Canadian Connection: Wildfires and Climate Change
Vancouver, Canada
2024, Senior, Interactive & Multimedia
Project Description: My submission is an interactive website where users can learn about how climate change has affected wildfires in Canada, as well as the different impacts of wildfires on Canadian farmers. The website tells the story of how climate change and wildfires had a tremendous impact on the livelihood of my family friends, who are farmers who endured the 2021 Merritt wildfire. To use my website, first you must click through the disclaimer (that ensures you are visiting from a desktop, otherwise the project won’t work), and then read the introductory statement. From here you will press the continue button to access the project. You are then taken to a page with a hand-drawn community, that has numbered buildings. In order, click on each number. Clicking a number will take you to a separate page where you will learn about a specific impact/aspect of wildfires. There will be a back button on each page to return to the main page. After clicking through all 7 numbers, there is a sources button on the bottom left-hand corner to access the sources used for this project. Enjoy!
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Reflection
What inspired my work was how much forest fires have affect me during my summer vacation, which prompted me to look more into the issue and how climate change is involved. I was inspired by how local news stations were covering people's stories and sharing them, and I wanted to do something similar, so I chose to use my family friends' story as the basis for my creative process. I am interested in the arts because they are a form that anybody can access to express themselves, and each piece of art is unique to the individual. The message to the viewers is that climate change can affect everybody, and especially when it comes to forest fires. After doing research on climate change, I have learned that the role of community is vital in supporting anybody who is affected, whether it be by flooding, fires, or loss of livelihood.