Delta Dialogue Network Trip Report: Fort Smith and Fort Resolution, NWT

January 26-30, 2015

Kiri Staples – Project Manager, DDN

Veronica Mauel – Master’s student, U of S.

Kiri Staples Veronica Mauel

Purpose of the trip • Present at the Slave River and Delta Partnership (SRDP)

open houses in Fort Smith and Fort Resolution, NWT

• Update SRDP members on the Delta Dialogue Network

• Discuss Veronica’s project with community and SRDP members

A cold day on the Slave River

Day 1: Open house and public lecture in Fort Smith

• Posters and presentations from different groups involved in research and monitoring in the Slave River Delta

• Community members invited to attend, learn about projects, and ask questions during the all-day open house and evening public lecture

Submissions from youth on “what does the Slave River mean to you?” included art, written stories, poetry, and a Slave

River rap.

• The open house allowed people to talk about research projects face-to-face with those involved in them

• The Delta Dialogue Network presentation during the public lecture included information about why the project started, who is involved, what we’ve done so far, and what we plan on doing next

Day 2: One-on-one meetings with SRDP members

• We met with SRDP members to discuss Veronica’s project and refine project goals and questions

• Her research will look at how

information from groups like the SRDP, SWEEP (Slave Watershed Environmental Effects Program) and other monitoring programs is being shared with the rest of the community, and whether it is accessible and useful for those who want it and need it

We also wanted to get feedback from the SRDP members on how the different groups involved in the Delta Dialogue Network should communicate and make decisions

Diagrams like this one are one

idea for what this might look like

More information on this can

be found at our website - http://www.usask.ca/research-groups/ddn/about-us/governance-structure.php

Day three: Travel to Fort Resolution for evening public lecture

• The evening lecture was opened by a prayer and a song by a local musician

• There was lots of good discussion and questions about the different projects and we were able to meet with more SRDP members

• People who attended the open houses and lectures wrote what the Slave River and Delta means to them – the SRDP will be turning this into a “word cloud”

Day four: Open house in Fort Resolution

• A lot of the observations being made about things like changes in fish and wildlife populations were similar to what we have been hearing in the Saskatchewan River Delta

• These similarities provided a good opportunity to talk about bringing people together through a collaborative workshop with the Delta Dialogue Network in 2016

Presenters preparing for the public lecture

Michelle Morris (University of Waterloo) and Veronica on Great Slave Lake

Fort Resolution

Questions?

• Work on this project will continue over the summer and fall – we will be back!

• If you have questions,

suggestions or concerns about the Delta Dialogue Network, contact Kiri Staples, Project Manager: (306) 966-7135 or kiri.staples@usask.ca