Monthly Lectures

The Ocean Matters lecture series will explore how all facets of modern society affects, and is affected by, climate change and our oceans.  It will concentrate on significant, but under-reported aspects of sustainability and climate change and demonstrate that, not only is it important that we tackle human-induced environmental changes, but that it is vital to that we do so in the most effective way we can. It will take into account the social, cultural, political and biological factors that influence the world’s ecosystems, and the complex interactions between these factors, using science and evidence-based studies are our guide.

January Lecture Information

Speaker:  Kai Chan
Title: Seeking Justice Amidst Complexity: Sea Otters, Poachers, Kelp, and Coastal Communities
Date: January 23, 2018
Time: 7 p.m. (doors at 6.30 p.m.)
Ticket Price: free (register now)

This lecture will concentrate significant, but under-reported aspects of sustainability and climate change and demonstrate that, not only is it important that we tackle human-induced environmental changes, but that it is vital to that we do so in the most effective way we can. It will take into account the social, cultural, political and biological factors that influence the world’s ecosystems, and the complex interactions between these factors, using science and evidence-based studies are our guide.

Kai Chan will be our first speaker. Kai Chan is a professor in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at University of British Columbia. He is an interdisciplinary, problem-oriented sustainability scientist, trained in ecology, policy, and ethics from Princeton and Stanford Universities. He strives to understand how social-ecological systems can be transformed to be both better and wilder (‘better’ including considerations of justice). Plus, it is his internship funding that got me the money to work at the Aquarium over the summer.

He will talk about his work on the reintroduction of sea otters off Vancouver Island, the trophic cascade this initiated and the consequences of this on both the aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities it has affected. In addition, he may talk a little bit about what motivates him and perhaps an anecdote or two about what it is really like to be a biologist on the ground doing real research.