Grants and Contributions

The POLAR Travel Grant helps eligible Indigenous and northern residents of the Canadian north and Arctic applicants; to offset the cost of travel to conferences, fora or committee meetings.

The POLAR Travel Grant helps eligible Indigenous and northern residents of the Canadian north and Arctic applicants; to offset the cost of travel to conferences, fora or committee meetings.

The POLAR Travel Grant helps eligible Indigenous and northern residents of the Canadian north and Arctic applicants; to offset the cost of travel to conferences, fora or committee meetings.

The POLAR Travel Grant helps eligible Indigenous and northern residents of the Canadian north and Arctic applicants; to offset the cost of travel to conferences, fora or committee meetings.

The POLAR Travel Grant helps eligible Indigenous and northern residents of the Canadian north and Arctic applicants; to offset the cost of travel to conferences, fora or committee meetings.

This project will investigate how depth-related environmental conditions, such as light and temperature, influence the diversity, functional potential, and gene activity of stromatolite-forming microbial mats in Lake Untersee, Antarctica. By combining DNA and RNA sequencing with metagenomic and transcriptomic analyses, it will reveal how these microbial communities adapt to varying conditions and provide insights into early life on Earth. This research aims to preserve knowledge of these unique stromatolites before they are potentially impacted by climate change.

This project will examine what Inuit frontline mental health workers identify as necessary to sustain and strengthen their roles in Nunavut’s mental health system, which is shaped by colonial legacies, systemic inequities, and a severe suicide crisis. Using in-depth interviews and the Critical Incident Technique, it will center Inuit perspectives to understand key challenges and supports in their work. This research aims to inform more culturally grounded, trauma-informed services and improve recruitment and retention of Inuit mental health professionals.

This project will review how glacier retreat is reshaping northern ecosystems and habitats for culturally important species by developing predictive models for fish in glacial lakes and rivers and assessing wildlife use of newly exposed floodplains. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines remote sensing, fieldwork, and camera traps in partnership with the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, it examines habitat suitability and species expansion under changing climate conditions. This research will improve understanding of ecosystem change and inform conservation and management in rapidly deglaciating regions.

This project will investigate the drivers of an expanding moose population at the edge of its range, examine how these drivers interact across mammal food webs, and compare wildlife activity patterns across latitudes with extreme light conditions. Using camera data and habitat information from northern monitoring programs in collaboration with the Łutsel K’e Dene First Nation, it will model species distributions, community composition, and behavioral patterns. This research aims to support community-informed research and guide land stewardship decisions in the context of rapid climate change.

This project will combine Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit with permafrost and groundwater science to identify and assess landscape indicators of winter groundwater movement that create hazardous overflow areas along overland travel routes in Nunavut. Through field measurements, water sampling, sensors, and camera monitoring conducted in collaboration with local communities, it will investigate why these hazards occur and how they may change over time. This research aims to improve predictions of travel risks and inform local decision-making in the context of Arctic climate change.