Watershed Ecosystems Project Graduate Student and UVIC Centre for Global Studies Visiting Governance Graduate Student Fellow Rheanne Kroschinsky, presents “University Extension as a Bridge for Hydrosocial Communities: Exploring the Rescaling of Water Governance in BC” with Oliver. M. Brandes at the Centre for Global Studies Global Talks series.
In this presentation at the University of Victoria’s Centre for Global Studies on March 17, 2025, Rheanne explored the evolving role of university extension (grounded within the case study of UBC Okanagan) as a catalyst for processes supportive of localized watershed governance. The Watershed Ecosystems Project (WEP)’s interdisciplinary, collaborative research approach to investigating key ecological and social linkages within the sqʷʔa watershed is central to this work.
Illustrating university extension capacities through this case study, the talk explored partnerships among university researchers, Syilx communities, and settlers, and highlighted the university’s role in supporting community development, knowledge-sharing, and institutional innovation aimed at enabling more localized and resilient water governance in BC.
Joining the discussion, Oliver M. Brandes (POLIS Project on Ecological Governance) shared insights from foundational work on watershed governance in BC, including legal and policy reforms underpinning the province’s emerging watershed security agenda.
