Climate, Land, and Water

Transforming education of present and future chemicals risk professionals

Dayna Rachkowski (MA), Dr. Maria Jose Athie Martinez, Noah Depner (MSc), Dr. Niiyokamigaabaw Deondre Smiles - UBC.

Indigenous knowledge and perspectives are in deep connection to land, however the impact of pollution caused by chemicals affecting humans and more-than humans is defined without taking Indigenous expertise and interrelation to land into consideration. The project “All Our Chemical Relations” brings Indigenous innovation by orienting new solutions before the fact (chemical exposure and harm) looking at ways in which we can champion Indigenous knowledges and sciences to the forefront of chemicals management practices. Our project focuses on developing educational material for present and future chemicals management professionals with Indigenous expertise and decolonial approaches. This project is subdivided in 3 phases: 

1. Listening: Learning what type of education is needed from educators, scientists, Indigenous scholars, and Indigenous communities, via co-creation/focus groups and interviews. 
2. Creating: developing the educational material based on the listening phase. 
3. Piloting: Pilot educational materials in post-secondary courses or professional training programs, and making improvements based on feedback and observations. 

In this session we will present the preliminary findings of the 1st phase of listening and provide insight of our intended next steps, with an opportunity to gain feedback from those attending.

Transforming chemical risk with Indigenous knowledge

Linda Toulouse, TEK Elder; Caroline Recollect, TEK Elder; Mary Wemigwans, TEK Elders; Susan Chiblow, TEK Elders Helper

The Traditional Knowledge Elders are demanding a moratorium on the use of glyphosate in their territory. An Elder will share knowledge of the damage from this chemical and an Anishinaabe scholar will share a research project developed to assist with transforming chemical risk.

Pathways to Nature-Based Climate Solutions: Translational Ecology for Indigenous-Led Ecosystem Carbon Measurement 

Brennan Vogel, Kendell Wegg, Cathal Doherty 

Effective Nature-based climate solutions (NbCS) currently rely on rigorous Western frameworks for Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MMRV) that serve international and academic standards. While Indigenous-led stewardship plays a pivotal role in biodiversity and climate resilience, these stringent guidelines often create a disconnect between high-level policy and the operational realities faced by practitioners on the ground. This presentation explores pathways to remove barriers to the implementation of NbCS in Indigenous communities through the creation of accessible resources that guide ecosystem carbon measurement .

Drawing on our collaborative work with Indigenous partners across Canada, we present insights grounded in the experience of Land Guardians and Indigenous communities. We highlight specific successes of current projects and expose real and potential barriers that overly complicate the implementation of NbCS to support community projects and goals. Moving beyond the “what to do” of monitoring guidelines, we address the project “how-to’s” through a translational ecology framework designed to reduce technical barriers to entry for NbCS projects.

In support of the data sovereignty of Indigenous communities, we showcase open-source, implementation-ready ecosystem carbon measurement tools that automate complex statistical and methodological assumptions. By providing educational resources, ready-to-use guides, and geospatial tools, we demonstrate how communities can bypass the need for additional expert support. This allows practitioners to navigate standard MMRV guidelines, supporting Indigenous land management objectives and ultimately leading to more effective NbCS.

Indigenous Innovations and (STEM) Relations with/as Place

Meredith Lemon, University of Victoria Jennifer Thom, University of Victoria Ed Doolittle, First Nations University Florence Glanfield, University of Alberta Stephanie LaFrance, University of British Columbia Cynthia Nicol, University of British Columbia

Humans have learned from and with Earth for millennia. However, in many ways, dominant culture has lost sight of the more-than-human world as First teacher (Abram, 1996; Cajete, 2000; Simpson, 2014). This is especially true when it comes to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Generally taught and learned as abstract knowledge detached from land/place, STEM further contributes to environmental and cultural degradation (Bowers, 2016). This qualitative conceptual curricular inquiry (Green, 2018) looks to Indigenous and ecological perspectives to help re-member the importance of and innovation made possible when learning from place. To do so, we analyze, critique, extend and add on ‘new’ concepts to notions of STEM (Green 2018). As an emerging discourse, STEM as place (Nicol et al., 2023a, 2023b) draws on conceptions of mind (intelligence) as immanent in place (Bateson, 1972) and fosters “relearning what it might mean to listen and what it is that we deem worthy of listening to” (Latremouille et al., 2021, p. 14) to learn with place.

The proposed presentation explores ways in which attending to place as a part of listening can enable deeper understandings of place and in doing so, inform STEM education. Important to this work is Papaschase Cree Donald’s (2019) description of the world as “relational, animate, and sacred” (p. 158) which gives rise to Indigenous ideas and meanings for STEM as place (TEDx Talks, 2022). Understanding STEM as place, as framed by Donald (2019), prompts consideration for: long-term relationships with place that recognize Earth as first teacher and enact patterns that sustain life; understanding potential STEM possibilities as enabling relations inherent in nature - specifically those which are inherently recursive; language that conveys the agency, intelligence, and animacy of humans and the more-than-human world; principles, technologies, and pedagogies conducive to life.

Assessing Sources of Mercury to Arctic and Subarctic Soils using Mercury Stable Isotopes

Brianna Barnhart, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, University of Toronto

Although northern regions are usually far removed from point sources, long range atmospheric transport of mercury has led to the continuous accumulation of mercury in Arctic soils, ice, and water bodies, with permafrost accumulation estimated to be one of the largest sinks of mercury on the surface of the planet. Due to warming, mercury stored in permafrost soils is prone to mobilization because of enhanced erosion driven by thawing and increased exposure to air and water. It is now recognized that mercury pollution in Arctic aquatic ecosystems will increasingly be controlled by changing permafrost landscapes (and not changing external sources), with unknown impacts on wildlife bioaccumulation.

We measured mercury concentrations and isotopes in five northern soils profiles that included two peat sites and three permafrost sites, one of which is a thaw slump. The non-thaw slump sites soil profiles had clear mercury trends with shallower layers having higher organic matter, higher mercury concentrations, and more negative odd-mass independent fractionation (MIF). Whereas the deeper layers had lower organic matter, lower mercury concentrations, and no measurable odd-MIF. Mercury isotopes indicate mercury source change with depth. The shallower negative odd-MIF supported the mercury was dominated by mercury associated with vegetation derived organic matter. This mercury was derived from uptake/adsorption of atmospheric gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) by vegetation (and possibly direct adsorption of GEM into soils). In the deeper sections, the lack of MIF suggested that mercury was geogenic/bedrock source dominant. Based on negligible even-MIF, deposition of mercury (2+) species appears not to be an important source to any of the soils in this study. The thaw slump site did not have mercury concentration or isotope trends, with relatively constant mercury concentrations and negligible odd-MIF even in the shallow layers. This suggests that perhaps the vegetative derived mercury remobilized and only geogenic mercury remains.

Decolonizing Natural Capital Accounting: Centering Indigenous Perspectives in Canada’s Sustainability Discourse

Russell (Rusty) Evans, University of Guelph

Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) is increasingly promoted as a sustainability and climate policy tool for integrating environmental values into economic decision-making. Grounded in frameworks such as the UN’s System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA), NCA seeks to quantify nature in physical and monetary terms. While adopted by governments in Canada and elsewhere, these approaches have been widely criticized for failing to meaningfully engage Indigenous Peoples, knowledge systems, and governance structures.

This session offers a critical, Indigenous-centered examination of NCA through the lens of Anishinaabe environmental ethics and Indigenous science. Drawing on Indigenous studies, ecological economics, and critical accounting scholarship, the presentation explores how dominant accounting frameworks risk commodifying land, marginalizing relational values, and reinforcing colonial approaches to environmental governance. At the same time, the session considers whether pathways exist for respectful engagement through concepts such as Ethical Space, Two-Eyed Seeing, and Indigenous-led co-management.

The paper presented is conceptual, but intentionally positioned as the foundation for a broader, community-engaged research stream. Future work will involve surveys, interviews, and participatory research with Indigenous knowledge holders, leaders, and practitioners to better understand Indigenous perspectives on sustainability metrics, environmental accounting, and the potential role of tools like NCA in supporting Indigenous-defined sustainability goals.

This session will be of interest to Indigenous scientists, sustainability researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners working at the intersection of land stewardship, climate action, and Indigenous governance. It invites dialogue on how sustainability tools can be re-imagined in ways that respect Indigenous sovereignty, knowledge systems, and responsibilities to land.

Assessing Presence of Migjigj (Turtles) in Central Gespe’gewa’gi (Northern New Brunswick), Using Two-Eyed Seeing and Environmental DNA

Katelyn Augustine, University of New Brunswick, Metepenagiag First Nation

Turtles are culturally significant to the Mi’gmaq People (Parks Canada, 2022). Many turtle species are listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) (Species at Risk Act, 2002). Currently, there are a limited number of recorded turtle populations in northern New Brunswick (Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development, 2023; Environment Canada, 2016; Harvey, 2024). Contrary to this, Mi’gmaw Knowledge indicates that wood turtles had once and may still inhabit a specific watershed in northern New Brunswick (Listuguj Knowledge Holders, 2024). There have also been individual sightings of eastern painted turtles and common snapping turtles reported on the same watershed (Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development, 2023; Harvey, 2024).

This project incorporates Mi’gmaw Knowledge and Western Science through an Etuaptmumg (Two-Eyed Seeing) framework to assess the current status of turtle species on a specific watershed in northern New Brunswick. Interviews will be conducted with Mi’gmaw Elders and Knowledge Holders to collect placed-based Knowledge which will be used to guide the timing and locations of environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling. Mi’gmaw Knowledge, Western Science, and historical documents will be woven together to assess past, current, and potential threats to turtle populations in northern New Brunswick. eDNA will be used to assess the presence-absence of turtle species in the watershed. eDNA is a non-invasive method of detecting a species presence by amplifying species-specific sequences of DNA from environmental samples such as water and soil (Baillie et al., 2019). DNA is amplified through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques (Baillie et al., 2019). eDNA analysis will be conducted using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) as it is sensitive to small amounts of DNA (Lacoursière-Roussel et al., 2016; Roehl, 2019). qPCR is crucial to the project as turtles shed limited amounts of DNA due to their keratinized skin (Nordstrom et al., 2022).

Water Governance North of 60: Interdisciplinary Pathways to Indigenous-Led Water Policy, Climate Resilience, and Community Well-Being

Lindsay Thackeray

Access to safe drinking water is a fundamental human right essential for sustainable development and community resilience. However, many First Nations communities in Canada face chronic water insecurity. A system shaped by colonial governance has separated water management from Indigenous laws, responsibilities and relationships to land and water, resulting in regulatory exclusion and a disconnection from source water protection. This constrains First Nations from exercising locally derived and culturally relevant practices. In northern regions, climate change is intensifying risks to drinking water systems through rising temperatures, wildfires, and changing hydrological regimes. These pressures are particularly acute in small Indigenous communities with unreliable funding, limited capacity, and ill-defined governance arrangements.

Using co-designed and community-based interdisciplinary research with the Sambaa K’e First Nation, a Dene community in the Northwest Territories, this research will explore how climate-driven drinking-water risks, particularly harmful algal blooms, interact with policy gaps in monitoring, response authority, funding, and long-term planning. Methods will include conversations and storytelling with community leadership, land and water staff, and government partners, as well as policy and regulatory analysis of territorial and regional water governance frameworks, including the role of the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board. By centring Indigenous knowledge, values, and governance perspectives, the study reframes water governance around relational responsibilities rather than solely technical compliance.

Findings will offer insights into governance arrangements that uphold Indigenous water rights, support ecological resilience, and inform equitable policy reform. Outcomes will help advance Indigenous water management and governance scholarship and practice by identifying First Nations-led pathways to water security, resilience, and self-determined futures. The research will contribute to broader debates in environmental studies about decolonizing governance, integrating plural knowledges, and advancing policy frameworks that support equitable and sustainable water futures in northern regions and beyond.