Lessons from the Vikings

Intro.: Some of you may have been confused by the recent posts. I have been posting messages shared by friends and colleagues. Here is a very thought provoking one by Selena. Enjoy!

Like sitting on a mountain top and looking down in the valley, it is always when we are removed from our home places that this latter one becomes more defined.

Living and studying glaciology in Sweden for this year, has opened for me a whole new perspective of our unique Columbia basin.

We share similar wild open spaces, a thirst for engaging in the rugged landscapes and communities of bearded-ski-planked warriors and mountain goddesses. It comes as no surprise that the Columbia region harbors place names such as the Valhallas, Valkyries and Ymir, derived from the Norse legends. 

Thus, looking back at the Columbia valley from this Scandinavian point of view, offers much insight and (hopefully) foresight. Here are some lessons from the Vikings I am distilling from the local brew of knowledge and bagging for takeout.

Peace; Although forged from a warrior culture, peace is quite fundamental to Scandinavia. Peace is not considered as in ‘rest in peace’, rather an engaged activity upon which all consent to contribute. In Sweden, the Allemansrätten (all man’s right) means that anyone can pretty much go anywhere they want, but threading lightly and respecting the people and lands they go to. This is key for people to join in the landscape; opening the access in a responsible way will allow more people to get out and feel the land, then caring for it makes dire sense.

Collaboration; I am sitting in the middle of the International Glaciological Society’s Nordic branch meeting in Oslo. Around me are all the top scientists of Scandinavia, I’m re-questioning why I offered to present my little project about the Columbia Icefield; why would they care? After the presentation, during the icebreaker (yes, pun fully intended) many came to me with suggestions and great interests. The general feeling here is of collaboration and cooperation. Most research is joint initiatives; in fact, in order to get funding, projects need to be interdisciplinary and involve several organizations and countries. It is so refreshing to see how everybody truly benefits; symbiosis in action. In Canada, limited funding confines researchers in a competitive atmosphere, which has very limited benefits in the long run. Thus, the ‘pet-glacier’ phenomenon (whereas scientists have almost territorial behaviors about their study sites) is quite strong in Canada. But there are so few glaciologists and so many glaciers; collaboration seems like the natural step.

Tradition; Still sitting at the glaciology conference in Oslo, I am impressed by the long history of records and monitoring ongoing in Scandinavia and Europe. So much research has been and is going on! It also makes me realize how in BC, our vast glaciated lands are seriously lacking people; a great thing for skiing, but miserable for creating a tradition of glaciological records. I realize how lucky we are to have all this land for a handful of dandy-mountain-goers. But our glaciers need more than luck. Fortunately, the Columbia valley holds a heritage of mountaineers and mountain lovers, so we can then tap right into this advantageous social capital.

Basically we need to get captivated by our amazing backyard, grip onto our peace, build local knowledge, exchange these expertise and skills and keep up with the tradition. This can be done by becoming our own local experts; we are the ones hiking, biking, skiing, painting, living, and singing in this valley. Some of us know these places inside out, some others are just getting to know the lay of the land, and in both cases the drive to know our areas will lead to collaboration.

From the Vikings, now morphed into this leading progressive Ikea-styled country, the main lesson is to learn how to let our communities be absorbed in the land, instead of clashing with the landscape.

- Selena