Joel Heath

OrganizationEmailPhoneAddressSt. John's , Newfoundland and Labrador A1C 3Z6CanadaBioJoel is an accomplished Canadian academic and filmmaker, former Fulbright Chair in Arctic Studies and a 2020 Ashoka fellow. He has 20 years of Arctic experience working with Inuit communities combining his expertise in ecology, sea ice dynamics, and mathematical biology with Inuit knowledge. He is Executive Director and co-founder of the Arctic Eider Society, an Inuit-driven charity based in Sanikiluaq Nunavut. Through this position he has worked with Inuit to help develop a network of community-driven research programs, curriculum for northern schools, directed/produced the 16x award winning film People of a Feather, and most recently developed online and mobile technology for Inuit self-determination in research through SIKU: the Indigenous Knowledge Social Network, winner of the Google.org Impact Challenge in Canada.

Interests

Sea Ice, Physical Science, Life Science, Social Science, Indigenous Knowledge, Citizen Science

Science Specialties

sea ice, ecology, oceanography, contaminants, community-based research, Inuit knowledge

Current Research

- Cumulative impacts of environmental change on sea ice ecosystems
- Winter ecology of widlife including eiders, beluga; eelgrass habitats
- heavy metal accumulation in the Hudson Bay food web
- oceanographic changes and impacts on sea ice dynamics in relation to winter freshwater inputs from hydroelectric mega-projects
- Inuit knowledge on cumulative impacts
- Culturally-relevant STEM curriculum for northern schools
- Interactive social media and online mapping tools for environmental stewardship
- Inter-jurisdictional governance and environmental stewardship for James/Hudson Bay