By Tiffany Woods
Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon State University Extension Service have hired an environmental sociologist from Canada’s Carleton University to engage with coastal communities, enhance their understanding of critical social and environmental issues facing the Oregon coast, and collaborate with them to create locally relevant solutions.
Valerie Berseth will start her new position as Oregon Sea Grant’s Extension specialist in the human dimensions of coastal systems on Aug. 26.
“A lot of my work will focus on bringing different people together to learn more about a particular issue to support collective and collaborative decision-making,” she said.
She’ll initially focus on building relationships, getting to know people on the coast, and learning what they care about and what challenges they face. She’ll work with them to identify issues they want to address, then she’ll collaborate with them and others to design and deliver educational events such as workshops and meetings. Issues might include climate adaptation, coastal resilience, marine energy, fisheries or conservation, she said.
Additionally, she plans to team up with different groups to co-develop research projects that meet local priorities and needs. And she’ll work to increase coastal policymakers’ awareness of research findings so they can make informed decisions to support coastal communities, particularly those that have been underserved or marginalized. “A lot of the work that I’ve done has been out in the field, on boats, on rivers, talking to people about the worlds that they inhabit. I’ve had a lot of great opportunities to identify knowledge needs in communities and design programs that can try and meet those needs,” Berseth said. “And now I’m excited to join the incredible network of people at Oregon Sea Grant, and I look forward to working towards a strong and healthy future for the Oregon coast.”
Berseth, who was born in Toronto, was most recently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Carleton University. She earned a master’s in socio-legal studies from York University and a doctoral degree in sociology from the University of British Columbia. In her doctoral research, she studied Pacific salmon conservation, legal battles over the wildness of hatchery salmon, and the ways that genomic science and tools are transforming fisheries management. As part of this, she and two others interviewed nearly 150 people, including scientists, hatchery staff, fishers, and people working in Indigenous fisheries management and governments.
She has also worked on projects focused on restoring forest habitats after wildfires and examining conflicts driving protests over forestry practices. As a postdoctoral researcher, she studied the mountain pine beetle’s spread into new forest ecosystems. She also explored climate adaptation strategies like assisted migration, contributing valuable insights into managing these emerging environmental challenges. “Oregon’s coastal communities are facing myriad challenges, from climate change to coastal hazards to economic development. We are looking forward to the expertise that Valerie brings in working with communities to understand their needs and develop programs that produce tangible social and environmental benefits in the face of these challenges,” said Jessi Kershner, the associate director for Extension and Engagement at Oregon Sea Grant.
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