Contradictio in terminis?

Why ask 30 people to travel to Wageningen by train, boat or plane to talk about an environmental study? Is this a “contradictio in terminis”; are working on an environmental study and traveling in conflict with one another? I pose this question as Coordinator, responsible for the set-up, execution, and reporting of the INSIGNIA-EU study. These 30 people who came to Wageningen are the INSIGNIA-EU National Coordinators, one of the gear functions in the INSIGNIA radar. Every study depends on the radar; who is responsible and what for?, where? and why? A radar or in other words, the functional connection of persons will only then work if all technical aspects are correct, when persons rely on each other (the sociological aspect), and when protocols are transferred from paper into actual handling and practicing. The first aspect is formal and was done online, but for the for the second and third aspect we need to meet, talk, eat, drink and practice. This 2-day workshop in Wageningen made the foundation for this, and will be continued with a minimum of monthly online meetings, and where applicable personal visits.

But the most important is that we all know what to do and how. That the devil is in the detail is known and true. To tackle this, we covered every aspect of the National Coordinators' task, ranging, to mention only some, from the translation of the Picture Manual into national languages, setting up ways to be in frequent contact with the beekeepers, instruction of the beekeepers, sample labelling, sample storage, sample transport and finances. And it is interesting to see that indeed the devil is in the detail, and that the success of the project might depend on the use of a pencil instead of a ballpoint pen, and whether and why gloves are mandatory or not. This glove is a good example how certain handling can impact the results. Each compound, whether we monitor pesticides, microplastics, heavy metals and air pollutants, has its own matrix that is analysed for that compound. Remember, it is all about the environment. If a beekeeper smokes cigarettes or cigars, there will be extra air pollutants like PAKs and VOCs on their hands, when those hands touch the specific matrix such as the silicone bands, there will be extra pollutants in the bands that do not reflect the environment. As another example, many hand creams contain heavy metals like zinc, so when the matrix, in this case propolis, for heavy metals is touched with bare hands, the propolis will be contaminated with extra zinc that has nothing to do with the environment.

We spent two days going through all these detailed aspects, and are now fully equipped with the knowledge and contact to go for it. The practical study will begin in April, but there is much to do before then. The preparations, and how to make correct interpretations of the results and other aspects of this study, will be the subject of coming newsletters. So in conclusion, traveling and doing environmental research may not by definition be a “contradiction in terminis”.

The photo above shows all the involved National Coordinators prepared to do their job.

Sjef van der Steen, INSIGNIA coordinator