Empowering the next generation of resource management professionals to take charge in their communities. “Don’t underestimate your stories, and tell them proudly.” This is the message that Gord Vaadeland, executive director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Saskatchewan (CPAWS-SK) had to impart upon 31 young people from First Nations communities across Saskatchewan this March.…
“All life is interconnected- but for many, the connection between the people and the land has weakened. If we foster the same respect and appreciation for the land that our Ancestors had, we can restore our own connection and begin to heal ourselves and our Mother Earth.” This was the theme of Michelle Watson’s presentation…
Traditional ecological knowledge (or TEK) is what we call the ecological data that we collect from Indigenous Elders and land-users who have dedicated their lives to understanding the land that they live on. The “traditional” in “TEK” doesn’t refer to the age or the quality or even the type of knowledge. It simply means that…
One of the Prince Albert Model Forest’s joint projects with the University of Saskatchewan’s Community Engaged History Collaboratorium this summer was the authorship of a best practices handbook for use by government, industry, academia, and any other interested third party who wishes to interact with an Indigenous community for research or land-use planning. Follow this…
One of the current ongoing projects here at the PA Model Forest is the range planning for woodland caribou in Northern Saskatchewan’s boreal forests. Planning for the protection of this at-risk species is no small task. Currently, we are out in the field, interviewing Indigenous Elders, land-users, and knowledge keepers to put their traditional ecological…
Prince Albert Model Forest is, first and foremost, about bringing communities together. We work hard to connect people to each other and build the bridges that are necessary to achieve common goals. Often, those goals are related to land management, sustainability, and environmental recovery, restoration, and conservation. The community partners may change, but those things…