An Inuit group seeks scientific collaborations - can we help?

Hi all! Have you seen Nanuk Narratives yet? Inuit people from around the Davis Strait are sharing their observations of polar bears adapting to climate change. What they’re seeing is much different from the “skinny polar bear” photo that tends to stick in our minds. These folks have vital info on Arctic ecology and the effects of climate change, but up to now their voices haven’t really been heard. Nanuk Narratives is a way to amplify their message - they’re reaching out, seeking collaborations with the scientific community.

I suggest you start by watching How Inuit Co-exist with Wildlife, and then Inuit Observations of Polar Bears. They’re only about 5 minutes long each (plus a 1-minute intro, but the links I’ve provided here skip the intro).

Nanuk Narratives YouTube channel

Nanuk Narratives website

What can we do here at iNaturalist to help the folks in Nanuk Narratives find/connect with scientists for collaborations?

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Here is one proposal, followed by three ideas about implementation:

Some retired iNatters go up and spend a few months living in the north. They act as iNat facilitators: helping locals post their observations, tagging bear scientists and conservation organizations in the comments under the observations, etc.

  1. Then Tony produces some content for iNat about the bears: a video, a podcast, a webinar, etc.
  2. The bear scientists collaborate with locals to produce some papers and journal articles about the situation
  3. Conservation organizations are also tagged in the comments on the observations. These organizations have their own social media machines that will amplify the message.
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Here is a related job posting. Maybe your post will prompt somebody to pull the trigger!

It might prompt them to take a pay cut in order to do meaningful work for an organization that they believe in. Instead of selling sugar water to kids or whatever. Do it for the bears!

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I would contact them via their contact page and tell them a bit about iNat, and encourage them to involve others with iNat and to start a project to document and organize their observations of polar bears.

Not sure if there’s a specific person who would be good at this… maybe if a staff member were to contact Nanuk Narratives, their credibility could encourage them to use iNaturalist?

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