Arctic HOWLs

Day 1 was about following the local fish supply chain with ⁠⁠Lauri Hämäläinen and Karoliina Lehtimäki⁠⁠. This episode was recorded on June 10, 2022, when Letty was in Kuopio, Finland. Toward the end of the episode, you will hear a snippet about Letty's Yukon connection. A story about a young girl from the coastal state of Goa who watched some wolves being introduced to the Yellowstone national park. At about the same time, she watched a video of wolves crossing the Dempster highway with an unforgettable view of the Richardson Mountains. It was love at first howl. Little did she know that her arctic dream of the Yukon would stay enfolded for over two and half decades but leave weak signals along the way. The seed was planted with love for the Yukon, but it is germinating in Finland. Note: You will hear your host croak a portion of the Finnish anthem. If you are curious about Letty's reference to the canvas that's slowly slipping away, listen to this interview with Dr. Fabrice Calmels (Yukon University) on Letty's other podcast (SARtastic Beasts and Where to Find Them).

This episode was recorded on March 14, 2022, when Letty was in Kuopio, Finland. It captures the story behind the podcast's cover art, including its five elements.

This episode was recorded on March 08, 2022, when Letty was in Kuopio, Finland. Back then, Letty was unaware that life would bring her childhood dream of being in the Yukon to fruition. Letty is now a permanent resident of Canada, and she is less than 1800 kilometers away from the Yukon. As she is resurrecting both her podcasts, she will be reviewing and republishing her old episodes. The Yukon Connection is the first.

Day 2 was about measuring the soil condition after a forest fire. Day 3 was all about peat action by measuring the water level and methane emission. The final day was about uprooting the Himalayan Balsam, an invasive plant species, from an old-growth forest in Selkie, Eastern Finland. In this episode, Letty had the opportunity to chat with Alicia Jarma, a biodiversity specialist from Spain, about old-growth forests, greenhouse gas emission, and invasive plant species. Her key message is in Catalan, Spanish, French, and English.  Here's what do expect in this episode: 00:00 Alicia's key message in four languages 04:07 Alicia's day at an old-growth forest in Selkie 10:54 The challenge with invasive plants like the Himalayan Balsam and Lupine 13:54 The work being done at a forest fire site and a restored peatland site  20:56 What sparked Alicia's interest and got her to Snowchange Cooperative Letty followed Snowchange Cooperative (Lumimuutos Osuuskunta in Finnish), the organization behind Rewilding Finland, on four distinct field trips.

Two themes (sustainable fishing and biocultural heritage) guided this conversation. Here's what to expect in this episode... Introducing our guest, Noora Huusari and what got her interested in Snowchange Cooperative? The traditional practice of winter seine fishing in Finland. How old is this practice? 1300 since the first written record. The oldest fishing net in the world was found in Eastern Finland, and it was over 10,000 years old! This is not the cultural heritage of some remote location in Finland. It’s our heritage as a species – our biological cultural heritage (BCH) and our interconnectedness with nature. Here’s an article from Nature Conservation on why does this matter. What makes Finland’s lake Puruvesi so special and two short films on the winter seiners of Puruvesi. How to keep the traditional practice alive and the challenge of operating a small-scale fisheries program. The average catch this season was 250 kg and the team is on the ice once a week. Remember that it’s winter seining, which means that our climate action or inaction influences how long this practice continues. A crispy vendace that is endemic to lake Puruvesi, which gave it a specialized European Commission label: Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). Letty made a mistake and said that this fish has the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label, but the correct label is PGI. Only two Finnish products have this PGI label. The other product is the rye crust pie with lingonberries. For more information about these labels, see the Finnish Food Authority. You cannot find this fish anywhere in the world. Are Finns aware of this special heritage of Finland? A string of micro conversations about the current fish supply chain in Finland, the lack of support for the local fish and the fishing community, our inability to tell a wild fish from a cultivated one, and the ongoing battle with the salmon farms in Norway. The global concern about food security and some random thoughts about making the connections locally through low-impact practices, such as winter seine fishing. A stewardship message from our guest in Finnish. Non-Finnish speakers, don’t you worry. Letty has your back 😉 Where to find your local produce? REKO Facebook group https://www.ekompi.net/ https://www.omapelto.fi/tietoa-meista https://lahikalatori.fi/ (Fish from Northern Karelia) https://blogs.helsinki.fi/kumppanuusmaatalous/lahde-mukaan/loyda/  https://www.rannastaruokapoytaan.fi/ (Fish from the southern coast of Finland)

In episode 6, Letty told you that she got into poetry when she was about 11, and she wrote 124 poems. Most were lost due to Letty's recklessness, but she found a few yesterday.  Letty had a good laugh and thought about giving you an opportunity to laugh too. Here's what we'll cover: Intro on what to expect in this episode  Letty reading one of her poems and laughing hysterically (poem #27) An outlandish tangent about the middle way, etymology, and non duality A brief look at the transformed perpetrator and presenting your fragmented self --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/goanonthego/message

Five key themes guided this conversation with no strict goalposts and guardrails, so the conversation could follow its own course. The first ten minutes is an intro about what to expect in this episode.  10:30 - 14:50 Explains active retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) that were found along the Alaska and Dempster highways in the Yukon. 14:50 - 21:50 His experience in geohazard mapping in Northern Canada and what got him interested in climate-driven hazards. For all you geology enthusiasts, look out for the Klondike connection and paleontology. Almost one million years of permafrost archive data about Pleistocene Beringia - gold rush to really old “paleo” rush! Dawson was unglaciated - and that tells you something! 21:50 - 29:10 The formation and degradation of permafrost (the process focus), including permafrost mapping in Northern Quebec and the Yukon. Is there a connection between permafrost distribution/thawing and wildfire propensity? 29:10 - 35:30 How do the indigenous communities feel about the changing landscape and how are they preparing for changes in the soil with respect to their traditional practices and food security  - for example, the shrubification of the region that's replacing the lichen cover and the subsequent change in the migratory pattern of the caribou? 35:30 - 48:00 Blending evidence-based and community-based interventions: How to facilitate the integration of science and traditional knowledge toward climate adaptation? Your host is curious about his 2018 project where he studied how the traditional land use by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation of Old Crow was affected by this changing landscape? Thaw sensibility - map of traditional land use (only known by the community) and map of permafrost cover change to inform adaptation mechanisms, including infrastructure needs. A lake that drained due to permafrost degradation and the indigenous people losing their traditional fishing spot. 48:00 - 55:30 The role of space-based earth observation (EO) in climate adaptation. Characterization of vegetation to inform the change dynamics and to identify potential permafrost sites (correlating the distribution of permafrost with a specific type of vegetation). Letty getting curious about the connection between peatland and permafrost (through wildfire-induced destabilization of the black spruce trees that collaborate with moss and lichen to perpetuate the usual cycle of life that now stands threatened…most likely to be an episode in season 1). The conversation continues with the use of drones to develop orthomosaics and digital elevation models (DEMs) of areas in the far north where satellite imagery is scarce or blurry! Can get the depth of the peat and the flow direction of water to better understand the impact on permafrost (the latter suffers in the presence of the former because water brings along its heat source that accelerates thawing). Perhaps another opportunity for water heatmaps (hydrological network that could potentially drain the permafrost in northwestern Canada).  55:30 - 1:01:25 How can we contribute to his research effort and other local efforts (their webpage: Yukon University Research Centre). A key stewardship message for his listeners. Letty learns that her leave-no-trace, responsible tourism efforts are threatening at best! 1:01:25 - 1:03:52 Letty trying really hard to give thanks by singing O Canada (French version). --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/goanonthego/message

This episode is about Letty's first actual vacation since 1997. It took her 25 years to allow herself to take some time off. She woke up at her regular time (04:20 - 04:45), sat on her rocking chair, sipped her regular chai/tea with ginger, cloves, and fennel seeds, and then watched the sky, snow, trees, birds, and squirrels dance in unison.  This morning ritual wasn’t new, but it felt like one because she didn’t have to prepare for the rest of the day. No chatter to respond to, no flames to put out, and no mask/hat to wear.  Just examine the question that I evaded for the last 25 years… What would Letty do and who would Letty be if money wasn’t a constraint, but a wieldy tool? She would write the first volume on Arctic HOWLs, listen to the wilderness that’s north of the 60th parallel, learn to figure skate, and dive again into observability, software supply chain, and developer-centered products. And this week, she designed a new routine for pretty much all of that - minus plucking up the courage to start figure skating at 37 ;) After experimenting with radical transparency and releasing the first five episodes of my podcast, Letty will close Season 1 of Arctic HOWLs. Looking forward to recouple her new routine with the old one in preparation for Season 2, which is all about Rewilding Finland! This April, Arctic HOWLs will inaugurate its second season with a special guest from Snowchange Cooperative, the face and voice behind the rewilding actions in Finland.  We will introduce you to some traditional wisdom on Earth stewardship and sustainable fishing in Finland. For the Finns who are aware of seine fishing, you could be taking a trip down memory lane and reconnecting with your local fishing communities! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/goanonthego/message

This episode is a message of joy based on feedback from one of the listeners of Arctic HOWLs. Yay, I cannot believe that there are folks out there who listen to this podcast. Thank you for your feedback, and I have created this episode just for you and others who would like to hear about the meaning of the name that gave me this purpose. This episode was recorded before episode 4, but it was published after it. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/goanonthego/message

This episode is about some random musings by your host, Leticia/Letty, as she looks back at the last 37 years of her life on the third rock from the sun! She is the Queen on Tangents, and she wants to use this episode to ramble unabashedly!  Here's what we'll cover in this episode: - Some draft cuts of episode 3 (The Podcast Cover Art) and Letty's experiment with radical transparency - The influence of Northern Canada, her first language, and getting closer to Suomi through the Savo cookbook - Setting the context for this episode and her four precious gifts before her 37th birthday on world water day - Some canine and feline friends from the streets of Goa, and the reason why Mar 22 became a special day - The true blessing of having a mentor to accelerate learning, growth, flexibility, grace, and effortless living  The background music that you might hear for about 1.3 minutes (starting at 06:29) is from this YouTube video. Letty used the French version of O Canada for her rehearsal. Also, geriatric hemiplegia, stroke multimorbidity, and polypharmacy matter to Letty. If these topics are of interest to you, feel free to check out Letty's documentation of her mom's life after stroke on this Instagram account: Geriatric Relearning After Stroke-Induced Paralysis (GRASP) | Geriatric Hemiplegia  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/goanonthego/message

This episode covers the meaning and story behind the five elements that make up the new cover art of Arctic HOWLs.  Thanks to Pixabay for three of the five elements. Thanks also to https://imagetosketch.com/ for helping Letty convert the images to colored pencil sketch and to https://pencilsketch.imageonline.co/ - for the grayscale pencil sketch. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/goanonthego/message

This episode is about my big Why!?! It’s about what makes this endeavor so special to Letty. It’s the story behind the trailer of this podcast! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/goanonthego/message

This is the first episode of my podcast. But instead of talking about my big WHY, I want to dedicate this episode to the folks behind Anchor who eliminated the entry barrier for me…and there’s some rambling and croaking too! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/goanonthego/message

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/goanonthego/message