EPISODE 11: Food shopping with Catherine Mah

This week my guest on Rural Routes is Dr. Catherine Mah, a researcher at Memorial University’s Faculty of Medicine in the Division of Community Health. Dr. Mah is interested in understanding food policy and food environments and their impacts on our health. Much of her research happens in rural areas. So come grocery shopping with us.

Resources:

Dr. Mah’s faculty profile
PROOF: Food Insecurity Research in Canada
Food First NL

Rural Routes Partners:
The Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development, MUN
Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation 
Rural Policy Learning Commons Partnership
The National Campus and Community Radio Association

Music by Laura C. Bates performed by Trent Severn.

EPISODE 10: On writing rural with Michael Crummey

After a bit of a summer hiatus, we are back on air. The Episode 10 features a conversation with Newfoundland writer Micheal Crummey. He has written extensively about rural and rural cultural experiences particularly in Newfoundland. His recent novel Sweetland stands out as one of the few Canadian novels about a contemporary rural that is very much recognizable as such. In this episode, Michael Crummy reflects on growing up in rural mining towns and why writing honestly about contemporary rural goes against human nature.

NOTE: A small language warning on this episode – it got a bit saltier than usual, but nothing terrible or that you or I haven’t said or heard before.

EPISODE 9: On rural libraries

This week we talk about rural libraries. With the provincial government in Newfoundland and Labrador announcing funding cuts to 54 rural libraries, this is an emotional conversation in the province. While I make this show here in NL, I was interested in finding out how other jurisdictions run rural library services. In this episode you will hear voices from Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, and British Columbia.

Resources:
Nunavut Public Library Services
BC Neighbourhood Learning Centres

Rural Routes Partners:
The Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development, MUN
Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation 
Rural Policy Learning Commons Partnership
The National Campus and Community Radio Association

Music by Laura C. Bates performed by Trent Severn.

EPISODE 8: On Local Knowledge with Pam Hall

This week on Rural Routes my guest is Pam Hall, an artist and a scholar who dedicated much of her artistic practices to rural ways of living. Her latest project is called Towards an Encyclopedia of Local Knowledge. This collaborative project is at the same time a celebration, but also a warning that local, place specific, knowledge is something we need to start paying attention to.

Resources:
The Encyclopedia of Local Knowledge

Rural Routes Partners:
The Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development, MUN
Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation 
Rural Policy Learning Commons Partnership
The National Campus and Community Radio Association

Music by Laura C. Bates performed by Trent Severn.

EPISODE 7: Mining legacy in the North

This week’s episode takes us to Canada’s Northwest Territories. Arn Keeling and John Sandlos, a geographer and an historian at Memorial University of Newfoundland study the mining legacy in Canada’s North. They will walk us through complex issues facing Aboriginal and Indigenous communities and settler communities alike who find themselves in close proximity to mining sites. Arn and John will introduce us to Giant Mine near Yellowknife on the shores of Great Slave Lake and tell us a story that, while disturbing given the magnitude of the issues surrounding Giant Mine, offers a hope of reconciliation and healing.

Resources:
Dr. Arn Keeling faculty profile
Dr. John Sandlos faculty profile
Toxic Legacies project
Abandoned Mines In Northern Canada
Mining and Communities in Northern Canada: History, Politics and Memory – free book
Guardians of Eternity
ArcticNet

Rural Routes Partners:
The Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development, MUN
Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation 
Rural Policy Learning Commons Partnership
The National Campus and Community Radio Association

EPISODE 6: Rural Immigration with Philomena de Lima

This episode of Rural Routes takes us to the other side of the Atlantic. Philomena de Lima is a researchers at the University of Highlands and Islands. She is located at the university’s Inverness campus. Philomena’s research is focused on the issues of immigration in rural areas. She is interested in immigrant and grant worker experiences, but, just as importantly, she is also keen to explore impacts of immigration and migrant labour on host communities.

Resources:
Dr. Philomena de Lima’s faculty profile

Rural Routes Partners:
The Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development, MUN
Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation 
Rural Policy Learning Commons Partnership
The National Campus and Community Radio Association

EPISODE 5: Building a community foundation

This week on Rural Routes you can hear a conversation with Dr. Ryan Gibson, a geographer from St. Mary’s University in Halifax. One of the questions Ryan is interested in is:“What if rural Canada did not need any more money from anybody in order to have a sustainable future?” He thinks he just might have an answer.

Resources:
Ryan Gibson’s faculty profile
Ryan Gibson’s website on rural development

Rural Routes Partners:
The Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development, MUN
Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation
Rural Policy Learning Commons Partnership
The National Campus and Community Radio Association