Joanna Mills Flemming is a professor at Dalhousie University.
Where did you grow up?
I feel very fortunate to have spent most of my childhood right here in Halifax. I did spend a year in Liverpool, England while my dad was in graduate school and many summer vacations in Bristol, England with my grandparents. During these visits my parents took us all over the United Kingdom and Europe which no doubt fashioned my love of travel.
What is a typical day like in this job?
Well before COVID-19, I spent most of my time on Dalhousie’s beautiful campus in the Chase building. My days were a mix of meetings with graduate students, teaching both undergraduate and graduate students, having coffee and discussions with colleagues and the odd zoom call with collaborators from afar. As we all know, that changed dramatically in March of 2020, and I am just now increasing my campus presence. I’ll be back in the classroom in January 2022 and simply can’t wait!
What do you enjoy most about being a professor at Dalhousie University?
I love supervising graduate students. As soon as possible I get them involved in my research projects and advise them on how best to develop their unique skills and talents to perform research, publish it, and move on to impactful careers. It is so incredibly rewarding to be involved with students as they partake in their academic journeys.
How is your role with Apoqnmatulti’k different from other projects that you’ve been a part of?
This project has provided me with a tremendous opportunity to learn about Mi’kmaw culture and knowledge. It has demonstrated to me, and many others, how different knowledge perspectives, when brought together, can bring much greater understanding. It has really been my first experience in dealing with anything other than western knowledge.
What does Apoqnmatulti’k mean to you?
To me it means teamwork. All partners working together to achieve a common goal.
Why do you think animal tracking is important?
The aquatic environment is an incredibly difficult system to observe. Animal tracking, particularly marine animal tracking is a tool for allowing us to ‘see’ places we would otherwise be unable to observe. Not only can we determine where animals are going, but we can also learn about what other animals they are interacting with and perhaps even why (e.g., predator-prey relationships), what environmental conditions they experience and how these might affect their behaviours. Collective animal movement continues to intrigue me as we scale up from individual animal tracks to population-level inference.
What is something most people may not know about the study species in the Bras d’Or Lake or Bay of Fundy?
I’m going to simplify this even further. I for one didn’t know that it is the Bras d’Or Lake and not the Bras d’Or Lakes.
What is something new you learned while working on this project?
I found it fascinating to learn that Mi’kmaq used to fish for lobster simply by dropping a stick down into the lake and waiting for the lobster to grab onto it. Simple yet effective.
What are you most proud of with Apoqnmatulti’k?
I’m most proud of the fact that this project has found a way to protect invaluable aquatic resources by sharing data and information with communities and decision-makers. It is diverse and inclusive by its very nature.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I like doing outside activities (e.g. walking, running, cycling, and swimming) while spending time with my family and close friends.
