\u201cVisualizing change is a tool that can empower communities to combat the impacts of a changing world,\u201d says Caspell.<\/p>\n
The online project, based on Caspell\u2019s thesis research in the Sustainability Science and Society graduate program, also explains the many factors affecting the alterations of the coastline, from storms to construction projects, and suggests what might be done to stabilize vulnerable areas.<\/p>\n
Part of the MEOPAR-Lincoln Community Sustainability Project<\/a>, \u201cIf Coastlines Could Talk\u201d presents several dramatic animations to highlight specific areas that have seen some drastic changes, sometimes in a very short timeframe.<\/p>\n Meredith Caspell travelled by kayak to observe the coastlines she studied in detail for her thesis and award-winning StoryMap research. (Photo by Brian Jaworsky)<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cCoastlines are dynamic, meaning they are meant and expected to move,\u201d Caspell says. But she also says that high levels of erosion are evident in stretches of the Lincoln coastline that aren\u2019t as naturally susceptible to erosion, which is cause for concern.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can’t find many places around the Great Lakes that aren’t influenced by the presence of humans, and when humans change the land \u2014 stripping for agriculture or building roads close to shore \u2014 you increase the likelihood of erosion,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd the increased frequency of storm events due to climate change is making areas more vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n Caspell\u2019s research suggests there are viable solutions for places where, as she puts it, \u201ccoastline retreat is not an option.\u201d These include co-operative management of shoreline protection and shoreline naturalization through increased vegetation, though she notes that both require collaborative effort.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal of our project is to bring the community together to first identify any sector-specific challenges regarding climate change and second, to co-construct climate change adaptation strategies to move forward,\u201d says Caspell. \u201cOur research team is hoping to create the space needed to bring as many voices to the table as required to make sure that Lincoln can increase its resilience to changing conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n Caspell also hopes that her StoryMap will help in the discussion with shoreline residents and town staff, noting that \u201cvisuals have been shown to be an effective tool for increasing knowledge and overcoming barriers to action.\u201d<\/p>\n Climate change in coastal communities is a \u201cmajor challenge\u201d and it is \u201cimportant to determine whether it is the only factor influencing the way the coastline can be modified,\u201d says Liette Vasseur, who holds the UNESCO Chair on Community Sustainability at Brock and also supervised Caspell\u2019s thesis. \u201cMeredith\u2019s work has been one of the central pieces for understanding changes of the coastline in the Town of Lincoln, and the StoryMap is a wonderful way to translate the information so that citizens can explore how the changes occurred over time and why.\u201d<\/p>\n Caspell, who holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Sciences, came to Brock to pursue her master\u2019s in Sustainability after reaching out to Vasseur, who was launching the MEOPAR-Lincoln project that same year.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to integrate my passion for sustainability and ecosystem-based approaches and do my master\u2019s on a project that was bigger than my own,\u201d says Caspell. \u201cI am excited that my thesis work will directly feed into the larger project.\u201d<\/p>\n Caspell was elated to learn she had received the Esri scholarship, which includes a cash award, Esri software, books, access to e-learning resources through the Esri training site<\/a>, Esri Canada instructor-led training<\/a>\u00a0and a complimentary registration for one of the\u00a0Esri Canada User Conferences<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe StoryMap was an additional piece I created on top of my thesis requirements because knowledge mobilization is very important to me,\u201d says Caspell. \u201cReceiving the Esri scholarship validated for me that I produced something that matters and can make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Marilyne Jollineau, Graduate Program Director in Sustainability Science and Society, describes Caspell as an “excellent candidate for the Esri Canada scholarship,” which is intended to support and acknowledge dedicated and high-achieving graduate and undergraduate students for excellence in the application and use of Esri\u2019s GIS software products in their coursework and research endeavours.<\/p>\n \u201cOn behalf of faculty, staff and students involved in the Master of Sustainability graduate program, I want to congratulate Meredith on this well-deserved award, and to acknowledge Esri Canada for their ongoing and generous support of Brock students over the past decade,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Sharon Janzen, a member of the adjudication committee that selected Caspell\u2019s project for the scholarship, says it was \u201cevident that Meredith embraced Esri technologies for analyzing and displaying rates of erosion along the Lincoln shoreline.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHer use of ArcGIS StoryMaps as a presentation platform was professional and effective, not to mention engaging,\u201d says Janzen, who is also a map library associate and geospatial data co-ordinator in Brock\u2019s Maps, Data and GIS Library and Digital Scholarship Lab. \u201cWe could easily see how her research will be very useful for the Town of Lincoln moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Above all, Caspell is grateful to the residents of Lincoln for their support of her research. \u201cThere were several people who donated old photographs and let me ask them questions,\u201d she says. \u201cI want to give a specific shout-out to the volunteers at the Friends of Lincoln’s History Archives for helping me sift through so many photographs, and to Brian Jaworsky for being my local kayak and shore access guide.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Meredith-Caspell-3-RS-1050x591.jpg\")