The emergence of a community mapping network: coastal eelgrass mapping in British Columbia

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to document and theorize the emergence of a network of stewards concerned about the conservation of a marine habitat called eelgrass along the coastline of British Columbia, Canada. Today, by engaging as professional biologists, government employees, and volunteers using various mapping, outreach, and communication tools, these stewards generate knowledge on the geographic location and health of eelgrass habitat, how to educate the public, how to coordinate volunteers, and how to approach local governments— with the ultimate goal of convincing others that eelgrass is worth protecting. Our two-year ethnographic study began in the second year of a project that was designed to train twenty community coordinators how to map and monitor eelgrass habitat. The coordinators were faced with complex social, cultural, political, historical, and material landscapes—which made us wonder about how it was possible for the network to hold together while extending its reach. We provide evidence to support the claim that the network became more stable and was extended by particular performances. These performances emerged from recognition and resolution of resistances, in which the network was both resource for and object of its activity. In the process, (a) knowledge produced is made to move and do something, (b) coordinators and scientists involved acted as knowledge brokers between various communities, and (c) communication between coordinators was enabled and maintained.