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Title: A study of four Prince George community gardens: goals, benefits and challenges of public and private community gardens
Contributors: Adrienne Lennox Houlberg (author), Annie Booth (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: Community gardens have become increasingly popular in recent years, and the Canadian city of Prince George, BC is no exemption. Prince George hosts seven community gardens, four of which were the subject of research. Eighteen qualitative interviews were conducted to determine the structures, goals, benefits and challenges facing each of the four community gardens. The structures were quite varied, though the public and private nature of the gardens were the main divisive factor between the gardens. The two public gardens were run by organizations that offered the produce grown in the gardens to passersby, while the two private gardens offered plots to local residents to grow food for themselves. The five goals of the gardens were quite similar, and included social, a place to grow food, address food insecurity, health, and education. Benefits included social, food (food security and sovereignty), personal enjoyment, and education of the participants, especially children. The challenges the gardens faced varied considerably between the public and private gardens. They included theft and destruction, maintenance and labor capacity, awareness, and the overall structure of the garden. A disconnect was often found between the goals and the benefits of the gardens, and the challenges were especially serious in the public gardens. Public gardens should especially be managed carefully as their misdirected goals seem to be inhibiting the work necessary to run the garden. To ensure the sustainability of these important gardens in Prince George, consideration should be made to the structures of the gardens and changes made to the gardens. --Leaf 2.
Discipline: Natural Resources & Environmental Studies
Date added: 2017-03-29T17:19:40.119Z

Title: Environmental values and beliefs in university students.
Contributors: Alvaro Palazuelos (author), Annie Booth (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: People's personal values and beliefs are believed to be a key factor underlying their willingness to engage in environmental conservation. Values are learned throughout the individual's life, and educational institutions are assumed to be a vital part of that socializing process. The present research explores whether different academic programs at the university-level have an influence on the values of the students in those programs. In previous research, values that are associated with environmental conservation include: environmental values, values of equality and justice, and of benevolence towards others. The values that have been linked to anti-environmental orientations are beliefs in the importance of growth and technology, valuing power and wealth, and having an utilitarian approach to nature. Using a cross-sectional quasi-experimental design, students in the 1st and 4th year of five university programs, Environmental Studies (N= 22), Biology (B= 55), Health Sciences (N= 49), Environmental Engineering (N= 37) and Commerce (N= 67), completed a questionnaire that assessed the above values and beliefs. Contrary to predictions, within the different academic programs there were no significant value differences between 1st and 4th year students. This finding suggests that students' program of study does not have a strong influence on their values. Instead it appears that students select a program of study that matches the values they hold when they enter university. This is supported by the significant differences found amongst the results of students majoring in different academic programs. In addition to completing the values measures, fourth year participants were also asked to reflect upon the education they received over the course of their undergraduate degree and to indicate the following for a subset of the values: (1) which values were fostered the most by their academic program and (2) what values they believed had strengthened or weakened as a function of their education. In terms of values fostere
Discipline: Natural Resources & Environmental Studies
Date added: 2017-03-30T17:11:49.484Z

Title: Do you know what you know?: Perspectives on traditional ecological knowledge
Contributors: Bruce David Low (author), Annie Booth (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: In order to achieve a meaningful and acceptable economic transition to a position of self reliance, the people of Kitsumkalum First Nation stress that all resource management within their territory should be cooperatively directed within their community by their members in association with the federal and provincial governments. Consequently, the Kitsumkalum First Nation recognize the importance of establishing a community-based land and resource management plan for their traditional territory, one that takes into consideration their Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), but which will also harmonize with Western Scientific Knowledge (WSK). Therefore, this paper is an examination of how TEK is understood within academic TEK literature, by academic TEK researchers, and within the Kitsumkalum First Nation traditional territory. The author hoped this study would produce a framework for integrating TEK with WSK. That framework was not attained. Upon completion of this study the author concludes that when it comes to defining TEK there are almost any many definitions and approaches put forward as there are researchers working on this topic. Further, the author concludes that the application of a Western reductionist approach for TEK does not work and it is folly to continue to try to separate and fit TEK into neat categories to fit within research paradigms. The fact is that TEK is so much a part of First Nation culture that it is just part of everyday lives aboriginal people never really stop to think about what TEK is. TEK is just what aboriginal people do. Methods of analysis include thematic and content analysis.
Discipline: Natural Resources & Environmental Studies
Date added: 2017-04-10T22:11:50.931Z

Title: Common property : a tool for community development in British Columbia
Contributors: Stephen W. Rison (author), Annie Booth (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: The purpose of this project is to determine the possible role of common-property regimes in community development, particularly for natural resources, with a focus on the British Columbia context. If it can be shown that common-property regimes can indeed provide a viable development option, then this project will have been successful. Viability will need to be demonstrated by a detailed description of a practical example or a proposed model. The methodology adopted for this project involves first a review of community development theory to identify appropriate community development strategies and objectives. Then the subjects of property rights in general, and common property rights in particular, are examined with an emphasis on their application to natural resources. Finally, a case study of the Mission Municipal Forest is conducted in order to determine its contribution to Mission community development and to see how closely it fits the concept of a natural-resource common-property regime. The results show that common-property regimes have the potential to play a major role in community stability and prosperity, even in the highly industrialized and resource-dependent province of British Columbia. The results also show that, while not fitting the definition of a common-property regime, the Mission Municipal Forest nevertheless contributes a substantial economic benefit to the community, and generates a sense of community pride as well. A model common-property timber tenure is also developed.--Page ii.
Discipline: Natural Resources & Environmental Studies
Date added: 2017-04-11T21:16:20.287Z

Title: Building consultation from the bottom up: A case study of the North Yukon.
Contributors: Robin Urquhart (author), Annie Booth (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: The Canadian north is a land of sparse human population and a wealth of natural resources -- both renewable and non-renewable. Global demands for such resources create a dynamic where exploitation in its many forms brings powerful forces to bear on small northern communities and indigenous governance bodies. Consultation, in a general sense, is the means for bringing divergent interests together to resolve resource management issues and ensure that development is conducted with the community's best interest in mind. In a legal sense, consultation protects First Nations from potential aboriginal or treaty right infringement. Consultation as defined in legislation is too broad to direct a meaningful and adequate process. It is necessary for First Nations to define consultation in their own terms. This thesis outlines and discusses the principles and procedures for guiding consultation in Old Crow, YT. --P. 3.
Discipline: Natural Resources & Environmental Studies
Date added: 2017-03-30T17:07:13.394Z

Title: A look inside the garbage can: assessing the sustainability and waste management efforts in the 2015 Prince George Canada Winter Games
Contributors: Jasdeep Rajan (author), Annie Booth (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia College of Science and Management (Degree granting institution), Arthur Fredeen (Committee member), Kyrke Gaudreau (Committee member), Emily Harrison (Committee member)
Abstract: As a form of urban boosterism, cities will host large scale events in hopes of rebranding or garnering national or international attention. In an effort to rebrand and market itself as a ‘Winter City’, Prince George, BC, Canada hosted the 2015 Canada Winter Games. Even though urban boosterism has historically emphasized the economic impacts of hosting events, there is an increasing consideration of environmental impacts seen in reports from events like the Canada Games and the Olympics. This study assessed how efforts to employ sustainability through waste management were employed within the context of the limitations and challenges specific to Prince George. By conducting a waste audit, this study examined waste types and sources. In addition, participant observation and key interviews were used to provide context and reasoning for the results of the waste audit... .
Discipline: Natural Resources & Environmental Studies
Date added: 2017-05-15T16:28:29.462Z

Title: Perceptions of access to industrial forest land by Port Alberni recreational stakeholders.
Contributors: Andrew Ellis Dunbrack (author), Annie Booth (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: This thesis examines recreationalist experiences with industrial forest land access in the Port Alberni area of British Columbia where forest industry and land tenure restructuring has changed land management practices. Consequently, recreationalists' expectations of industrial forest land access are not met by current reality. A qualitative, exploratory case study examines historical and current recreational access barriers, their impact on recreationalists, and elucidates the success of recreationalist-forestry company relationships in negotiating these barriers. Results indicate that recreational access restrictions, in the form of physical barriers, increased due to land tenure and forest industry restructuring. These restrictions have significantly limited recreationalists' activities and land use practices. As conceptualized by recreationalists accessing private land, now comprising the majority of area forest land, restrictions suggest corporate land owner failure to meet social responsibilities. While successful recreationalist-forestry company relationships may offset the impacts of restrictions, these relationships have not fully replaced previous access regimes. --Leaf ii.
Discipline: Natural Resources & Environmental Studies
Date added: 2017-04-11T21:13:30.659Z

Title: Women's participation in land use planning: A case study of the Cariboo-Chilcotin Land Use Plan (CCLUP).
Contributors: Tracy Marie Thornton (author), Annie Booth (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: No abstract available.
Discipline: Natural Resources Management
Date added: 2017-03-30T16:57:40.223Z

Title: Survey on public perceptions of outdoor air quality issues in the city of Prince George
Contributors: Michelle Oster (author), Annie Booth (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: A public opinion survey was conducted with five hundred area residents within the city of Prince George, British Columbia to determine public perceptions of outdoor air quality issues in the area. Information gathered from this survey will be used to incorporate public input into the Prince George Air Quality Management Plan. The survey contained 53 Likert-type, yes/no and open-ended questions which were organized under six separate section headings: public satisfaction with air quality, air quality as a priority in the community, perception of sources of outdoor air pollution, woodstove and fireplace inventory, transportation issues, and public participation in education. Survey results suggested that Prince George residents were not satisfied with current airshed conditions, they believed poor air quality affected their quality of life and they were pessimistic about future improvements to air quality. Industrial and mobile sources were identified by respondents as the primary contributors to air pollution. Additionally, residents expressed a need for more education on air quality issues and called for increased public awareness of the negative impacts and human health consequences of poor air quality in the city. A majority of respondents also indicated that they would participate in pollution-reducing activities if it would help improve outdoor air quality. Based on survey results, recommendations for future management of the Prince George airshed were identified.--Page ii.
Discipline: Natural Resources & Environmental Studies
Date added: 2017-04-11T21:16:18.179Z

Title: Participation equality in the public policy process: The Clayoquot Land Use Decision.
Contributors: Christine Ann Callihoo (author), Annie Booth (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: No abstract available.
Discipline: Natural Resources Management
Date added: 2017-03-29T17:30:59.863Z

Title: Wooden frame: Source use in newspaper coverage of the Canada/United States softwood lumber dispute.
Contributors: Neil Godbout (author), Annie Booth (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: The use of sources to frame coverage of the softwood lumber dispute was examined with a content analysis of newspaper stories from 1999 through 2001 in the Prince George 'Citizen', the Vancouver 'Sun' and the 'Globe and Mail' newspapers, along with three alternative news magazines. In addition, an e-mail questionnaire with three reporters and two editors at the 'Sun' and 'Citizen ' obtained data on how newsgathering routines and organizational structures influenced decisions on source use and overall coverage. Despite their differences, all three newspapers framed the dispute to varying degrees through political and industrial sources, while economic, social, environmental and First Nations perspectives appeared far less frequently. The three alternative magazines featured other perspectives, particularly the two First Nations publications, which used First Nations perspectives exclusively. Newspaper coverage also featured pro-Canadian sources more often than pro-American sources. The questionnaire found that reporters were given great latitude to cover the story the way they saw fit.
Discipline: Natural Resources & Environmental Studies
Date added: 2017-03-30T17:00:13.12Z

Title: Sustainability and solid waste management in higher education: an inquiry into the composition and management of solid waste at the University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George campus
Contributors: Danielle Smyth (author), Annie Booth (Thesis advisor), Arthur Fredeen (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: Many institutions of higher education have come to recognize their unique role and responsibility in promoting an environmentally sustainable society. This recognition has led to countless institutional commitments to reduce the environmental impacts associated with campus operational, teaching and research activities. Solid waste is one of the more visible and tangible signs of consumption, thus offering a key starting point for launching a campus sustainability initiative. This study describes a campus waste characterization research project to identify opportunities for enhancing waste reduction, recycling and composting while improving the overall sustainability of a waste management program at a small, research intensive and geographically isolated university in western Canada. Components of this research study were a review of waste haulage records and university policies, a literature review and two waste audits. A waste characterization procedure was used to assess solid waste generation and composition across various campus locations during two 5-day periods over consecutive winter and fall semesters in 2008. The results provide insights and baseline data for targeting specific materials and locations that represent the greatest potential for waste minimization and diversion. This project report also provides recommendations for the university administration to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of campus waste management systems and for becoming a more sustainable educational institute. --P.ii.
Discipline: Natural Resources & Environmental Studies
Date added: 2017-04-10T22:06:20.566Z

Title: Environmental justice in Canada: An application to a First Nations' struggle to protect caribou from coal mining in northeast British Columbia.
Contributors: Bruce Robert Muir (author), Annie Booth (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: In the United States of America, the field of environmental justice has become an important consideration in land use planning and natural resource management decisions regarding the protection of minorities. Within Canada, however, the field of environmental justice is not part of the legislative or policy regime used in environmental decision making. The focus of this study was to incorporate environmental justice into a situation in Canada involving a First Nation and a land and natural resource conflict. A phenomenology study design and a content analysis of the existing data were used to develop and apply the equality framework to a recent land use conflict between West Moberly First Nations and the Provincial Government of British Columbia. The results demonstrated that environmental justice can be incorporated into a Canadian context. When applied to the land use conflict, the equality framework demonstrated that the decisions made by the government to permit a coal mining company to destroy the critical habitat of a threatened herd of caribou were tantamount to an environmental injustice for the First Nation. The study concludes by discussing the differences of environmental justice as developed America in comparison to Canada, the challenges that associated with incorporation, and potential future applications and frameworks. --P. 2.
Discipline: Natural Resources & Environmental Studies
Date added: 2017-03-30T17:09:17.987Z

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