Try Harder, Be Better Seminar - Dr. Christine Wilkinson

The fourth in a series of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion seminars presented by the Try Harder, Be Better (2021 grant recipients) and the One Health Institute

Date: Thursday, February 3, 2022

Speaker: Christine Wilkinson, PhD (UC Berkeley)

Talk Title: "Participatory Mapping for Conservation"

What is participatory mapping and when is it a useful and appropriate tool? This seminar will answer these questions and more, diving into the importance of participatory mapping, the main types and platforms for participatory mapping, and how and in what contexts to get started with using this tool. We will also explore the ethics of participatory mapping, and how people may use this tool poorly and harmfully. Lastly, we will use some examples from carnivore conflict research in East Africa and the Bay Area to explore some of the potential avenues for integrating participatory mapping with other methods for conservation and One Health efforts.

Speaker Bio: Christine Wilkinson is a conservation biologist and carnivore ecologist at UC Berkeley, and is the co-founder of Black Mammalogists Week. Her research interests include human-wildlife conflict, carnivore movement ecology, multidisciplinary GIS, and using participatory methods for more effective and inclusive conservation outcomes. She has spent the last decade working in conservation biology and natural resource management around the USA and in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, and has also served in various capacities as an informal educator. Christine's current research focuses on socio-ecological drivers of carnivore movement, conflict, and coexistence in the Bay Area and in Kenya.