Cultural world views can be viewed on a continuum from more individuated to more integrated world views. In an individuated worldview, private, compartmentalized individual, linear, mind based, and contextually independent conception of the world is valued and common, while in a culturally integrated world view, an interconnected, reflective, cyclical or seasonal, mind/body/spirit/heart-based, contextually dependent conception of the world is valued and common . Using the framework outlined in Chávez’s work in education, I draw upon cultural continua seen in individuated and integrated cultural world views developed by the authors, specifically purpose of learning, ways of taking in and processing knowledge, interconnectedness of what is being learned and time. In many ways, the academic world in U.S. culture operates in an individuated framework, where the purpose of learning , underpinned by individual competence, drives goals, and said betterment of humanity. The mind is seen as the primary and preferred conduit of knowledge. Additionally, U.S. college and university curricula are organized primarily in an individuated way, subjects, courses, are compartmentalized and separated. There is an assumption that learning concepts in isolation will lead to greater understanding of how these parts interact within the whole. Undergraduate education tends to be thematically siloed, without introductory seminars explicitly integrating interdisciplinary thinking; the solutions to environmental, global problems rely on knowledge and ways of thinking from a myriad of disciplines. Time is structured by linear tasks that can be measured, and punctuality is linked to respect. These elements of the individuated worldview, driven by individual competence,hydroponic racks the mind being the conduit of knowledge, and linearity of time, was one that I brought into a highly integrated culture.

Part of my education in my dissertation process was understanding and living with a more integrated view of purpose, way of taking in knowledge, seeing the interconnectedness of what is being learned and a relationship-based understanding of time. Identifying with both individuated and integrated cultures, I felt conflicted by the time constraints and individuated view of the research process, especially in regard to time. It was the moment that I incorporated a more integrated worldview that my research became more collaborative, empathetic, and community-driven. A glimpse of an integrated worldview in Hutsulshchyna means that the purpose of learning is based on collective wisdom, for the betterment of the relationships surrounding us – family, community and beyond. The mind, spirit, and body as well as relationships and emotions are important ways of sensing the world and sources of knowledge. Context, connectedness, and belief that understanding how things impact one another within the community will facilitate further connection are central to community life. An example of this integrated worldview, not only present in Hutsulshchyna but also present in Ukraine is toloka, with one of the many definitions defined as collective mutual assistance . Its practice dates to the time of Kievan Rus , and writings show its definitive presence between the 17th -19th centuries . Toloka is a customary way of providing collective mutual assistance typically seen in villages. It is a moral and ethical norm, and usually done by a voluntary group of people for a community member. Its purpose is to provide rapid implementation such as harvesting a plant, building a house, joint grazing of livestock or work for the community. Community members understand that each of them can help themselves only by helping other members of the community. Knowledge creation, in the translational approach, is an iterative process that generates methods to build resilience and practical solutions for all entities engaged in the research process.

Within the broad field of ecology and environmental science, there is a rising acknowledgement of a common practice called ‘parachute science’ in which international scientists or researchers from high-income countries conduct scientific research in lower-income countries, without engaging with local communities or investing in local capacity . Bibliographic analysis of coral reef biodiversity research of scholarly articles in Scopus from 1969-2020, showed that 40% of publications with fieldwork conducted in the Philippines or Indonesia had no local scientist included . ‘Parachute science’ is driven by “outsiders” assumptions, motives, and personal needs, leading to an unfavorable power imbalance between those from the outside and those on the ground” . A translational approach specifically within the dimension of knowledge creation attempts to remedy the negative impacts and structural imbalances of parachute science. Throughout my dissertation process while living in the Carpathian Mountain region, I had opportunities to meet and develop relationships with local community members to aid in knowledge creation. Recalling back to the policy actions taken, co-authorship on a manuscript also serves as way to guide local knowledge creation. Its contribution will be evident in local policy actions spearheaded by co-authors, Maria Pasailiuk and Oleh Pohribnyi in Hutsulshchyna. One of the main goals as a result of this dissertation is its translation to a language and format that serves community members following the CARE principles3 for Indigenous Data Governance . Based on collaborative knowledge curation efforts, my goal is to co-create with Hutsul communities an ethnobotanical database within the culturally traditional Hutsul region, highlighting TEK practices of gathering and managing culturally important species . The co-created eco-cultural reservoir could be based in the Hutsulshchyna Museum in Verkhovyna, and comes at a historically important time, especially as other Indigenous groups in Ukraine are currently facing exile, cultural loss, and religious persecution from a historically colonial neighbor, Russia.

This database will serve as a critical, living knowledge base that documents the ongoing importance of culturally important species for numerous stakeholders including Hutsuls, ecologists, climate adaptation scientists, plant geneticists, linguists, anthropologists, conservationists, and community developers. It is known that the threat of bio-cultural diversity is impending, and the task goes beyond simply creating an inventory of species. Language plays a critical role in maintaining eco-cultural memory. We will document the Hutsul dialect not only focusing on local names but also the descriptive natural-history knowledge . My intent is to focus on endangered endemic species and species that have culturally influenced abundances and distributions. Through this documentation, my hope is to engage, empower and support local communities through biodiversity documentation and stewardship through culturally driven intergenerational learning, using native language-based initiatives . Knowledge creation with community members resulted in the making of a phenological gathering calendar. One of the places where I spent a lot of time was the Kryvorivnia Village Library with head librarian, Katya Yurnyuk. It was with her kindness and guidance that I was invited to go out on gathering trips with a local Women’s Collective . It was during these continual and seasonal gathering trips that I learned more about gathering practices, and various ethnobotanical uses. Additionally, it was through these gathering trips that the inception of a phenological calendar arose. This calendar, still a work in progress, will go through many iterations with community members before dissemination. With threats of climate change noted by community members, this phenological calendar would ground TEK through a community created calendar and serve as a reference point to note phenological changes over time. Facilitating local knowledge creation and curation can empower communities to direct where, in what way, and how knowledge is nested within their communities.Personal actions include lifestyle choices, advocacy, leadership, and role modeling, which can help nurture a culture of resilience . Ecologists can provide leadership and support in areas of funding, subject matter expertise, and transparent dialogue with various stakeholders through science outreach. These individual actions are personal and vary among individuals. For some ecologists, activism and advocacy may be important, forging community resilience to catalyze policy changes, relationship-building, and healing capacity. For others, science outreach and grant writing may be pivotal, providing accessibility of information and resources needed to implement policy changes. The goal is to ensure individual mobility and agency to promote resilience building within communities from a local to global scale.As an interdisciplinary ecologist, I found that access to resources stand as a common barrier facing Ukrainian scientists and researchers. Having funding to implement community projects is difficult. Leveraging my positionality, I strived to secure grants as a way of supporting community driven project ideas. Granting agencies that uphold and ask for intentional, collaborative,microgreen grow rack international work such as Fulbright scholar award and National Geographic grant have provided capabilities to partner with educational and government institutions. By securing a Fulbright scholar award and a National Geographic grant, I can help fund a proposal surrounding the ecocultural restoration of the Stone Pine in the Carpathian Mountains. Both grant agencies will provide research funds that can directly go to the implementation of this project. Vasyl Zayachuk, professor at the Ukrainian National Forestry University and Oleh Pohribnyi, forest scientist at the Hutsulshchyna National Nature Park and head of the NGO, “The Heritage of Hutsulshchyna”, proposed the idea of this ecocultural restoration project. This ecocultural restoration project attempts to address harmful colonial legacies that impacted eco-cultural practices within Hutsulshchyna.

The Austrian-Hungarian Empire, one of many historical colonizers in this region, implemented forestry practices that have negatively impacted the populations of ecologically important and vulnerable species like the Stone pine . Unfortunately, the result of destructive forest management practices of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire is still reverberating today and negatively impacting the forests of Hutsul communities. The Stone pine serves an important ecosystem protection function on mountainsides in addition to being a culturally important species to Hutsuls. This ecocultural restoration project would: 1) expand and strengthen existing monitoring of the endangered Stone pine, 2) support the development of an ecosystem service assessment of the Stone pine habitat, and 3) provide a platform for the development of a Stone pine plantation for ecocultural use. This interdisciplinary approach interweaves both quantitative and qualitative methods that will promote resilience of this diverse socio-ecological system in the Carpathians. It was the time investment that nurtured the development of these relationships that laid the foundation for future collaborative endeavors which could lead to impactful action , as seen with the Stone pine ecocultural restoration project. Securing funding is one of many direct, personal actions that ecologists can take; Others include serving as a subject expert, being an advocate and activist for resilience building within communities as well as taking leadership roles in science outreach . In many ways, the successful completion of my dissertation work took on a translational approach due to the self-evident need for self-education, transparent communication and collaboration, application to policy, integration of community-driven knowledge creation, as well as continual self-reflection on my own individual, personal actions. Self-education and consistent communication and engagement took on larger roles initially than the other dimensions of policy, knowledge curation and individual action. In many ways, it was those two dimensions that helped inform the other dimensions specifically policy as well as knowledge creation. Time constraints remain a common barrier for conducting translational research. The initial four months of self-education along with communication and engagement were a result of an unseen delay in obtaining my resident visa, which in many ways forced me to stay close to a major city. With that delay, I felt the time constraint of my one-year grant and an urgent necessity to begin the formal research process. Nonetheless, I was able to take short trips to the Carpathian Mountain region, reach out to various people and create networks which served valuable in the integrative process of engagement. While I was unaware at the time, this perceived delay ultimately served as a necessary part of the translational approach needed for this collaborative, time intensive work. In total, I spent a total of a year and half over the course of three years, living and engaging with community members. While this is significant, given the scope of work that is still left to do, it is also all-too-brief. Another challenge encountered was the struggle to measure the success of this approach . Co-publication of an article has taken a long time, with the hope that this research is identifying knowledge gaps and resulting in actionable outcomes through regional policy development. Currently, it is preemptive to say what the actionable results will be of the publication and its impact on policy integration in the region. This is the first publication of its kind voicing Hutsul perspective and as Wall et al. suggest, intentional steps taken along the way of the translational approach may be viewed as indicators to eventual success.