A braiding of culture, science, and technology into a decolonial and interactive online education platform where youth can learn how to coexist with large carnivores.
Team Leader
Stephanie Barron
A braiding of culture, science, and technology into a decolonial and interactive online education platform where youth can learn how to coexist with large carnivores.
Solution Pitch
The Problem
Within the last ten years, Montana livestock owners have reported depredation events at four times the rate of occurrence than in 2013. An influx of new residents to the state has resulted in increased conflicts due to failure to secure attractants such as garbage, hobby farm livestock, and produce gardening.
The Solution
The Coalescence Curriculum on Carnivore Coexistence solution seeks to reduce human-carnivore conflicts through further development and transformation of the physical version of the Coalescence Curriculum into a virtual format that can engage the next generation of land users and decision makers. The objective is to build an interactive online platform where learners of all ages can access a resource woven from Indigenous and Western sciences that can better inform their carnivore-conflict mitigation approach.
This interactive and multimedia virtual curriculum will be freely available and highly accessible for all learning levels. By teaching residents of Northwest Montana why coexistence with carnivores is important and providing them with the education and tools to prevent conflicts the solution stands to greatly influence the perceptions residents have about grizzly bears and other large carnivores. Through shifting perceptions it hopes to facilitate a reality where both humans and carnivores can thrive.
Stats
Currently, the solution is in the prototype phase meaning that no individuals are being directly served as of yet. Once the physical curriculum is completed, reviewed, and approved by Tribal partners it will be a resource for the six Confederated Salish and Kootenai’s Tribal Natural Resource Program Wildlife Biologists.
Market Opportunity
The market segment includes all residents, 32,000+, of the Flathead Indian Reservation. Every resident participates in at least one of the following activities: ranching, industrial farming, hobby farming, 4-H/Future Farmers of America programs, bee-keeping, composting, gardening, use of outdoor trash bins. All of these activities cause human-carnivore conflict without education.
Organization Highlights
Currently, curriculum development partners include individuals from:
University of Montana
Salish Kootenai College
Confederated Salish
Kootenai Tribal Natural Resource Program Wildlife Biologists
United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services Non-Lethal Conflict Specialists
Partnership Goals
Coalescence Curriculum on Carnivore Coexistence seeks:
Advice, assistance, and training developing innovative approaches for the online component of the project. This includes progressive ways to reach our audiences, brainstorming sessions with technology and creative experts, and possible creative assistance.
Expertise in coding and web designing to develop a meaningful and impactful product for the Tribal partners.
Capacity building/training for technological platforms used to design our virtual educational materials and outreach programs. This could be in the form of personal sessions, tutorials, or workshops.
Training and support in identifying how to embed site visitation codes into our online platform so that we can collect quantitative data on impact.
What is the name of your organization?
Animo Partnership in Natural Resources
What is the name of your solution?
Coalescence Curriculum on Carnivore Coexistence
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
A braiding of culture, science, and technology into a decolonial and interactive online education platform where youth can learn how to coexist with large carnivores.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Missoula, MT
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
United States
What type of organization is your solution team?
Not Registered as Any Organization
Film your elevator pitch.
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What specific problem are you solving?
Within the last ten years, Montana livestock owners have reported depredation events at four times the rate of occurrence than in 2013. An influx of new residents to the state has resulted in increased conflicts due to failure to secure attractants such as garbage, hobby farm livestock, and produce gardening.
What is your solution?
The Coalescence Curriculum on Carnivore Coexistence solution seeks to reduce human-carnivore conflicts through further development and transformation of the physical version of the Coalescence Curriculum into a virtual format that can engage the next generation of land users and decision makers. The objective is to build an interactive online platform where learners of all ages can access a resource woven from Indigenous and Western sciences that can better inform their carnivore-conflict mitigation approach. This interactive and multimedia virtual curriculum will be freely available and highly accessible for all learning levels. By teaching residents of Northwest Montana why coexistence with carnivores is important and providing them with the education and tools to prevent conflicts the solution stands to greatly influence the perceptions residents have about grizzly bears and other large carnivores. Through shifting perceptions it hopes to facilitate a reality where both humans and carnivores can thrive.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
This project will serve the 32,000+ human residents of the Flathead Indian Reservation, especially members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of present day Montana, by creating content and activities that expand upon the existing Coalescence Curriculum. As the public has more access to resources they will be better able to identify their personal risk for carnivore conflict based on how they are using their land. By making carnivore-conflict prevention information more accessible to the public our solution will empower residents to take active steps towards reducing the likelihood of human-carnivore conflict. Finally, this project will also serve the 100+ grizzly bears, hundreds of black bears, 30+ wolves, and untold number of mountain lion residents who also live on the Flathead Indian Reservation. By facilitating public access to coexistence information and technology we reduce the opportunity for carnivores to engage in depredation or destruction of property.
Organization Type: For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
