NiCHE: Cultivation

For more than a decade now, NiCHE has cultivated a community of scholars and researchers in Canadian environmental history and historical geography. That work has resulted numerous projects, conferences, summer schools, articles, books, podcasts, videos, websites, and much more. We want to keep that work going.

As founding NiCHE director, Alan MacEachern wrote last year, “NiCHE has existed because we have seen value in its existence.” We are, of course, indebted to the founding executive members for the work they put into creating NiCHE and fostering its growth. Part of the key to maintaining NiCHE into the future is continuing to cultivate our community. NiCHE now has a new executive/editorial team consisting of long-time NiCHE members, many of whom were graduate students and post-doctoral fellows when they first joined. Over the past year, the executive has worked to continue many of NiCHE’s core projects and develop some new ones. As we move ahead, we hope that more members will contribute new ideas and new projects.

Meet the NiCHE Executive: Click on each to find out more!

Jennifer Bonnell, McMaster University - NiCHE Book review editor — Jennifer Bonnell, York University, NiCHE Book review editor

Jim Clifford, University of Saskatchewan

Sean Kheraj, York University NiCHE Director and Editor-in-Chief

Alan MacEachern, University of Western Ontario

Josh MacFadyen, University of Saskatchewan — Josh MacFadyen, Arizona State University

Daniel Macfarlane, Western Michigan University

For many of our academic readers, the summer is over and classes have started for the fall semester. As you return to class, keep an eye out here for new content from NiCHE. You’ll find new posts on The Otter~La loutre, including a new series on the connections between labour history and environmental history. #EnvHist Worth Reading, our monthly round-up of some of the most interesting environmental history Web content, continues and its video series returns this month. And Nature’s Past: Canadian Environmental History Podcast comes back later this September featuring an interview with Darcy Ingram about his book on wildlife conservation in Quebec.

While there are a lot of great articles, podcasts, and videos coming to the NiCHE website over the next few months, we rely upon our members to continue to contribute to the site and the network. If you are new to NiCHE, we have a complete guide on how you can become a member and contribute right here. For those looking for ideas, here are some ways you can contribute:

Write for The Otter~La loutre. Found a great document that highlights some of your key arguments? Went on an exciting research trip? Attended a thought-provoking conference? Built a digital resource that you can’t adequately publish in print? Got a new idea on your mind that you want to share with other interested researchers? Want to share a post from your own blog with a bigger audience? We are always looking for new articles for our blog. These short 500-1500-word pieces reach a wide audience of readers. It’s an opportunity for researchers to share new ideas in a less formal manner than a journal article or book. Any NiCHE member can login and submit articles to The Otter~La loutre directly or they can contact the editors here.
Contribute to our resources. In addition to our regular blog, podcast, and video content, the NiCHE website includes a number of different research and teaching resources. These require constant updates and additions. Take a look at our resources section and let us know what we should add or update. Have a new course syllabus? Found an interesting new digital tool? Recorded a great public lecture? Let us know!
Bring your projects to the NiCHE community. Are you organizing an environmental history event? Have you developed a new environmental history resource? Did you publish a new anthology or journal issue? Are you looking for ways to disseminate your work to the environmental history and historical geography communities in Canada? NiCHE has a news and announcements section on its website and we keep a list of upcoming events and deadlines. Members can contribute these announcements directly by logging in with their accounts or they can contact the editors here with the details.
Join a regional network. Across many parts of the country, there are smaller groups of environmental historians and historical geographers who meet from time-to-time to share new research. You can find a list of them in our Networks section here. We also have a national New Scholars group devoted specifically to graduate students and recent graduates. These groups are always open to new members. Can’t find a group in your area? Why not start one? Contact NiCHE here for help with starting your own environmental history regional network.
Create something completely new! Many of the projects you’ll find on the NiCHE website started as an entirely new idea from one of our members, including our podcast, blog, and video series. Do you have an idea for a new environmental history project? We can help! Contact the NiCHE executive with a description of your idea.

Finally, you can stay connected with NiCHE by following our Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ feeds, all managed by our intrepid social media editor, Jessica DeWitt. We are looking forward to a great new year of content and some exciting new projects on the horizon. We are more excited, however, to hear from you and find out what contributions you will make to the network.