Community-Based Climate Monitoring
- Partners: Ulkatcho First Nation, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada
- Location: BC & Alberta
- Date: 2017 to 2021
Ulkatcho First Nation (UFN) is located in the Chilcotin District of B.C. From 2017 to 2021, UFN conducted a study emphasizing community youth training on climate change effects on key ethnobotanical species. Impacts of climate change have already been significant within the UFN Territory (e.g., increasing episodes of wildfires and pine beetle outbreaks). There have already been clear linkages observed between climate change and:
- Social (e.g., wildfire egress challenges);
- Cultural (e.g., changes in species needed for traditional use);
- Ecological (e.g., significant changes in ecosystems within the Territory); and
- Economic impacts (e.g., changes in plant and wildlife species traditionally used within the trade economy).
KES and UFN have worked together to connect Indigenous science with Western science on climate change. The goal is to inform adaptation actions better and build capacity within the Nation that has felt the effects of climate change. The project supports UFN in creating a procedure to monitor climate change indicators effectively. This procedure will provide data to inform community adaptations necessary to address climate data gaps in Canada to improve climate change models. Since 2017, KES has completed the following activities:
- Facilitated project information meetings at the Ulkatcho Nuxalk Get-together in Stuie.
- Ensured Knowledge Holders, elders, and key members’ relationships and participation in the project were recognized and encouraged.
- Planned and implemented the program in coordination with the Lands and Referral Manager and the Employment and Economics Manager.
- Trained members on ecological land classification, monitoring principles, and field safety.