Nursing Student Presents at Global Social Justice Research Symposium
Sydney Blackston (N’25)
(October 9, 2024) — Sydney Blackston (N’25), a senior BSN student minoring in justice and peace studies, presented her summer research at the Global Social Justice Summer Research Symposium on September 20.
Blackston’s work features interviews with Indigenous knowledge keepers and elders in Kelowna, British Columbia, about wildfires and their impact on the community.
In 2023, British Columbia experienced a historic wildfire season that burned more than 7 million acres, destroyed hundreds of homes, and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate. It killed six wildland firefighters and was the most destructive in recorded history. But it was the often overlooked impacts of the wildfire that attracted Blackston’s attention.
“Air pollution and the loss of significant wildlife are a threat to global health,” Blackston said. “Indigenous groups in Canada, who often have the deepest understanding of the land, are often the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and natural disasters like this one.”
Blackston’s work was supported by her 2023 Maeve McKean Global Health Award.
The Global Social Justice Summer Research Symposium was sponsored by the Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs.