The Missing Link: Crafting Human Relationships in Science
My project is titled The Missing Link: Crafting Human Relationships in Science. Read on below to learn how I came up with this project, where I'll be going and what I'll be doing.
How can we build better relationships in science?
Imagine being in a country most people have never heard of, deep in the rainforest, thousands of miles from anything familiar, when suddenly a group of men carrying machetes approaches you, yelling angrily in a language you cannot understand.
This is what happened to me in the summer of 2019 during a research expedition in Papua New Guinea. The men brandishing their machetes at us believed that we had not payed the landowner justly, and they were prepared to keep us responsible. Without any relationship anchoring us to the local communities in which we worked, our safety net disappeared as soon as money became a point of contention. Eventually the situation de-escalated, but this experience demonstrated the importance of basic relationships in science. Without human relationships in place, scientists lives are at risk and communities can be taken advantage of.
The Papua New Guinea research team, 2019
With this experience in mind, I wanted to craft a project that focused on learning about how we can better build relationships in science -- across cultures, languages, and conflicts. After a great deal of research, I selected several countries to visit based on the unique perspective each location gave to my project.
Wait... so where are you going?
I will be traveling to Patagonia in Chile and Argentina, to the ancient deserts of Namibia and other southern African countries, the highlands of Scotland and likely many more countries not included in my official itinerary.
...And what are you doing?
During my Watson Year I will critically examine conservation practices around the world and how scientists and communities can build stronger mutually beneficial relationships. What this really means is that in each location the work I do may be completely different. I expect everything from assisting with data collection to interviewing local people to studying history. As part of this project, I will be filming a documentary that examines the ethical questions often unexplored in conservation films.
SEND ME A MESSAGE!
Got comments, questions or just want to talk? Send me a message, and I will reply through my email!