Work that addresses the cumulative impacts of resource extraction on environment, community, and health is necessarily large in scope. This paper presents experiences from initiating research at this intersection and explores implications for the ambitious, integrative agenda of planetary health. The purpose is to outline origins, design features, and preliminary insights from our intersectoral and international project, based in Canada and titled the “Environment, Community, Health Observatory” (ECHO) Network. With a clear emphasis on rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, environments, and health, the ECHO Network is designed to answer the question: How can an Environment, Community, Health Observatory Network support the integrative tools and processes required to improve understanding and response to the cumulative health impacts of resource development? The Network is informed by four regional cases across Canada where we employ a framework and an approach grounded in observation, “taking notice for action”, and collective learning. Sharing insights from the foundational phase of this five-year project, we reflect on the hidden and obvious challenges of working across scales, sectors, and sites, and the overlap of generative and uncomfortable entanglements associated with health and resource development. Yet, although intersectoral work addressing the cumulative impacts of resource extraction presents uncertainty and unresolved tensions, ultimately we argue that it is worth staying with the trouble.

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This research sought to explore the perceptions of health and well-being for women in a rural and remote northeastern British Columbia community experiencing intense social, ecological, and economic change as a result of its dependence on natural resource extraction. Designed as a qualitative inquiry into the health of local women, this research is informed by social constructivism, feminist theory, and ecosystems approaches to health. Engagement with participants and data collection was heavily influenced by Appreciative Inquiry, a strengths-based approach that identifies assets within a given system with the aim of contributing to positive change. Findings indicate that equitable access, perceptions of people and place, and leadership, communication, and collaboration are factors that strongly impact women's health and in this context. The insights gained through the research suggest that integrative approaches to equity for women's health and well-being can lead to improved health and well-being for women and their communities. v