A more-than-human future for Waterloo Region's food system?

Since the end of May, I have been working with two interns (though I prefer to call them Visiting Scholars) from the MITACS Globalink Research program. These young scholars are students from abroad who have traveled to Canada to work with me at Laurier for the summer. They remain nameless and picture-less at the moment, as I haven't asked their permission to share details. But I wanted to start sharing some of the work we are doing together this summer.

Very briefly, we are investigating what a more-than-human future could look like for Waterloo Region's food system. We are just wrapping up the literature review, and we have designed a qualitative study to engage community members with a variety of arts-based methods. I can't share too much yet, but the plans are shaping up to become a very interesting pilot project that could lead to a range of possible outputs (presentations, articles, exhibition). While we wait on ethics clearance, we have toured parts of the rare Charitable Research Reserve to observe what the natural surroundings along the Grand River might have looked like before settlers established agriculture and cities. We also toured a local community garden in Waterloo, to gain some perspective on small-scale initiatives for food security and skills-building among community members. As well as a visit to the Farmers' Market in St. Jacobs to observe the kinds of produce and goods available from independent, small-scale vendors and producers.

I'll post another update on our progress in a month or so. I think this project will reveal some important insights about the facilitation of arts-based methods with community members, and more about the community's vision for a food-secure future. I expect that community members will enjoy focus groups that are centred around creativity and imagination. I also enjoy sharing more about Waterloo and Laurier with my visitors, and being a tourist with them.