Date: Apr 16, 2025
Time: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Category: Education
On Wed, April 16th join ACC-VI’s Mary Sanseverino for a free online webinar about putting citizen science into your mountain adventures (spoiler alert – it’s easy and fun!). The webinar is hosted by the Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC. ACC-VI members (and friends) are invited to register for the free event here.
Mountain Adventurers and “Citizen Science”: Innovative ways to let the mountains speak
Mountaineers, hikers, climbers, skiers – all who spend time in the mountains – have stories to tell. Typically, the mountains speak through the things we experience while there: routes planned and led, lines skied, challenges overcome (or not), trails explored, vistas enjoyed, etc. But what if it were possible for those of us privileged to spend time in the mountains to let them speak in different, more mountain-centric ways?
This webinar looks at two “citizen science” techniques (iNaturalist and repeat mountain photography) as practiced by members of the Alpine Club of Canada. We show how techniques and innovations like these can open the door to letting the mountains speak about biodiversity, climate change, landscape ecology, and more. Not only are these techniques straightforward and fun to do, but they can lead to a deeper understanding of the mountains we live, play, and stay in. In many cases this deeper understanding leads to stories readily transmitted to the world beyond. Which, in this time of rapid climate change, is perhaps a duty all of us who honour mountains should take up.
There will be plenty of time for Q&A – everyone is welcome.
The webinar leader is Mary Sanseverino. For those that don’t know her, Mary is a retired faculty member from the University of Victoria’s Department of Computer Science. For almost 15 years she has been associated with Canada’s long-running Mountain Legacy Project (historic repeat mountain photography and landscape-level analysis). She is a long-time member of the Alpine Club of Canada – Vancouver Island Section and a regular contributor to the ACC’s State of the Mountains Report. Mary’s photographic work has appeared in Canadian Geographic, Discover Magazine, and in many of Canada’s mountain parks. Mary is Vice President of the UIAA’s (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation) Mountain Protection Commission. She recently appeared with Will Gadd on the UIAA’s Mountain Voices podcast talking about our disappearing glaciers.