Alizé Carrère is a French-

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

climate researcher Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , ''-logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of study ...

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and science communicator. As a

social scientist Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of socie ...

, she studies how humans adapt to changing physical environments, particularly with respect to climate change. Her academic research and filmmaking focus on the theme of human resilience to environmental change. In 2013, while attending

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

Montreal, Canada Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

, she won a grant from

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

and she used the funds to travel to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

to study how farmers were adapting to

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

. Learning of farmers who were using erosional gullies as unique places to grow crops, she went on to study other ways that people were learning to adapt to profound environmental change. She received two additional grants from the National Geographic Society and filmmaker grants from The Redford Center and PBS to support the completion of a film series based on this work, titled ''ADAPTATION''. Carrère is the creator, producer and host of the series, which is distributed by PBS. The first episode documented community adaptations to

sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...

in Bangladesh, such as the use of floating farms, schools and hospitals. The floating farms are made of bamboo and water hyacinth. It won Best Short Film at the New York WILD Film Festival and the Norman Vaughn Indomitable Spirit Award at Telluride Mountainfilm Festival. The second episode examines how an invasive species of freshwater fish, Asian carp, has taken over rivers and lakes in the United States and what communities along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers are doing to manage the problem. Previously she worked for Lindblad Expeditions, designing and leading expeditions around coastal Europe aboard the fleet’s 102-passenger vessel the National Geographic Orion. As a child, Carrère grew up in a

tree house A tree house, tree fort or treeshed is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a han ...

built by her father along the shores of

Lake Cayuga Cayuga Lake (,,) is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area (marginally smaller than Seneca Lake) and second largest in volume. It is just under long. Its average width is , and it is ...

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...

. In 2021, she is pursuing a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degree in Ecosystem Science & Policy at the Abess Center at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

References

External links

Website

Adaptation Series on PBS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrere, Alize McGill University alumni University of Miami alumni People from Ithaca, New York National Geographic Society Cultural anthropologists American climatologists American explorers Living people American documentary filmmakers 1989 births