We won't be at the UArctic congress, no. We'll send the final version of the report your way, and post on here as well. Should be finalized in a month. :) Thanks for asking!

Cover

Over 250 people were involved (inside page with names and photos)

Page from report: most of the time when we look for plastics, we find nothing (English and inuttitit)

Data viz showing plastics are very small, comparing size of plastics to common items like a grain of rice, Tylenol pill

We’re in Nunatsiavut this week to share results in the final year of a nine year plastic monitoring project! And it’s good news: we’re not concerned about plastics as a contaminant in the region.
If you’d like a copy of the final report, let us know!

Social Life of Climate Change Attend research seminars in Social Life of Climate Change in the Department of Geography and Environment at LSE.

I'm giving two talks in London-- one today, one tomorrow!

Research is a Land Relation
3 February 2026, 5-6.30pm, LSE, OLD 3.24
www.lse.ac.uk/geography-an...

Counting across worlds
IAS Common Ground, G11, South Wing UCL
Wednesday, Feb 4 from 5 pm to 7 pm
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/counting-a...

It's a book talk based on "Pollution is Colonialism."

Poster with the text from the message above and an image of Max Liboiron, wearing glasses and a t-shirt.

Upcoming talk at LSE! "Research is a Land Relation" with the always superb @maxliboiron.bsky.social. 5pm 3 Feb LSE room OLD 3.24. See website SLCC.online for details!

Part of a special issue in KULA on Citational Politics. Lots of really interesting pieces here! Check it out!

kula.uvic.ca/index.php/ku...

New paper! "Struggling with Citational Politics as a Pathway to Unlearning and Relearning for Collective Action" on the material challenges of trying to cite ethically.
We did a citation experiment. We found there were specific stages, and they didn't advance linearly.

kula.uvic.ca/index.php/ku...

6. Saw the ice core into 10 cm intervals.

5. Chat while the thermometer completes the reading inside the drill hole.

4. Drill into the ice core.

3. Collect ice core using auger.

2. Travel from the rattle back towards Nain following Manasse, who is bear guard.

1. Collect mussels and take pics of each other.

This is how we (Riley Cotter, Manasse Pijogge, Darrel Lyall, Frédéric Dwyer-Samuel, Debbie Lyall, Liz Pijogge, Paul McCarney, Lana Vuleta, Max Liboiron) collected ice cores in April 2024.

As part of the Nunatsiavut plastic monitoring project, one of my (Lana’s) thesis chapters is on the analysis we (community members and researchers from Nunatsiavut and academics at Memorial University) did examining ice for plastics.

The IndigeLab Network is hiring a Social Media and Content Creator!!

Swipe to read the job description ➡️

To submit an application reach out to Veronica Madsen, IndigeLab Network Coordinator, at vlmadsen@mun.ca or check out our official job post here: www.indigelabnetwork.com/employee-opp...

The IndigeLab Network invites researchers, artists, makers, and community storytellers to submit work for the Indigenous Data Communications Exhibit, a curated online exhibit celebrating Indigenous data shifters and re-makers.

Submit an application here: www.indigelabnetwork.com/call-for-ind...

A happy person in a ballcap holds a bouquet of flowers.

Two happy people stand side by side. One is older and wears all black. The other is younger, wears a ball cap, and holds some flowers.

A room full of people around a table. One waves at the camera.

Congratulations to Riley Cotter, MSc! He officially completed his degree. His thesis, “Toward Place-based plastic monitoring in the Arctic,” received stellar reviews from examiners. Riley will be joining CLEAR as a full time researcher in the New Year!!

A quick intro to the person behind this week's postings.

I'm Paul (he/him), a white settler researcher working with CLEAR on the Nunatsiavut Plastics research. I'm based in Old Crow, Yukon, the traditional and self-governing territory of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation.

In June this year, a group of us from the CLEAR Lab and the Natural History Museum went to Rigolet, Nunatsiavut to hold an on-the-land workshop to discuss plastics research. We also ran eBird to gather observations of a huge variety of seabirds, waterfowl, and shorebirds during a day on the ocean.

I (@paulmccarney.bsky.social) am listening to @biidaasamose.bsky.social & Robin Maynard narrate their powerful book "Rehearsals for Living," which highlights Indigenous and Black feminist struggles for justice & liberation & discusses the colonial & patriarchal foundations of policing in Canada!

Counting across worlds (or, how to love a zero) This presentation outlines the rocky efforts of two Indigenous researchers to collaborate across incommensurability through an extremely relational form of Western knowledge: statistics.

If you're in London in February and want to get your geek on with me:
"This presentation outlines the rocky efforts of 2 Indigenous researchers to collaborate through an extremely relational form of Western knowledge: statistics."
www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

Right now, I spend most of my time in the lab doing a mix of wet and non-wet lab work.

So this week, you’ll get a look into what’s going on in the CLEAR lab space. Maybe on this channel, but more action is on our insta page ;) (6/6)

This (prospective) project feels like a full-circle moment. It connects my interests in community-based research and environmental plastic through place-based methods in rural Newfoundland (one of my favourite places to be, ever). (5/6)

My interest in research processes has really guided what I enjoy most at CLEAR.

Now, I’m preparing for a PhD project focused on developing a community-based monitoring program in my hometown on the Bonavista Peninsula, NL. (4/6)

I love thinking critically about how we do research and how research norms shape what we learn.

One example: some of my master’s thesis is a literature review on the scale of plastics research, born from wondering why surface water studies often report results at oceanic scales. 3/6

I’ve been at CLEAR since 2022, working on all kinds of projects and in all kinds of roles: sample processor, lit reviewer, plastic identifier, working group coordinator, and student (plus a few others I’ve probably forgotten). 2/6

This week we’re continuing to wake up our social media presence with… ME! 🌊

Hi everyone, I’m Riley Cotter. Right now, I'm a Research Specialist and MSc student (almost finished!) at CLEAR.

⬇️

Cover of Fear of a Dead White Planet by the More Worlds Collective. The cover art features an undulating curtain of smog against an otherwise clear sky. The texture of the smog has a sketch-like quality. The smog covers most of the page, with the relatively thin strip of blue sky at the bottom of the page. The top of a tree can be seen peeking out from the bottom left-hand corner of the cover.

The Weekly Read is "Fear of a Dead White Planet," by the More Worlds Collective (Joseph Masco, Tim Choy, Jake Kosek, and M. Murphy), which asks: How does one study when the planet is on fire? Read this book now for free! buff.ly/86Bikuh

Apply for this free PhD course on Energy Humanities in Stavanger, Norway!

Please pass the opportunity on to students you know. Students from anywhere are welcome.

#envhum #envhist