Belmont Forum Climate and Cultural Heritage Joint Call
Coastal TALES asks: How can stories of past practices help people (re)discover more sustainable ways
of living in their rapidly changing coastal environments? Our goal is to show how heritage stories
can generate tangible local action that diverse communities can draw on to adapt to a changing
climate. We use a transdisciplinary approach, building on the knowledge and agency of local
communities in dialogue with academic expertise across the spectrum of humanities and sciences.
About
Facing a world undergoing significant social and ecological transformation, many people ask, “what
can I
do?”. Individual actions often feel insufficient, with little perceptible effect. Coastal TALES
attends to
this growing social need by examining how stories can generate tangible action and offer creative
inspiration to local communities and regional environmental stakeholders seeking to adapt
sustainably.
Coastal TALES is working with societal partners in three coastal areas: Kodiak Island, Alaska,
Dublin Bay in
Ireland and southwest Wales. These draw together different experiences of how environmental change
is
affecting distinct communities. Our aim is to understand how diverse heritage stories can help drive
action
in education, policy and nature-based innovations. Coastal TALES demonstrates the value of reviving
heritage
stories in three distinct social contexts, each of which uniquely illustrates how listening to
voices from
the past and empowering voices of the present can create a legacy for future generations and offer a
source
of resilience in the face of climate stress.
Expertise Related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015 the UN member states agreed to 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty,
protect the
planet and ensure prosperity for all. This project contributes towards the following SDGs.
Alaska: Sugpiaq Storytelling and Cultural Revitalization Old Harbor, Kodiak
Suumacirpet “Our Way of Life” (Sugpiaq Values)
The Kodiak study examines commercialised fishing in an Indigenous context, encouraging youth to
draw on ancestral knowledge as a means to forge environmentally sustainable communities and
lifeways. We are working with Native community members, exploring how stories are used to educate
Sugpiaq youth in culturally appropriate responses to subsistence challenges. Stories told by the
elders at the Nuniaq Youth Culture Camp are used to teach younger generations to preserve and enact
heritage knowledge to sustain good relations in marine ecosystems. These stories, together with
knowledge drawn from the Alutiiq Museum’s oral history archives, are being used in curriculum
development, to co-create teaching materials relating past, present, and future relationships with
the lands and waters.
PI: Steven Beschloss Arizona State University
Research Team: Prof. Ben Fitzhugh and Dr Hollis Miller
(University
of Washington)
Societal Partners: Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository,
Altuiq Tribe of Old Harbor, Old
Harbor Native Corporation/ Old Harbor
Alliance, University of Alaska
Funded by National Science Foundation
Ireland
Applying local and traditional knowledge for the coastal restoration of Dublin
In Dublin Bay oral histories are being used alongside historical maps used to help identify
practices of managing rising waters with hard and soft coastal defence structures. Here coastal
erosion is increasingly rectified by laying concrete. Our research advocates an alternative
approach, grounded in local and traditional knowledges within the wider Dublin Bay. Oral histories,
cartography, folklore archives and inter-generational dialogue are being explored to provide
mechanisms by which local knowledges can enable local action. The aim is to reintroduce a natural
coastal defence system of oyster beds, eelgrass, or stone reefs so that the rapidly degrading
coastal zones can be protected whilst boosting biodiversity.
PI: Prof. Poul Holm
Research Team: Dr Cordula Scherer
Societal Partners: ECO-UNESCO
Funded by Irish Environmental Protection Agency
Wales
The revival of local coastal heritage foods is foregrounded in coastal southwest Wales, with an
emphasis on learning how heritage stories can drive sustainable adaptation. Warming seas and
increased pollution in waterways are driving adaptation and communities are looking to heritage
production methods for inspiration. Traditional food practices are being revived in a modern context
to secure livelihoods, food security and encourage biodiversity. The stories told by local
businesses will be examined to better understand how cultural heritage may provide fresh insights,
inspiring locals to innovate and adapt to meet sustainability challenges.
PI: Prof. Louise Steel
Research Team: Dr Luci Attala, Gareth Thomas, Prof. Steven
Hartman
Societal Partners: Câr y Môr, Cardigan Bay Fish, Teifi Coracles
The Coastal TALES project, led by the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES (UK) hub at UWTSD, has successfully secured €770,000 of funding in Belmont Forum’s Climate and Cultural Heritage joint call (CCH 2023).
Exciting update from Luci Attala, Director of the UK Hub Bridges Sustainability Science Coalition and Gareth Thomas, Executive Research Development Officer at UWTSD
The transdisciplinary Coastal TALES project, led by the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES (UK) hub at UWTSD, secured €770,000 of funding in Belmont Forum’s Climate and Cultural Heritage joint call (CCH 2023).
Coastal TALES asks: How can stories of past practices help people (re)discover more sustainable ways of living in their rapidly changing coastal environments? Our goal is to show how heritage stories can generate tangible local action that diverse communities can draw on to adapt to a changing climate. We use a transdisciplinary approach, building on the knowledge and agency of local communities in dialogue with academic expertise across the spectrum of humanities and sciences.
The project investigates the question of how stories of past practices can help people discover more sustainable ways of living in their rapidly changing coastal environments. Three case studies one in Dublin (Ireland), one on Kodiak Island (Alaska, USA) and one in southwest Wales follow a transdisciplinary approach to answer this question and build on the knowledge and agency of local communities in dialogue with academic expertise across the spectrum of humanities and sciences.
Coastal TALES asks: How can stories of past practices help people rediscover more sustainable ways of living in their rapidly changing coastal environments? Our goal is to show how heritage stories can be used to create tangible local action that individuals everywhere can enact to help adapt to the changing climate.