Indigenous communities are increasingly playing an active role in Ontario’s energy sector in the areas of conservation, generation and new, major transmission projects.

We’re at a pivotal point in the evolution of Ontario’s power system. One critical aspect of this transformation is the growing role played by Indigenous communities and organizations in the energy space. Now more than ever before, many Indigenous leaders across Ontario are pursuing projects that support greater energy independence and provide new opportunities.

By developing generation and storage systems, becoming equity partners and leaders in major infrastructure projects, prioritizing energy efficiency as a way to reduce their carbon footprint, and engaging in important conversations about system planning, Indigenous communities are seeking greater autonomy and becoming catalysts for change.

Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is supporting these leaders on their respective energy journeys. Through a variety of different programs and initiatives, we’ve spent more than a decade working with Indigenous communities and organizations to build local energy capacity, including skills and connections.

While there’s still work to be done, developing Indigenous capacity is an important step towards a longer-term goal of achieving fair, equitable and inclusive participation in the energy sector. Ontario is already witnessing the rapid growth of Indigenous-owned and Indigenous-led projects and initiatives in a number of areas, often with funding from the IESO’s Energy Support Programs (ESPs).

While there’s still work to be done, developing Indigenous capacity is an important step towards a longer-term goal of achieving fair, equitable and inclusive participation in the energy sector.

Indigenous energy leadership can be found across Ontario, but one initiative that stands out is the Wataynikaneyap Power Project. Through an innovative partnership between 24 First Nations, Fortis Inc. and other private investors, this multi-year initiative will connect 17 remote communities in northern Ontario to Ontario’s high-voltage transmission system.

To date, more than 20 unique communities and organizations that are part of this project have received over $5.7 million in ESP funding in the areas of energy planning, capacity building and project development, among others.

This landmark project, whose name translates as “line that brings light,” is scheduled for completion by mid-2024. Communities are starting to be connected to the grid, and the project is already creating employment and development opportunities while improving the communities’ environmental performance.

In another example, Fort Severn First Nation — the most northern community in Ontario — powered up a 300-kilowatt solar energy system late last fall. This array is expected to significantly reduce the community’s diesel consumption and deliver more than $300,000 in annual energy savings, which will be used to build much-needed housing.

In addition to delivering economic and environmental benefits, this project has also created well-paying jobs in the community. Going forward, residents hope to build on the progress made to date by installing solar panels on other band-owned buildings and developing wind generation.

Developing the energy leaders of today and tomorrow is an important aspect of this work and a vital contributor to long-term success. In partnership with Opiikapawiin Services LP and Relay Education, we will launch the Plugged In to a Brighter Future program this year. This program will provide hands-on training to youth in Wataynikaneyap owner communities with the goal of building their energy knowledge and developing their skills for future employment in the energy sector or a related field.

A reliable supply of electricity can power opportunities. Indigenous leadership is an essential component of Ontario’s clean energy transition — and the momentum for change continues to build, delivering valuable results for communities and for the province as a whole.

The post Powering Progress: Why Indigenous Energy Leadership in Ontario Matters appeared first on HiveInnovates.

As a co-founder of a thriving business and the first Indigenous certified Communication Management Professional, what does representation mean to you?

Representation in the communications profession means that more people are being seen and heard by organizational leaders everywhere. More diversity among communications professionals means more people listening to and raising the voices of those who are often excluded from the broader conversations held by predominantly cisgendered white folks.

Representation in the profession means we can have difficult conversations around systemic racism and more positive conversations around how to be more anti-racist in our day-to-day work. These are tough conversations to have, but they’re critical to making our workplaces and broader cultures more diverse and inclusive.

Why is diversity in the workplace important?

I’m a firm believer that more diversity in the workplace means more innovation and creativity. An office full of people who all look the same and come from similar cultural backgrounds runs the risk of people conforming and ultimately groupthink.

As an Indigenous communicator, I’m keenly aware that introducing diverse voices into organizational networks can shake things up inside the workplace.

Being well-versed in the corporate sector, where do you see gaps or barriers to entry for Indigenous professionals or Indigenous-owned businesses, and how do you think we can mitigate this?

I’m very pleased to see the increased focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) inside organizations. However, there are still significant gaps in recruiting and retaining Indigenous talent. This is partly due to a growing talent pool that’s still being nurtured, but also due to organizations not adopting long-term strategies to nurture diverse talent and promote them throughout the organization. Personally, I left an organization because I only encountered barriers to my desire to enter leadership roles. I could only move horizontally, not vertically. This ultimately caused me to resign and grow my skill set on my own. In cases where people leave on these terms, it’s only to the detriment of the organization — and I think organizational leaders need to start recognizing that this happens a lot, and they need to stop letting talent walk out the door.

Do you have any additional recommendations for a more inclusive Canadian business landscape?

I have a couple of recommendations for a few more inclusive Canadian business landscape. First, develop or re-evaluate your DE&I practices. Make sure that DE&I isn’t housed in one department but embedded across the entire organization. DE&I should become part of your daily practice — not just a philosophy or strategy.

Second, give deep and meaningful consideration to how your organization is responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action. These calls to action are more than a document with ideas, but a map for a pathway forward for organizations to build more respectful nation-to-nation relationships with Indigenous people.

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Tell us about yourself and your advocacy work through your social platforms.

My name is Michelle Chubb. I’m 24 years old and from Winnipeg, Man. I’m originally from Bunibonibee Cree Nation, north of Manitoba. It’s always been a passion of mine to change the narrative for Indigenous people because of my upbringing and experiences in Winnipeg. Using platforms like TikTok and Instagram have helped me get points across to prevent misrepresentation and misinformation from spreading.

How has social media helped support a movement of representation?

It has helped so much for me, especially within the last year as I joined TikTok. A lot has changed and it seems like more people are engaging and interested in learning and helping, which I’m very happy about.

How do you feel that representation helps others to embrace their cultures?

I think it helps heal the person wanting to reconnect with or embrace their culture because so many cultures have been suppressed for so many years by colonialism. It feels like an honour and a mission of going on the right path to unity.

Having recently taken part in numerous campaigns, what have these brand collaborations meant to you?

The collaborations I’ve been a part of have made the Indigenous community feel seen and uplifted — I know I felt that. It’s such a relief knowing that your people are finally being heard. It gives me hope knowing that I’m on the right path to helping the community out.

Why do you feel that it’s important for organizations to actively foster diversity and representation?

I think it’s important to break away from the chains of colonization and to be represented in a way that’s authentic — not in the same way as Pocahontas or the names or mascots of some sports teams. It’s a step forward in creating harmony between the different views that people have of Indigenous people.

The post How Social Media Is Fuelling Advocacy and Driving True Change appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Sandra Odendahl

Vice President of Social Impact & Sustainability at Scotiabank

As we chart the course for Canada’s Indigenous future, we must look at the challenges and barriers that have hindered Indigenous self-determination with clarity and honesty.

Education is one of the greatest drivers of generational change. Yet today, only 53 percent of Indigenous youth are graduating high school, with fewer still going on to post-secondary education. Even for those indigenous students who are on the path to higher education, the financial burden and lack of institutional support can be daunting.

“There’s this misconception that all Indigenous people have all kinds of funding available to them for post-secondary education,” says Mike DeGagné, President and CEO of Indspire, an indigenous national charity focused on educational investment. “People think that all Indigenous students will get a full ride to university. That’s not the case at all. Programs and services to specifically support Indigenous people are still relatively new, and most Indigenous people identify funding as the key barrier to pursuing post-secondary education.”

“At the heart of every Indigenous initiative, since we were given the vote in 1960 through today, is the desire for self-determination. Education and career preparedness are absolutely critical to realizing that self- determination.” — Mike DeGagné, President & CEO of Indspire

Partnerships are the key to success

Policy initiatives at the governmental level, and activism at the community level, have driven significant improvements in Indigenous educational opportunity over recent decades. But real change requires a broad degree of cooperation across all sectors. Scotiabank, despite its global presence, credits partnerships with community-driven groups like Indspire as essential to the success of its social initiatives.

“When we think about how to use our size and influence to help drive change, we’ve got to pick something where we can see the ability to inspire other people and support other groups to take action,” says Sandra Odendahl, Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainability at Scotiabank. “We really can’t make as big of an impact without the help of the experienced and knowledgeable organizations and individuals who do this literally every day. When we spoke to the Indspire team about their ideas for a partnership, they showed us that education is the most significant way of ensuring social and economic prosperity for Indigenous people — period.”

With its new $500 million ScotiaRISE initiative to promote economic resilience among disadvantaged populations, Scotiabank is doubling down on its commitment to helping organizations like Indspire grow educational and economic opportunities.

“Scotiabank is looking to make sure that more of our students are graduating from high school and transitioning into post-secondary education,” says DeGagné. “They’re supporting our scholarships and our aspirational initiatives like the Soaring program, giving people an opportunity to think about careers and a future that they wouldn’t ordinarily think about. It supports our Excellence program at the Indspire Awards and our national gathering. And it’s also investing in the career advancement side, which is super exciting. This is the part that I’m most looking forward to working with them on.”

Pouring the foundation for a stronger future, today

Much progress has already been made in pulling down the systemic barriers and historical impediments to educational achievement for Indigenous youth. But there’s still a long way to go, and getting to somewhere we can be proud of requires an honest appraisal of our past and an optimistic approach to our future.

“I want people in every sector to be writing a speech they hope to give 30 years from now,” says DeGagné. “We want to be able to say that the lives of Indigenous people, and their contributions to Canadian society, have improved dramatically and it’s all because of changes we made 30 years ago in 2021.”

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ECO Canada’s work and training programs ensure all Canadians have an opportunity to participate in the growing environmental sector.

Over the next decade, the demand for skilled talent in the environmental sector is expected to grow exponentially, with 173,000 job openings by 2025 alone. ECO Canada is the steward for Canada’s environmental workforce and is dedicated to helping to meet this demand by connecting environmental employers with skilled talent, providing workforce training programs, recognizing competencies with the only national environmental professional certification, and identifying workforce gaps within the industry through statistical research.

Funded by the federal government (as part of Canada’s Integrated Work Learning Strategy), ECO Canada has been offering wage subsidies to eligible employers for the past 20 years. In partnership with industry, academia, practitioners, and various other stakeholders, ECO Canada aims to support Canada as a global leader in innovative workforce solutions and job creation.

Ensuring Indigenous representation in Canada’s environmental sector

One of ECO Canada’s mandates is to nurture an inclusive workforce and ensure the representation of Canada’s Indigenous populations. “We work closely with Indigenous communities throughout Canada,” says Kyle Sims, Manager of Professional Services and ESG at ECO Canada.

One initiative is BEAHR Indigenous training programs for local workforce development. “Our BEAHR Indigenous training programs help break down barriers to employment and build job-ready skills through both field and classroom-based training programs that take a two-eyed seeing approach, braiding traditional knowledge with western science,” says Sims.

Since 2006, ECO Canada has delivered over 270 BEAHR training programs in partnership with over 220 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities across Canada. The courses are tailored to meet the needs and priorities of the respective communities as well as the local employment demands of that geographical area.

BEAHR students graduate ready to enter the environmental sector in junior roles and are eligible for wage funding through Canada’s Science and Technology Internship Program, where additional funding is available for those in remote areas to help with training, transportation and other costs. This program helps leverage graduates into environmental careers and is available to people aged 30 and under who are hired for full-time, permanent environmental positions related to natural resources.

Another of ECO Canada’s employment programs, the Science Horizons Youth Internship, offers wage subsidies up to 80 percent for employers who hire recent graduates for full-time roles in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines.

Making a valuable contribution to protecting Arctic habitat and wildlife

Chukita Gruben is one of the Science and Technology Internship’s participants. Since July 2020 she has been working for the Joint Secretariat in Inuvik, NT as a Junior Resource Coordinator, where she’s responsible for providing administrative, communications, and outreach support. She’s also helping to coordinate two active projects in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region — the Beluga Habitat Program and the Coastal Restoration Project, both funded by the Government of Canada.

“The communication, outreach activities, and projects I’m leading here have really helped me grow my network, and since I joined the Joint Secretariat, my role also includes assisting other resource people and helping to get youth more aware, engaged, and connected to the environmental issues we face,” says Gruben. “This wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for ECO Canada’s funding. Looking to the future, she hopes to continue in the environmental sector, working to protect and preserve Arctic wildlife.

ECO Canada would like to thank their funders for making these programs possible.

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Mediaplanet recently spoke with Candice Batista, an award-winning Environmental Journalist, the Editor-in-Chief for The Eco Hub, and one of Canada’s leading eco advocates for her thoughts on mindful living.

You have passionately advocated for “mindful living” what does this term mean to you, and how can those who are not well-versed in sustainability apply this principle to “clean up” their lifestyle?

Mindful living can mean many different things to many different people. Right now we see the term used in the self-care space. But for me, in the eco-space it means being connected to the things I buy at a deeper level. Mindfulness is the understanding that everything that I bring into my home has an impact on the natural world, from how it’s extracted, manufactured, used, and ultimately discarded at the end of its life. 

The slow food movement is a good example. It’s all about connecting to the food we eat, connecting to the people (farmers) who grow the food, talking to them about how/where the food is grown. Is the food organic? Are the farmers being paid for their work? Are they working in safe conditions? Are they being treated fairly?

The concept of mindful living is applying these types of questions to every facet of your life. Asking yourself, who made my clothes? What kinds of materials were used? What am I going to do with this when I am done with it? It’s being mindful of the full cycle of those items. We live in a consumer-based society and it can be a real challenge to make more mindful or sustainable choices, but if we take a moment to think before we buy, we actually have more power than we think!

If you are just getting started, be patient, this kind of lifestyle takes time and energy, and there is no perfection. It’s work, and you have to find what works for you. 

Something which you have specifically highlighted as an area for improvement within the greenspace is inclusivity – in your opinion, what changes need to occur to ensure greater BIPOC representation?

We live in a very connected world. Most of us have access to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok where information is created and shared by all types of people from different backgrounds, all educating and informing us on issues related to social justice, environmental racism, and racial justice. Traditionally, the green living or zero-waste movements have been represented in the mainstream media by mostly white women (and men) and have completely ignored the voices and views of Black, Indigenous, and people of colour as well as marginalized and minority communities.

We don’t have to look far to find instances where people of colour have been impacted by environmental racism here in Canada, for example: an open dump in Africville, landfill sites in Shelburne and Lincolnville, a pulp and paper mill in Pictou Landing First Nation, and a pipeline in Sipekne’katik First Nation. A pipeline also runs through Wet’suwet’en First Nation in British Columbia, while in Ontario there is mercury contamination in Grassy Narrows First Nation.

As a white woman in this space, I acknowledge my place of privilege and how it’s allowed me to profit. I see mostly people that look just like me. 

The environmental movement up to now has been focused predominately on conservation which, although important, has left out social justice, and that’s a major problem because it excludes BIPOC representation in the conversation.

We need to see more diversity and we need to hear from people whose experiences in the space are different from our own (the dominant group).

• Diversify your feed on social media, follow BIPOC influencers and creatives, listen and learn from their stories.

• Educate yourself about the lack of diversity in the green space and how it can become more inclusive. Here are some books you may want to read on the matter:
  • Engage, Connect, Protect: Empowering Diverse Youth as Environmental Leaders by Angelou Ezeilo.
  • Environmental Justice in a Moment of Danger by Julie Sze.
  • A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind by Harriet A. Washington.
  • Indigenous Environmental Justice edited by Karen Jarratt-Snider and Marianne O. Nielsen.

• Learn from BIPOC in the green space, support them, share their work and show up for them as much as you can. 

These are just some examples of how you can help, but it’s by no means a comprehensive list. This is a very large subject and one that cannot be discussed in full without the voices of colour within this field. Collectively, we need to think about how we can make a difference. 

Food waste in Canada is higher than any other nation in the world, what role does the Canadian public have in mitigating this issue and what tips do you have for reducing food waste in the home?

The average Canadian wastes 79 kilograms of food at home per year. 61 percent of that food waste happens in households. 

Love Food Hate Waste drives this home with a list of how much food we are throwing out every year: 

• 1,200,000 tomatoes
  
  
• 2,400,000 potatoes
  
  
• 750,000 loaves of bread
  
  
• 1,225,000 apples
  
  
• 555,000 bananas
  
  
• 1,000,000 cups of milk
  
  
• and 450,000 eggs

There are many reasons why this is happening in my opinion. We are buying way too much of it when we shop, mostly because we are very disconnected from where our food comes from: who grew it, how it was raised, etc. 

We are not composting our food scraps, which mostly go to landfills, we are either too lazy or don’t have access to composting at home. 

We are not storing it correctly when we get it home. Your fridge and freezer have drawers and shelves for a reason. If you have a fridge where you can control the humidity make sure it’s set right. Set one drawer with higher humidity and the other with lower. High humidity is for veggies that will wilt such as salad, kale, etc. Low humidity is for items that tend to rot like mushrooms.

Some more easy-to-implement strategies include:

• Stop focusing on “best before” dates. These are for the grocer not the consumer and refer to the quality and its peak freshness. Use your judgement.
  
  
• Use what you have, find recipes for the foods you have left in your fridge or pantry. A quick search on Pinterest will yield a ton of ideas. 
  
  
• Put a basket in the fridge that says, “Eat Me First”, this tip comes from a food documentary “Just Eat It”. 
  
  
• Make a list before you go out to shop and stick to it. But the biggest tip is to preplan your meals and buy what you need for those.
  
  

The post Your Guide to Mindful Living with Candice Batista appeared first on HiveInnovates.

What is Sustainable Forest Management?

Sustainable forest management maintains the long-term health of our forests while supporting the wide range of economic, social, and ecological values we rely upon. Across Canada, sustainable forestry is guided by rigorous regulations that ensure all activities are based on sound science, extensive planning, public and Indigenous consultation, and continuous monitoring.

The role of sustainable forest management has been widely recognized as an important tool in mitigating climate change.  In 2019, the UN’s International Panel on Climate Change stated: “Sustainable forest management aimed at providing timber, fibre, biomass, non‐timber resources and other ecosystem functions and services, can lower GHG emissions and can contribute to adaptation.” It’s no surprise that all levels of government have embraced sustainable forestry as a key component of a carbon-friendly future.

How can Sustainable Forest Management Fight Climate Change?

Trees sequester and store carbon as they grow. Older trees can store a large volume of carbon (the average 80-year-old Canadian tree absorbs 200 kg of carbon over its life); however, as their growth slows, so too does their ability to absorb additional carbon. Conversely, younger trees that are still growing can sequester carbon at a much higher rate. Further, as trees age, they often become carbon sources rather than sinks, either through natural decay or as they become more susceptible to disturbances such as fire and pests.

The carbon implications of aging forests are evident here in Canada – today, our managed forests are net sources of carbon, owing in part to advances in fire suppression during the 1950s that resulted in an older forest than would naturally occur.

Sustainable forest management limits carbon losses associated with natural tree death. Harvesting trees allows sequestered carbon to remain locked up in the form of wood products for far longer than the natural lifespan of a tree. And, for each tree harvested, new trees take root, resulting in an additional carbon benefit. In Canada, forest renewal is required by law.

Additionally, wood products can displace carbon-intensive materials while still providing the range of products we rely on (toilet paper, books, furniture, television screens, renewable energy, etc.). Through innovation, wood is increasingly being used to replace single-use plastics and high-carbon construction materials.

As Canada moves towards a 2050 Net-Zero objective, one thing is certain: our forests, and their sustainable management, is a big part of the solution.

The post Sustainable Forest Management as a Nature-Based Solution appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Shelley Petrie

Program Director, Greenbelt Foundation

A coalition of governments, communities, and non-profits is pushing for greater protection of near-urban nature in the Greater Golden Horseshoe area.

The next phase of a Canadian government commitment to preserve biodiversity needs to target near-urban nature in areas like Southern Ontario, says a coalition working to protect it.

As part of a UN pledge signed by 84 countries in 2020, Ottawa has committed to protect 30 percent of the country’s land and waters by 2030. The federal government has also committed to plant two billion trees nationwide over the same period. The Southern Ontario Nature Coalition (SONC), which includes various community-based conservation organizations, policy experts, and Indigenous engagement specialists, says that vital near-urban natural systems, which contain some of the country’s highest levels of biodiversity, are at risk but that government targets provide an exciting opportunity to protect them. 

Near-urban nature is comprised of the forests, river valleys, wetlands, farmland, and other ecological features that surround and intersect urban communities. This nature provides important ecosystem services like flood control and water filtration.

Among SONC’s leading participants is the Greenbelt Foundation — an independent, charitable organization, which, among other priorities, invests in the enhancement and stewardship of near-urban agricultural and ecological areas in and adjacent to Ontario’s Greenbelt.

Taking a coordinated approach

The Greenbelt Foundation and its partners hope to contribute to a coordinated approach to protecting near-urban nature through a Near-Urban Nature Network identified by SONC. This project uses new federal tools to identify high-value habitats and corridors in order to strengthen near-urban ecosystems and accommodate the migration of plants and animals.

The challenge is that these near-urban areas have fragmented landscapes with a high degree of agriculture and private landownership. To get lawmakers and landowners onboard while also attracting government investment will require a highly-coordinated approach.

With agriculture being a predominant land use in Southern Ontario, members of the agricultural community play an important role in providing habitat and creating ecological corridors.

“Once we pave over farmland, we can never get it back,” says Kathryn Enders, Executive Director at Ontario Farmland Trust, another SONC partner. “There’s a lot of pressure from urban expansion in that area.”

As part of SONC, Ontario Farmland Trust is helping farmland owners establish easement agreements as a strong tool to permanently protect their lands from non-agricultural uses and urban development. Easements can cover any land or property size, and owners can still sell or will their land, but the agreement stipulates that it must remain in agriculture, says Enders.

Stronger policies would help, but it’s important to remember that policy can change when governments change, so we need to find ways to permanently protect farmland.

“Stronger policies would help, but it’s important to remember that policy can change when governments change, so we need to find ways to permanently protect farmland.” she says.

Planting the seeds

One important solution identified by SONC is to plant trees across the region, including in the Greenbelt’s 21 urban river valleys. Doing this will improve flood management capacity and wildlife connectivity. SONC partners estimate that tree-planting investment through the Federal 2B Tree Program could amount to 54 million new trees in the region — enough for a healthier 30 percent forest coverage.

“For new initiatives like SONC to grow and emerge, there needs to be guaranteed and specific funding set aside for near-urban nature restoration, stewardship, and conservation,” says Shelley Petrie, Program Director of the Greenbelt Foundation. “There’s a great deal of conservation activity localized in various municipalities and jurisdictions, but it’s a challenge to coordinate these activities to work collectively on bigger-picture regional conservation.”

Working in tandem with Indigenous communities is key to SONC’s collaborative efforts to realize that bigger picture, she adds. Cambium Indigenous Professional Services joined the coalition as a partner to help create safe and meaningful space for leaders from Indigenous communities to collaborate on the best approaches for protecting the region’s biodiversity.

“Indigenous knowledge systems, science, and other ways of knowing have preserved nature for centuries but aren’t always sufficiently recognized or acknowledged in Western science,” says Petrie. “These are critical perspectives to take into account as we work toward protecting and restoring near-urban natural areas.”

Through its work in developing a plan to protect near-urban nature in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, SONC hopes to begin a national conversation about protecting near-urban biodiversity, apply its findings to other near-urban areas across Canada, and help Canada meet its UN commitments to protect biodiversity in impactful ways.

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As we prepare for a post-COVID-19 future, we know that returning to “normal” is not an option. More action is needed to ensure a safe, equitable, and sustainable future for Canadians.

We can’t allow the COVID-19 crisis to make us blind to other massive challenges that we faced before it began and will still exist after it’s over: dismantling environmental racism, fighting climate change, ending plastic pollution, keeping our water clean, and removing toxic chemicals from the products we use.

A clean and just recovery for Canada means, above all, investing in a society that places people’s health and the well-being of natural ecosystems that sustain all species first. That means that any investments made must advance environmental progress, address environmental justice, and be consistent with Canada’s international environmental commitments.

A clean and just recovery for Canada means investing in:

• A transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy that provides opportunities for people that have often been left behind.
• The protection and restoration of land, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems along with the wildlife that call these places home.
• Banning many single-use plastics, and ensuring the rest don’t end up in our environment and our bodies.
• The replacement of toxic chemicals used in agriculture, consumer goods, and manufacturing with safer alternatives.
• The development of accessible, affordable, and healthy communities and transportation networks.
• A future that prioritizes social and racial justice, economic equity, and well-being, built in partnership with Indigenous peoples and the communities most exposed to environmental harm.

Investments in the Canadian economy cannot be at odds with our collective commitment to a clean and just recovery. With the right investments, we can build an economy and society that are stronger and more resilient than before the crisis began.

“Environmental Defence Canada is in no way affiliated with, or in endorsement of, any participants or sponsors of the following campaign or their messaging.”

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GIWS is dedicated to protecting our precious freshwater resources that we need for the world’s growing demand for sustainable food production, mitigating the risk of water-related disasters such as floods, droughts, and fires, predicting and forecasting extremes of global change through the use of advanced remote sensing and modelling techniques, and co-creating traditional knowledge with western science towards empowered Indigenous communities in protecting water health.

Find out more about our research, like the projects outlined below, and how you can work and study with us by visiting water.usask.ca.

Decolonization & Indigenization

Lori Bradford

Assistant Professor, Ron and Jane Graham School of Professional Development, College of Engineering, and School of Environment and Sustainability

Contributed by: Community Partners and Lori Bradford, Lalita Bharadwaj, Graham Strickert, Tim Jardine, Karl-Eich Lindenschmidt.

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At GIWS, researchers and community members are working together to help address the challenging water issues experienced by Indigenous communities across the country. Our work includes both community led and community engaged projects that actively support reconciliation.

We are finally catching up to social scientists and humanists in recognizing the value of Indigenous knowledge.

Communication and acceptance is the first step in building empathy. Few early projects in GIWS drove the wider acceptance of arts-based knowledge mobilization as a key stream for researchers to empathize and get to know communities affected by water challenges. Our members organized the action-theatre play called Downstream in 2014-2015 that shared perspectives of what water security means to those living across the Saskatchewan River Basin. Another project named ‘Delta Ways Remembered’, show cased a whiteboard animation video, which tells the story of Elder’s lived experience with water in the Slave River and Delta. The Building Bridges traveling exhibit and our annual GIWS photo contests highlighted our abilities to reflect on our work through different lenses. These projects gained more appreciation and lead us to a path of reconciliation through culturally harmonized artwork and storytelling.

In the past decade, the most important change seen in GIWS is the growing acceptance of epistemological pluralism by faculty trained in the natural sciences. We are finally catching up to social scientists and humanists in recognizing the value of Indigenous knowledge. Our researchers have embraced multiple ways of learning and sharing this knowledge, which has opened the door for others to get on board and accept the validity of this knowledge source.

Beavers and Climate Change

Cherie Westbrook

Professor & Director, NSERC CREATE
for Water Security

Researchers at GIWS have embarked on a new approach called biomic river restoration to achieve stream restoration and enhance stream resilience to climate change. Biomic river restoration leverages the power of biology to influence stream forms and processes; beavers are one example and are nature’s stream restorers to help build, maintain, and adaptively manage habitat enhancing the self-healing capacity of streams.

Beaver dams change how water, sediment, nutrients and energy flow through stream corridors, enhancing both habitat diversity and landscape connectivity. One concern with using beaver dams to restore stream functioning is the risk that they have a higher likelihood to fail during large rainstorms and worsen flood impacts.

GIWS researchers observed that during the Alberta 2013, beaver dams in Kananaskis Country increased water retention and delayed flow to many streams, showing that this natural and transient floodwater storage solution warrants consideration in regional water management strategies. Moving forward, GIWS researchers will enhance the understanding of the incredible variation in beaver dam structures in a hydrologically meaningful way and develop a greater understanding of the density and distribution of beaver dams needed to restore healthy stream functioning and mitigate downstream flooding under a changing climate.

Wastewater-Based Surveillance of Sars-Cov-2 in Support of Public Health Decision-Making

John Giesy

Canada Research Chair in Environmental Toxicology, University of Saskatchewan Toxicology Centre

Kerry McPhedran

Associate Professor, University of Saskatchewan College of Engineering

Markus Brinkmann

Assistant Professor, University of Saskatchewan Toxicology Centre

GIWS researchers, in partnership with the City of Saskatoon and the Saskatchewan Health Authority, have turned to wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) to monitor wastewater influents for SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. Although individual swabtesting has been adopted globally as the gold-standard for acquiring information, swab tests are limited by the fact that symptoms might not appear for as much as five days after infection and do not capture pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic individuals that have the potential to unknowingly infect others and cause severe outbreaks.

Infected persons start shedding SARS-CoV-2 within 24 hours of being infected and by using COVID-19 WBE, the viral signal in the wastewater is one of the leading indicators of impending surges in cases numbers.

By using this information, GIWS researchers and partners have previously warned Saskatoon’s population of upcoming increases in positive cases.

Although monitoring of wastewater influents for viral outbreaks is not an entirely new idea, GIWS researchers have adapted and refined methods for quantification of traces of SARS-CoV-2, which can also be applied to screen for new variants of SARS-CoV-2 and inform the prioritization of public health measures during the regular flu and cold seasons. It has been shown that the viral signal in wastewater was one of the leading indicators of impeding surges in case numbers.

The graph shows the five-day moving average of new COVID-19 cases in Saskatoon (blue line). Data were obtained from Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 dashboard. The orange bars are results of the wastewater-based epidemiolog (WBE), which are expressed as normalized virus loads per 100 milliliters of wastewater as determined using RT-qPCR.

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