You are encouraged to attend the defence. The details of the defence and attendance information is included below:  

Date: April 10, 2025 
Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PMM (PT)

Defence mode: Hybrid
In-Person Attendance: Library (5-140D)
Virtual Attendance: via Zoom 

LINK TO JOIN: Please contact the Office of Graduate Administration for information regarding remote attendance for online defences. 

To ensure the defence proceeds with no interruptions, please mute your audio and video on entry and do not inadvertently share your screen. The meeting will be locked to entry 5 minutes after it begins: please ensure you are on time.  

Thesis entitled: COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY TO CHANGING MOUNTAIN SNOWPACKS IN THE ROBSON VALLEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Abstract: Mountain regions are experiencing climate change with severe consequences for ecosystems and the human communities that depend on them, necessitating place-based adaptation. This thesis examines community vulnerability to changing mountain snowpack through a mixed-methods case study of McBride and Dunster in the upper Robson Valley, British Columbia, Canada. This thesis is distinct from other mountain climate change studies in that it explores the interactions among multiple environmental and societal forces that influence sensitivity to environmental changes and the capacity to adapt. Local lived experiences were gathered through one focus group and 32 semi-structured interviews with a total of 37 residents and analyzed alongside community documents and plans, local news, and quantitative data on snowpack and streamflow. Latent content analysis revealed that residents are sensitive to decreases in mountain snowpack due to their reliance on melt run-off for freshwater. Low water availability has impacted food security, wildfire suppression, and human health and well-being. Local capacity to adapt has been undermined by the centralization of government services and resulting exodus of residents, and their knowledge and skills. Despite a long history of coping with fluctuations in weather, recent changes, including low precipitation years related to the Southern El Niño Oscillation and heat waves, are considered by many residents to be outside tolerable ranges. Supporting adaptation is rooted in increasing local social capital and cohesion by re-directing financial and human resources, and decision-making power back to northern communities. 

Defence Committee:  
Chair: Dr. Neil Hanlon
Supervisor: Dr. Tristan Pearce
Committee Member: Dr. Joseph Shea
Committee Member: Dr. Jennifer Wigglesworth
External Examiner: Dr. Joana Bezerra