Ecology

We collaborate with local Indigenous experts, governments and organizations to develop ecological inventories, monitoring programs and management plans that are scientifically rigorous, culturally relevant and effective tools for decision making in fast-paced, complex governance environments.

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What We Do

Our work is applied in a range of contexts including environmental assessment and other regulatory processes, policy development, protection of species at risk, conservation management planning and the development of Indigenous community-led monitoring programs (e.g. Indigenous Guardian Programs). We work closely with managers and decision makers in the design and implementation of research methods that respect Indigenous knowledge systems within these contexts. Our team has successfully implemented interdisciplinary approaches that meet established standards for ecological field work.

Experience

We believe that Indigenous governments and organizations ought to have access and authority over the application of scientific methods used to monitor, manage and mitigate human impacts on the environment. We prioritize working with Indigenous Knowledge Holders, Leaders and program administrators to develop data collection techniques and produce valued information through technical analysis that is informed and guided by customary laws and protocols.

Training

We provide training for Nations to conduct baseline inventories that reflect community values and priorities. We also support the development of community-led monitoring programs that use values, indicators and ecological thresholds that respect community protocols for looking after the lands and waters.

Contact

Carly Armstrong

PhD Indigenous Environmental Studies

Remote - Peterborough, ON

Email: carly.armstrong@firelight.ca Phone: (604) 355-2382

"We use our expertise to support the vision of Indigenous Nations as they lead, co-create and demonstrate good governance over human behaviours affecting the environment that we are all dependent upon."

Pamela Perreault

Business Lead and Member of Garden River First Nation

Example Projects

Tlicho Highway Monitoring

Since 2020, Firelight has supported the development and implementation of the Tłı̨chǫ Highway Wildlife Monitoring Program. To meet the requirements of the Environmental Assessment measures for the Tłı̨chǫ Highway, the Program focuses on collecting information to support the Tłı̨chǫ Government in considering and negotiating mitigations related to habitat and harvest of boreal caribou, barren-ground caribou, and moose. In particular, this work aims to determine changes in harvesting pressure following construction of the road, determine effects on the road to habitat, and to develop a Tłı̨chǫ monitoring and reporting program. Firelight’s role has been to support Tłı̨chǫ Government in organizing and facilitating knowledge holder advisory committee meetings, developing monitoring and harvester reporting methodologies, training community researchers, in-field data collection support, data management, and drafting Program reports.

ACFN-MCFN Caribou Stewardship Plan

After Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) and Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN) leadership identified that it is a critical time to move forward with a plan for protecting and recovering boreal caribou within their traditional territories, Firelight was selected to work alongside the two Nations to develop a joint boreal caribou stewardship plan based in Indigenous knowledge. The Tâdzié-Atihk Stewardship Plan is the result of these efforts, and was developed by ACFN and MCFN with guidance from Dené and Cree knowledge holders and elders. This work included focus groups, direct-to-digital mapping interviews, site visits, and spatial data analysis to delineate stewardship zones and actions, drawing on Indigenous knowledge and underpinned by the best available scientific information. As an Indigenous knowledge-based plan, the Tâdzié-Atihk Stewardship Plan fundamentally upholds and respects the rights of ACFN and MCFN to steward values and resources within their territories in northeastern Alberta, while ambitiously meeting federal boreal caribou range planning requirements. The Nations are now working to implement the Tâdzié-Atihk Stewardship Plan in their shared homelands. The full plan can be read here: https://www.acfn.com/acfn-mcfn-tadzie-sagow-atihk-stewardship-plan

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Blueberry River First Nations Freshwater Monitoring

Since 2018, Firelight has continued to provide support for Blueberry River First Nations in the development, coordination, and implementation of independent freshwater monitoring and collaborative data collection for the Blueberry River Watershed. The foundation of this work is based in BRFN knowledge and use – building on the outcomes of a traditional knowledge study focused on characterizing cultural use and impacts along streams, and the development of criteria for healthy streams and waterways based on BRFN cultural values and indicators. This work has since expanded to include the implementation of monitoring activities by BRFN staff and field technicians, using a combination of Indigenous knowledge indicators and standardized western science methods. Through partnerships with the STREAM Program and iTrackDNA Project, BRFN members have received training and certification in Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) protocol for wadeable streams, and environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling. The outcomes of this work are intended to help inform reciprocal restoration – the mutually reinforcing restoration of land and culture - for streams in BRFN territory.