Learning from Eco-social Approaches to Public Health
Dr. Diana Kutzner is the Lead, Climate Change and Health at Northern Health. Originally from Germany, she immigrated to Canada in 2002, arriving on the unceded traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh in Prince George. A social scientist by training, Dr. Kutzner holds a BA and MA in Natural Resources & Environmental Studies from UNBC. Between 2014 and 2016, Diana lived on the South Island of New Zealand, home to the Ngāi Tahu (Māori people of the South Island) while pursuing a PhD at the University of Otago focused on environmental changes faced by small nature-based business operators’ and their social-ecological resilience to these changes, including climate change. After returning to Prince George, Dr. Kutzner managed the Environment, Community, Health Observatory (ECHO) Network at UNBC under the leadership of Drs. Margot Parkes and Henry Harder, and working collaboratively with research partners in Northern Health, on the cumulative impacts of resource extraction on health. She has also worked closely on various projects focused on engaging youth in hands-on, nature- and place-based integrative learning within watersheds and understanding how health connects & intersects with community and environment.
Diana’s research interests include community resilience; connections between environment, community, and health; social-ecological adaptation to climate change; community collaborative research; and nature-based tourism. In her spare time she loves to spend time out on the land, including hiking, canoeing, and cross-country skiing.
Throughout the Pre-Solstice ECHO Pulse event, ECHO trainees and early career colleagues were invited to share reflection about how ECHO has influenced their ongoing work.
The fourth story of the Pre-solstice ECHO Pulse event centered around taking notice of 'integratve assessment tools to inform action on climate change'.
The third story of the Pre-solstice ECHO Pulse event centered around taking notice of 'healing indicators work to inform action on Indigenous co-designed events'.
The second story of the Pre-solstice ECHO Pulse event centered around taking notice of 'geo-spatial tools to inform action on health in watersheds'.
On October 4th, 2024, we celebrated the achievements of the Koh-Learning in our Watersheds program with members, founders, participants and champions as they look forward to the Koh 2.0 future.
On April 18th, several LEAPH Lab Members presented at the Planetary Health Alliance Meeting (PHAM) 2024 Conference.
This event was an opportunity for Northern Health staff and UNBC to come together to: learn about existing work, tap into northern BC expertise, leverage resources and identify synergies.
