The Public Scholar initiative allowed me to reach to a bigger audience by funding an unprecedented meeting between representatives of Academia, Industry and Civil Society, in the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Chile on November 12th, 2018, about the role of Forest Sciences and its application to Restoration of Ecosystems in Mine sites.
The meeting was open to everyone at no cost and it was designed as a series of events. Firstly, I held a Seminar with the following speakers:
1. Liesbeth Van der Meer, Vice President of Oceana (environmental NGO)
2. Dr. Sergio Donoso, Vice-President Association of Forest Engineers pro native Forest (AIFBN, environmental NGO, external collaborator) and Academic of the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Chile
3. Diego Lillo, lawyer and manager of environmental trails linked to mine impacts (FIMA, environmental NGO)
4. Ema Martínez and Juan Sanchez: General Manager of Sustainability and Biodiversity Advisor, respectively, in El Soldado Mine. The seminar can be viewed online (Spanish).
After the talks, I moderated a round of Q&A to ensure the- at times heated- discussion remained honest and productive. We then had a coffee break where I launched a photo gallery showcasing the native species identified throughout my research work, at a Chilean copper mine.
As part of the gallery, I donated 5 wooden printed pictures (including family, scientific name, and distribution of the species, in spanish) to the Faculty and the AIFBN. This is my contribution to educate to a wider audience about the values of these plants that are able to restore damaged ecosystems. Both of the Photo galleries are now part of a permanent exhibition, open to the public, in the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Chile and at the AIFBN Hostel, in Valdivia, Chile.
Finally, we had a workshop where I asked each panelist to lead a small discussion with 1/4th of the attendees about guidelines to be implemented to improve awareness of endemic species in mining sites, policies regarding mine closures or/and participation processes regarding the Chilean Environmental Impact Assessment. They then were rotated to ensure all the groups got to work with each panelist, and their way of tackling the issue.
During the same trip, I was able to present a Conference proceeding about my doctoral research in Planning for Closure, a mine conference that gathered ~270 participants, 16 mine companies and had representatives from 18 countries: Milla Moreno, E & Guy RD. November 8th, 2018. Phytoremediation of tailings from a Chilean Copper Mine. GECAMIN-Chile (Conference proceeding & oral presentation).
PSI also funded the development of this Website to showcase my scholarly and personal work to a wider audience: http://eamimo.cl/. This website will allow me to maintain online presence aiming to connect with the public, in various fronts.
Lastly, I was able to engage with general audience at the Vancouver Public Library (VPL): *Milla Moreno, E. May 10th, 2019. Phytoremediation of tailings from a Chilean Copper Mine. PhD Go Public 2019 Research Talk Series – Event 4. Environment and social justice. Peter Kaye Room, VPL, Central branch (PechaKucha).