I thought it was very nice of Dr. Holand and Dr. Sternstrom’s to come and give us a quick talk about their research at Nord University, especially on such a short notice. Both presentations were very informative and I realized how little I actually knew about Norway and Sweden. It was interesting to know that Norway’s economy relies mostly on oil and fish, more specifically fish farming, which makes sense given that most of their population lives on the coast. I was also unaware of their zoning procedure and how determinants for zoning are placed on a scale that goes from speculation to fact. I thought it was interesting that even if we know a certain endangered species or recreational activity occurs in an area, it is still not enough for a zone to be considered for protection or for a park. The area must be proved important for conservation or recreation in general to be considered a protected area.

Maps are definitely something that Dr. Holand’s and my research will have in common. While I will not be doing some zoning specifically, I am looking at song variation in white-throated sparrows over time but also across the country. Much of my data will thus be presented as maps and will have a geographical and temporal aspect to it. Otherwise, I also gained some insight on zoning, which will be helpful if ever I do end up working in conservation later on.

As someone with very little background in the social sciences, I would have liked a little more background information on Norway and Sweden’s economy and politics, especially for the second presentation. While I did understand how mining impacts wages and regional wealth in Sweden, I had a hard time understanding how it all fitted into planning for a sustainable development in the European Arctic. Dr. Stejenstrom also mentioned that other factors and industries also affected the difference in wages between regions and I would have liked for him to elaborate a bit more and give some examples of those other “factors”. I understand however that they each had only 30 minutes to talk and had to make their presentations short and sweet to finish on time.

Even if they did not have much time, I thought both speakers were very generous in terms of answering questions. They made sure there would be time for questions even if we were told at the beginning that there would not be any question period. They also answered questions well even if they were not necessarily related to their topic or area of expertise. As a follow-up question to the person that asked about environmental consequences of fish farming, I would have been curious to know how does the general public in Norway views fish farming since it is such a big part of their economy.