community-based research for food system policy development in the City of Guelph, Ontario

Community-based research (CBR) has grown in popularity as a research approach, which aims to foster collaboration between academic researchers and community members or organisations. CBR is often initiated with the intention of creating constructive social change at the same time as generating knowledge or understanding of specific concerns raised by community members. The June 2011 Ontario Provincial Planners Institute Call to Action, entitled Planning for food systems in Ontario, identified the need for participatory planning for sustainable food systems in municipal policy planning. This article provides an example of one such planning process in Guelph, Ontario. Using principles of CBR, researchers from the University of Guelph partnered with a grassroots food security organisation in order to collaborate on food policy planning and make a contribution to the review process for the Citys Official Plan. Bringing together best practices from literature, case study examples, and engagement with citizens through a focus group session, the process resulted in a submission of policy recommendations to City staff. This article aims to contribute to the practice of CBR by highlighting the benefits and barriers encountered in one CBR process.

The uneven geographies of community food initiatives in southwestern Ontario

Data collected in 14 southwestern Ontario counties and regional municipalities demonstrated that the development of community food initiatives is not happening uniformly across the region. Rather, some areas (notably Wellington and Norfolk counties and Waterloo Region) are home to a wide variety of projects that, in many cases, are woven together into networks and enjoy relatively broad-based support from local communities. In contrast, in other places (for example, Dufferin, Elgin, and Kent counties), efforts to foster the development of alternative food systems are fewer and farther between, more fledgling in nature, and appear subject to more constraints than their counterparts in neighbouring parts of the region. This paper will explore the uneven geography of community food projects in southwestern Ontario, and discuss how the presence of social capital structured around an alternative food system vision can help expand the realm of possibility for such initiatives.

Nourishing Learning Environments: School Food Gardens and Sustainable Food Systems

School Food Gardens are experiencing resurgence across North America and Europe. Through a review of the literature, we outline various iterations of school garden movements and present some of their philosophical and theoretical underpinnings. There have been inter-related and overlapping motivations for the establishment of these gardens over the past 120 years. With an understanding of these motivations, we conducted Canada-wide interviews with 18 school garden leaders. Analysis and synthesis of the results confirm that these school gardens use food as a connecting theme to provide community building and engagement, social development, curriculum and learning opportunities, a sense of place and connection to the environment, increased food literacy and health, and an effective link to local food and sustainable agriculture.