Course:IGS585/OK2020WT2/GuestDanielleRobinson

Danielle Robinson - UBC Okanagan Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

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	Reflection Authors and Commenters
Author	Ian Chambers	Ayla de Grandpre	Adam Kunis	Joshua Ayer	Luis Cadavid	Janna Wale
Commenter	Luis Cadavid	Janna Wale	Joshua Ayer	Ayla de Grandpre	Adam Kunis	Ian Chambers

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Ayla De Grandpre Danielle’s presentation was super informative and useful to me on so many levels. On one hand, she provided many good examples of how to understand cultural sustainability, which is commonly overlooked – it is not even one of the pillars of sustainability. On the other hand, the ideas she presented about defining the culture of food was highly relevant to my thesis project and brought up some important questions for me. Beginning with the examples of cultural sustainability, I think that the pillar of her cultural sustainability framework that I was most interested in was culture as sustainability, because I have not really given much thought to the idea that the idea of sustainability is embedded in culture. This made me reflect upon the potential for culture as a paradigm shift tool – to evoke change. In my experiences studying sustainability, all of the sustainability research seems banal unless we can actually act on it – and this requires people to change how they think as well as their habits, in essence, a change in popular culture. Danielle gave the example of tourism as a tool for this kind of transformation, which prompted me to think about the fact that I have largely ignored tourism as a tool for transformation in my own research project. What I am now reflecting on is the transformative capacity of agri-tourism in the Okanagan, and how it might provide an interesting medium to transform the community. In the context of Keremeos, I am thinking that it could be a tool for building resilience given that a more diverse economy creates better flexibility – however, it does also expose and sensitize the community to different shocks, such as the Pandemic, which essentially shut down tourism. I also think it could be a tool for sustainability, given that it may create new jobs and attract younger migrants to the area. Perhaps the more overlooked idea, and one that I have taken from what Danielle said, is that tourism might have the power to transform the identity and culture of Keremos, from a sleepy fruit-stand town, to something new. This makes me think about the conflict in cultural sustainability between preserving traditional cultural heritage, and adapting by adopting new ways of life and cultural practices. I believe that Danielle’s work holds tremendous value in that it highlights these kinds of tensions (between traditional culture and transformations) using a real-world, easy to understand example. I certainly have come away from this presentation with a better understanding of what cultural sustainability is, why it is important, and what kinds of cultural sustainability issues exist in the South Okanagan.   Janna Wale Ayla, I agree that there was a lot packed into Danielle's presentation! I also really resonated with the idea of cultural sustainability (see my post below!). While most of my research is around Indigenous communities, I agree that this could be very powerful and a good avenue for shifting the paradigm a little bit. It is interesting that we both often forget about tourism! As you articulated, I think this shift could have the transformative effects you talk about, and could be a good way to change the age demographic in the area so we arrive at something a little more diverse. I wonder too about how this shift will impact the identity of the community - and how the locals would feel about this shift and how it would affect their lives. Lastly, I agree that Danielle's work has a lot of importance and significance moving forward. Reconciling the two, I would add that traditional culture was (and still is) oftentimes founded on transformation. In my culture, there are many instances of transformation - in both our traditional teachings and stories, but also within how we live and adapt on the landscape while still maintaining our identity as a people.

Janna Wale  Danielle Robinson’s presentation really helped me to work through some of the ideas that have been bouncing around in my head related to culture and sustainability. My thesis is researching how we can create a more culturally appropriate climate resilience assessment for Indigenous communities. Since many communities have a more relational view of our resources (seen as ancestors, rather than as dollar signs) I was really struggling to relate the commonly used pillars of sustainability to my project, as economy in Indigenous communities (while necessary) is often not considered with the same weight as it might be in non-Indigenous communities. Danielle’s articulation of “Culture AS sustainability” really resonates with the Indigenous worldview, and really clicked for me as soon as she said it. My own community primarily operates using this paradigm, but is not so explicit in its articulation of it. For me, this will be an idea that I further pursue in understanding, and will be something that I draw upon and leverage when making the argument that Indigenous community resilience and sustainability could and often will look different than non-Indigenous communities in terms of values and approaches. Secondly, I have really been mulling over her point “culture is more than food, but food is a big part of culture” relating this back to my thesis, food is part of what anchors identity in Indigenous culture. My own community is a salmon community: a lot of our activities revolve around salmon, which has implications for the decisions being made. In terms of our project, it might be worthwhile to look at what foods are especially important in Keremeos, in order to more holistically assess the sustainability of these foods that could be impacted by things like climate change or increased development. Since Keremeos is a fruit community, this could also impact the wildlife we are seeing, who also use the fruit as a food staple. This will in turn influence the traditional harvest the Syilx may partake in, which will influence the culture of the region. For me, this again relates back to the idea of interacting pieces of the socio-ecological system that was discussed in Dr. Lael Parrott’s presentation. Listening to Danielle’s presentation really opened a lot of doors in my own thinking, and I found a lot of value in the work she has already done on these subjects. I am the most grateful for her clear articulation of “culture as sustainability”, and am very excited to do some more research into this for my own thesis. Ian Chambers This is a reflection on the reflection of the author above. I really admire the indigenous perspective on culture and sustainability and how it takes a more relational view of resources and perhaps doesn’t prioritise the economy as much as nonindigenous cultures. From many of the talks we’ve had in this class I’m beginning to realize how important these views are for sustainability. I also really enjoyed Danielle’s articulation of culture as sustainability, and in my own reflection of her presentation I considered ways in which we could facilitate this cultural change in Keremeos. I’d be curious to learn more about indigenous culture and ways in which it could potentially be incorporated to help facilitate this change. I also agree that food is a big part of culture, Keremeos seems to have a predominant culture around fruit growing and organic practices. I wonder if there are ways we could incorporate this with indigenous perspectives and knowledge for our project.

Ian Chambers I enjoyed the cultural sustainability framework that Danielle presented. In my studies of sustainability, culture is something that I think has mostly gone overlooked. It’s surprising that culture is often left out of sustainability discussions as sustainability will require us to change many aspects of our culture. Sustainable initiatives and alternatives will only be beneficial if they are implemented and used and there is wide-spread acceptance and adherence. Danielle’s presentation was a good reminder of the role that culture plays in sustainability. I liked the framework she presented for culture as sustainability, because I think it really spoke to how our culture will need to change to be sustainable. Cultural shift is not an easy process though and I wonder how this change can effectively occur. From Danielle’s framework, Keremeos seems to have a culture in sustainability where they protect agriculture and tourism helps maintain this industry. Additionally, Danielle stated that culture in sustainability formalizes sustainability which is evident in things like the prevalent organic practices used here. Looking at Keremeos as a case study for this kind of cultural shift I wonder how to go about facilitating it. Danielle’s presentation focused on food tourism and wineries, and I wonder if this could be where the cultural shift begins. Danielle talked about how culture as sustainability would transforms local and visitor perspectives, which made me think of the field course that Dr. Senese offers in Italy. From Dr. Senese’s presentation, it sounded like that village in Italy (I can’t remember the name of) fit the culture as sustainability framework, where the locals were committed to sustainability, and their practices and commitment altered the view of tourists, such as Dr. Senese and her students. Perhaps something similar could be developed with wineries and agriculturalists in Keremeos to help facilitate this cultural change here. Not only would it help Keremeos become more sustainable, but I also think it would set them apart from the other wine areas in the region which could potentially boost tourism. I think it would be interesting to look farther into this village in Italy and how some of these practices and programs could be implemented in Keremeos.   Name of Commenting Author This is a reflection on the reflection of the author above.

Joshua Ayer I found that Dr. Robinson’s presentation put me in a similar place to that of Dr. Seneses’ last week in that it really challenged the way I think of sustainability.  Partly, this is due to the three alternative conceptualizations of cultural sustainability that she offered in her research: culture in sustainability, culture for sustainability, culture as sustainability. In my research I have predominantly thought of culture as sustainability, perhaps particularly in an opposition to culture as consumerism (which I believe could as easily subsume the former two conceptions).  In my reading, the goal is often the transformation of culture from one of consumerism to one of sustainability with the underlying implication that a sustainability that is only sustainable in practice and not internalized on a cultural/normative level will not achieve a maximum of sustainability, but progress towards sustainability will be hindered by market forces and a culture of growth and consumption. I was initially confused by the other two conceptions of sustainability because I don’t have as much experience with thinking of sustainability without thinking about culture as sustainability as necessary to pursuing the overall goals of sustainability.  It took some reflecting to consider that the other two syntheses of culture and sustainability imply sustainability as a fundamental policy goal (like in the UN Sustainable Development Goals) with culture seen as something extra that is factored into the planning, and here culture referring more to the products of culture rather than to the more ambiguous “social imagination” of a community.  Thinking about culture and sustainability in this way, I wonder if my previous concept of culture and sustainability are true (that culture as sustainability is necessary for sustainability to occur) or if there can be less total sustainable solutions where sustainability isn’t interiorized as a norm lending itself to cultural creation but is seen as a goal that culture contributes to.  Though I am still reflecting and thinking about this, I do think the shape of my thoughts resemble those I had following Mark’s presentation which were a greater appreciation for the incremental steps.   What I have been reading recently for my research is how cultural and normative transformations require the alternative institutions to exist before they can occur.  The historical example (referred to by Charles Taylor for example) is the American Revolution versus the French Revolution where rule ‘by the people’ successfully took root in America, but descended into ‘le grand peur’ in France.  So there is this relationship between structure and culture, where culture sometime follows structure and vice versa.  Therefore, even if the end goal is a ‘culture as sustainability’ that the two other conceptual keys are part of that articulation.  Crucial then would be steps such as inculcating a sustainable agricultural industry that in time is seen as intrinsic to that community’s culture. What was exciting about Dr. Robinson’s presentation was the observation that there is already a strong potential for this in Keremeos. Ayla De Grandpre Thanks for your thoughtful reflection. I think it’s really interesting that you think of culture as sustainability, that was the most interesting of the three pillars for me (see my reflection), but also the one that I was least familiar with. It makes sense though – that culture should actually be the fourth pillar of sustainability. I think its part of the discussion that we often leave out. I would be curious to hear more about how you think of culture as sustainability more in the future. I think your thoughts about the need for an existing alternative institutional structure for transformations to occur is very interesting as well. I wonder if this is already happening with organizations in the Okanagan such as Sustainable Wine BC, and the strong network of organic growers and societies in the south? I agree with you that this would be a key area to explore further for our project.

Adam Kunis I greatly appreciated Danielle’s presentation on the cultural dimension of sustainability. I often feel that this aspect of sustainability is left out and that many people choose to focus on either the economic perspective or the environmental perspective. For our Keremeos project, I believe that cultural sustainability will be a major focus area as it can help us gain the support of the local community. In a smaller community, which often has less diversity than a major city, I can imagine that the preservation of local culture and tradition is greatly important. Within culture, Danielle described the three approaches in sustainability, for sustainability, and as sustainability. While I personally believe that as sustainability, where culture encompasses all three columns, is the most powerful and effective for transformative change, it may not be feasible for the scope of our project. This would require a population that is well informed on the risks and vulnerabilities in their community. I’d imagine that the discrepancy in demographics would cause disagreement on what form of culture each pillar should be managed and influenced by. Therefore, I believe that Keremeos may be the most open to using culture for sustainability as it is used as a guide for a way of life. This would allow Keremeos to sustain their competitive advantage of being an amenity village by using sustainability as a means to shape development. The Similkameen is already culturally unique where there is an emphasis on organic agricultural practices. If the mentality behind this culture of production were applied to other industries, then it becomes a tool to sustain the lifestyle of Keremeos. While a culture of sustainability is important for resilient development, Keremeos should be wary of demand driven cultural change. This occurs when urban consumers become amenity migrants or when there is an increased influx of tourists. Attracting amenity migrants can be a very lucrative opportunity, but their wants and needs can differ greatly from the residential population. Richard Butler has extensively argued that this form of development for tourism is unsustainable, and William Travis has examined resort and tourism communities in the American West under this lens. A legitimate fear of the local population may be that developments would be prioritized for the tourists and amenity migrants, which would make it increasingly difficult for the residents to sustain their lifestyles. Having new people (or a National Park) would cause a shift in culture. Though this may seem negative to the locals, and it is important to consider that rural populations can be resistant to change, Danielle did highlight many of the benefits and opportunities that accompany transformative growth. Cultural transformation can help the locals understand the value of their region. When tourists or amenity migrants seek to enter the region, it is validating the value of the region. Danielle used the example of wine and food which can help build identity, pride, and used to generate tax revenue. This can be applied back into sustainable development as the cultural wants and needs of the people guide the allocation of these funds. Joshua Ayer I strongly agree with your view that culture as sustainability is the most post powerful and effective where change is concerned, but in our limited time with Keremeos culture for sustainability is probably the more feasible goal to focus our attention on. But I really like your thinking on ways to use the amenity migrants constructively, I think you’ve highlighted some synergy between sustainability and amenity migrants, where the sustainability can attract the AM’s and thus boost their economy.  The second part of your reflection reminds me of conversations I’ve had with people who grew up in Kelowna as it was developing.  Often, I’ve heard them lament the growth and the changes it wrought as the city became for a new kind of citizen.  This is a legitimate fear that I can imagine the people of Keremeos being anxious about, wherein those who have called the village home would become second priorities, and to this extent I think we already see this happening in housing. Additionally, I think that insofar as tourism could be a quick fix, or quick boost, it would be important to ensure that the economic growth was accompanied by the careful and intentional development of infrastructure that could stabilize their economy, given the volatility of tourism.