Grants and Contributions

The Wilfrid Laurier University research team in partnership with the Délı̨nę Got'įnę Government will co-create the knowledge and tools necessary to inform risk-based management and mitigation strategies of cumulative water quality and ecosystem health impacts caused by climate warming, thawing permafrost, and legacy contamination on Great Bear Lake. The research aims to analyze permafrost thaw trends in the Great Bear Lake watershed close to the Délı̨nę community and around Small Lake, and evaluate the vulnerability of drinking water resources and fisheries crucial to the Délı̨nę community.

The Waterloo University researchers aim to continue their collaboration with the Kugluktuk Hunters and Trappers Organization in implementing a telemetry study through the deployment of both acoustic and radio tags to track fish migrations in the Coppermine River. Besides increasing the knowledge of fish movements, spawning and/or overwintering locations, the results will enable the Kugluktuk Hunters and Trappers Organization and environment officers (Government of Nunavut) to advance community-based management of the fishery for char and provide a better understanding of climate and environmental stressors impact on Arctic Char and Dolly Varden.

The Northern Climate Leadership Education Project led by Wilfrid Laurier University and in collaboration with Northwest Territories communities and schools, will engage youth in a one year pilot project in Range Lake North School in Yellowknife, ?ehtseo Ahya School in Delın̨ę, and Kakisa Lake School in Kakisa. The project aims to empower youth and foster a holistic understanding of the climate crisis through culturally appropriate, two-eyed teachings from Indigenous Elders and science, enabling diverse perspectives and knowledge systems in the Northwest Territories. This project will ensure a generation of informed and proactive environmental stewards who can actively contribute to the well-being of their communities and the North as a whole.

In collaboration with the Northwest Territories Geological Survey, and the Aurora Research Institute, the Inuvialuit Land Administration will conduct a four-day workshop to develop a Permafrost Monitoring Network for the western Arctic in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. The workshop aims to co-develop a planning document that establishes a higher level framework for priorities, partnerships, and the identification of technical and operational needs for an effective and sustainable permafrost monitoring network.

Tłı̨chǫ Aquatic Ecosystem Monitoring Program aims to map historic observations and traditional knowledge of local fisheries and gather baseline biological data from four Tłı̨chǫ communities. Through the five day on-the-land fish camp, youth will engage with elders in observing, monitoring and understanding the aquatic ecosystem from the holistic Tłı̨chǫ perspective. In sharing the results through a workshop, community members have a better understanding of important biological aspects of fish, and the health of the aquatic systems.

In response to the need for understanding and aligning research and monitoring of landscape carbon in the North, the Department of Environment and Climate Change of the Government of the Northwest Territories will be hosting a northern landscape carbon workshop with participants from Territorial and Federal governments, Indigenous organizations and communities, and academic institutions and non-governmental organizations. This workshop will inform the development of a five-year landscape carbon management roadmap.

The Northern Science Award is presented annually to an individual or a team who have made a significant contribution to advancing knowledge and understanding of the Canadian North.

The funding received will be distributed to eligible students to help offset the high costs of conducting research in the north.

The funding received will be distributed to eligible students to help offset the high costs of conducting research in the north.

The funding received will be distributed to eligible students to help offset the high costs of conducting research in the north.