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

EPISODE 4: Getting smarter about rural with Bill Reimer

This week on Rural Routes, my guest is Bill Reimer. You could think of him as one of the wise on the Grand Rural Council if such a thing existed. Our conversation spanned decades of Dr. Reimer’s quest for finding better and smarter ways of thinking about and working with rural regions. We discussed rural policy in Quebec and Norway as well as intriguing approaches to rural and community development emerging among Canada’s First Nations.

Enjoy the show.

Resources:
Bill Reimer’s faculty profile
Bill Reimer’s website

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

This is program is supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Connection grant.

EPISODE 3: Rural Home and Childhood

Michelle Porter on rural home and childhood.

This week on Rural Routes I spoke with Michelle Porter, doctoral student in the Department of Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s. Michelle’s interested in women’s narratives of home and the reasons behind their decision to make home in rural Newfoundland. What she found out, made her rethink what home is, as well as what kind of rural development we need to support parents and children who call the rural home.

Enjoy the show.

Resources:
Michelle Porter’s official graduate student profile
Rural Resilience 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 2: The Rural Soul of Canada

Dr. Ivan Emke says it’s time to take care of the rural soul of Canada. Ivan is a rural scholar at Memorial University of Newfoundland based at the university’s Corner Brook campus on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland. We talked about agriculture, rural stereotypes, the unsustainable nature of urban environments and the fact that neither of us could tell how long a group of academics could survive on their own.

Enjoy the show.

 

Resources:

Dr. Ivan Emke’s official faculty profile

Is Rural Life Worth Saving

The Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development, MUN

Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation

Rural Policy Learning Commons Partnership