Kelly Skinner, a University of Waterloo public health professor, has received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) team grant worth $1.5 million over four years to study climate change and food security action in the Northwest Territories (NWT).
The large research team includes two co-lead investigators – Andrew Spring from Wilfrid Laurier University and Sonia Wesche from the University of Ottawa – as well as co-investigators at these three and other universities, partners at the NWT government, six Indigenous communities from the NWT, and other collaborators.
The study will identify, develop and implement community-driven initiatives to enhance community capacity to plan for and address food security issues in the face of climate change. Addressing these issues involves working with local, regional and territorial partners to promote self-determination regarding food systems.
“Addressing food security is a priority, not only for the immediate well-being of people in the NWT, but also for building stronger, more resilient communities in the face of climate change,” said Skinner. “Knowledge will be gathered and shared across these multiple levels to help develop more effective programs and policies to address food security and climate change crises.