New Brunswick Environmental Network Regional Case
This case is informed by a multi-year collaboration centered on the work of the New Brunswick Environmental Network Regional Case and more specifically, the NB Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative (NBCEHC), an established network of organizations and agencies across the province working to prevent children’s exposure to environmental hazards that affect health and to promote children’s access to healthier environments. Partnering with the ECHO Network creates opportunities for the NBCEHC to profile resource development, associated community and ecosystem changes and implications for children’s health issues.
Regional Case Updates
Since mid-2020 we have moved to a new cross-ECHO format of sharing Regional Case updates - please see the latest updates for the New Brunswick Environmental Network Regional Case on the following Padlet links, or for cross-ECHO updates via our “Updates” page.
Summer 2020
The Wolastoq River, also known as the Saint John River on Mi'kmaq traditional territory.
While summer is always a bit quieter than the rest of the year, the COVID-19 has had a slowing effect on many of our projects and plans. Like the rest of the world, we are working on new ways of navigating these changes and facilitating exchanges and discussion with our partners. Despite this, there is some work that is ongoing in our regional case.
Onitriniaina is currently in the development phase of a detailed methodology, using Photovoice as a data collection tool. We are also in the process of seeking ethical approval for her research project on "Ecological Transition and Women: Food Security and Health Issues".
In an iterative and co-construction process with Team Indicators and Cumulative Impacts, a team of the Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative, we have identified the geographic units and the indicators we would like to use for the New Brunswick ECHO-Screen. Saadia is currently in a data collection and analysis phase, while also in the process of completing the ethical application and preparing her Master's thesis seminar. Further reflection is required to plan the workshops with stakeholders that we will need to do once the tool is developed.
Lastly, Raissa’s last day in the New Brunswick Environmental Network office was June 19th. She is leaving to start a new adventure in Montréal. Tim Murphy Leblanc has stepped into her role as executive director of the NBEN. We look forward to working with him!
Spring 2020
Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative Annual Conference, January 23, 2020
As always, the fall is a busy time for the New Brunswick Environmental Network with many meetings and conferences happening. On November 19th, 2019, the Watershed Caucus came together for “Citizen Science, Cyanobacteria, and Strategy” a day on engaging citizens and communities in and on their watersheds and developing a strategy to effectively move watershed work ahead in the province now and in the future.
On January 10th 2020, members of Team Indicators and Cumulative Impacts which includes representatives from the New Brunswick Department of Environment and Local Government, the New Brunswick Department of Health, the New Brunswick Health Council, as well as Céline Surette and Saadia Hara, met for a half day meeting to discuss the adaptation of the CalEnviroScreen to the New Brunswick context. It was a productive meeting that helped identify potential data sources for indicators in New Brunswick and decide on a geographical unit.
On January 23, 2020, we held the annual conference of the Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative at New Maryland Centre in New Brunswick, titled “Healthy Environments, Healthy Minds.” The conference highlighted links between mental health and the environment and featured many great presentations and workshops, including one delivered by Céline Surette and Saadia Hara that focused on identifying potential indicators for the effects of the environment on children’s mental health. The conference was a great success with many participants from different sectors attending and sharing.
In team news, Saadia has now finished her Bachelors and has started her Masters. We are also joined by Onitriniaina Rakotorahalahy who will be doing her Masters under the guidance of Céline. She has a particular interest in coastal restoration work. Finally, Raissa will be leaving the New Brunswick Environmental Network to pursue new adventures in Montréal with her family in June of 2020. We wish her the best!
September 2019
NBEN and RAVEN members at the Belledune Thermal Station, NB.
First off, we would like to thank everyone who attended the 2019 ECHO Annual Meeting in Moncton! It was fantastic being able to share what makes New Brunswick unique with all of you.
The time following the annual meeting has been fairly quiet as summer tends to be in the New Brunswick Environmental Network (NBEN) office. However, in June, the NBEN organized a tour of different industries in Belledune, a village in northern New Brunswick. This tour was done in collaboration with the Rural Action and Voices for the Environment (RAVEN) and Production Aulnes. We visited the Belledune Thermal Station, a coal burning plant, the Chaleur Sawmills, and the Port of Belledune. This was followed by a community event in which participants were invited to imagine their ideal Belledune.
We are in the very initial stages of planning meetings and conferences for the fall. More to follow soon!
April 2019
Since our last update, we have settled quite nicely into our new office. It’s about three times bigger than our previous one – a much needed and appreciated upgrade (we now have our own desks)!
On January 15th 2019, we hosted a Knowledge to Action workshop where we shared information on our integrative tool, the Costs and Benefits Calculator, through an interactive presentation and activity. We got some fantastic feedback and are now working with our developer to make our tool even better. If you are interested in watching the recording of the workshop, click here. Stay tuned for the official launch of the tool.
Participants at the “Tipping the Balance: Cumulative Impacts on Children’s Health” annual conference of the Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative in New Maryland, NB
On February 6th 2019, we had the annual conference of the Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative in New Maryland, NB titled “Tipping the Balance: Cumulative Impacts on Children’s Health”, which aimed to look at ways address negative cumulative impacts of resource development and promote positive impacts. We had the pleasure to welcome Chris Buse who gave the participants of the conference a fantastic introduction to cumulative impacts and, along with Céline Surette, Anne Fauré and Hara Saadia, led an interactive workshop designed to help participants understand the difficulties in addressing cumulative impacts, foster the emergence of approaches and processes and promote inter-sectoral exchanges. The conference was a great success!
Now, we are ramping up the planning for the next ECHO Network Annual Meeting which will be held in Moncton from May 27-31. We have a few surprises up our sleeves and we are very much looking forward to hosting this meeting in our beautiful corner of Canada!
December 2018
Fall is a very busy time in the NBEN office. Along with several other meetings and events, the annual Children’s Environmental Health Conference will be happening in November. It is titled “Tipping the Balance: Cumulative Impacts on Children’s Health.” It will explore ways in which to address negative cumulative impacts and promote positive cumulative impacts through education and policy change. The conference will take advantage of placed-based learning in a heavily industrialised area of New Brunswick.
In addition to this, our Risks and Benefits Calculator is now operational and live though not available to the public. We will be sharing more information with you during a knowledge to action workshop soon.
We’re growing! Since our last update in July, we’ve welcomed five new people to the NBEN staff; four coordinators and an administration assistant. In fact, we’ve expanded so much lately that we’ve outgrown our current office and will be moving in December. We’re very excited! Also, for the regional case we have a new research assistant, Hara Saadia, who will be working closely with Anne Fauré.
July 2018
Research Assistant Wanzor Beaubrun works on the New Brunswick case study within ECHO under the supervision Céline Surette and Julie Forgues of the Université de Moncton and in partnership with Pays de Cocagne Sustainable Development Group NB and the Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative.
This study aims to analyze the benefits and challenges of arts-based tools in the emergence of actions and possible solutions to complex problems related to the impacts of natural resource development. It also plans to evaluate the types of links that participants make between the health of their watershed, children’s health, and human activities in their territory; and describe how arts-based tools can bring out new perspectives for vulnerable populations with a diversity of voices in actions and help find solutions to reduce inequities and foster knowledge integration.
To do this, two different projects using the Photovoice method are planned to assess if and how art-based tools help strengthen the resilience of communities to the cumulative impacts of natural resources development. One will be done with students from two elementary schools that will lead them to better understand the catchment concept and see themselves in their environment; and the other will be done with members (adults) of the New Brunswick Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative to design a workshop on cumulative impacts and children’s health.
March 2018
In January 2018, Annika Chiasson stepped in as the new Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative Coordinator and Regional Coordinator for the New Brunswick case. Annika is also responsible for the NBEN’s Watershed and Environmental Rights Caucuses.
Session participants at the CEHC Annual Conference, Nov 28th
In late December, the Government of New Brunswick released a Water Strategy for New Brunswick, along with recommendations for enhanced watershed management in New Brunswick, which was been developed by the Working Group on Watershed Management over the course of 9 months to provide the Minister of Environment with recommendations about preferred approaches for the management and protection of surface water quality. The Strategy was based on input from stakeholders, the public and First Nations and focuses on protecting drinking water, preserving and enhancing aquatic ecosystems, understanding and sharing knowledge about water, working cooperatively and reporting progress publicly.
Lastly, the NBEN is in the process of developing a Risks and Benefits interactive tool that will allow users to assess current or planned development projects based on risks and benefits associated with the project as well as who carries the risks and who benefits from the project. This will provide a platform for critical thinking and in-depth discussion of the impacts of resource development projects. It should be completed by summer.
Over the last three months, research assistant Wanzor Beaubrun has been progressing work on a literature review of narrative tools and on the planning of next steps and activities to apply one or two of these tools in the New Brunswick case.
December 2017
Upon her arrival to the team in September, New BrunswickEnvironmental Network’s new Research Coordinator, Ariane Juneau-Godin, dove right into the organization of the annual conference of the Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative (CEHC), which was held on November 28th, 2017 in New Maryland, New Brunswick . The Conference was titled:“A Tale of Two Necessities: Children and Resources Development” and aimed to look into the impacts of resource development on children’s health (see also here for further information http://nben.ca).
Session participants at the CEHC Annual Conference, Nov 28th
This year’s conference theme was chosen in part to integrate ECHO’s concepts within the CEHC. We were able to welcome Dr. Céline Surette, from the Université de Moncton, who gave an interactive workshop which led participants to reflect on their connection to their watershed, as well as Dr. Donald Cole from the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, who spoke about the importance of applying the precautionary principle when addressing issues relating to cumulative effects impacts of resource development on health. We also had the pleasure to hear from Marjorie McGibbon, RN and Paediatric Oncology Patient Navigator for one of New Brunswick’s two health authorities, on the topic of children’s vulnerability to environmental exposure and the importance of looking at children’s health from a global health perspective. The recent reorganization of the province of New-Brunswick’s Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health has had a significant impact on the state of Public Health in the province, as well as on the work of the CEHC.
Lastly, NBEN has recently created a new Environmental Rights Caucus comprised of environmental groups, which will be advocating for the passing of an Environmental Bill of Rights at the provincial Legislative Assembly. We hope the upcoming 2018 provincial election will be fertile ground to raise awareness towards this issue among candidates and MLAs. Finally, the research team has recently added a new member to its team—Anne Fauré, a Post-doctoral Fellow, has started to conduct several ECHO Network Entrance Interviews and began to compile a literary review geared on cumulative impacts.
September 2017
The ECHO Network New Brunswick regional hub launch was held on June 12th at the beautiful Université de Moncton campus – une rencontre bilingue qui a permis aux participants de s’exprimer dans la langue de leur choix. This full-day meeting was a great way to start collaborating and building relationships with the 17 participants that represented the national ECHO Network, members of the NB Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative, NB academia, allies within the provincial government and local watershed experts. After an overview of the national ECHO Network and the NB case, the participants heard great presentations on the different NB tools (current or in development) such as geospatial, health impact assessment, art-based and indicators on children’s environmental health. Merci à tous ceux qui sont venus deprès et de loin!
From left to right:
Carole Tranchant, Mélanie LeBlanc, Annette Bourque, Daphnée Albert, Donald Cole, Wanzor Beaubrun, Todd Arsenault, Christine Landry, Alain Patoine, Céline Surette, Serge LaRochelle, Raissa Marks, Bonnie Hamilton Bogart, Margot Parkes, Olivia Sanford, Cathy Vaillancourt
