Safeguarding Ecological Knowledge from the Effects of Climate Change: An Archival Approach

Creating resources that facilitate the preservation of community-based archives and ecological knowledge in the Louisiana coastal region is integral to its survival amongst the effects of climate change. Research and records created and stored within the Louisiana coastal region have a higher predisposition to the drastic and pervasive effects of climate change and natural disasters. Modern archivists can insert themselves into the work of climate change action through their advocacy of safeguarding collections that have been created by communities and individuals through raw scientific and observational data and unpublished research. Just as archivists continue to frame their professional work around a theory of best practice, a similar module can be created to navigate preservation of documents, plans, photographs, narratives, and other ephemera in this Anthropocene.\nTo create best practices, it is essential to build a foundational understanding of the unique development and needs of the communities, individuals, and researchers. The project is designed to craft a toolkit to facilitate the safeguarding of ephemera from community-based archives and ecological knowledge that relates to climate change and its impacts.