Abandoned site restoration: Cleaning up
nutshimit and training First Nations members
A joint project with the First Nations of Essipit, Pessamit, Uashat mak Mani-utenam, Ekuanitshit, Matimekush–Lac John and Kawawachikamach.
We’ve been working with several Innu and Naskapi First Nations since 2018 to map, characterize and restore abandoned sites on nutshimit, or traditional lands. These sites are mainly former mining exploration sites, abandoned hunting and fishing lodges and illegal dumps.
Working with members of participating communities, we produced a mapped inventory in 2018. We went out on the land the following year to conduct an environmental characterization of the sites and establish an order of priority for future interventions. We have been carrying out restoration work every since to get the sites as close as possible to their natural states.
Collaboration the key to success
This project is the result of a meaningful collaboration with the First Nations involved. With their knowledge of the land, they were able to help us identify sites of interest and then take us out on the land for the site characterization and restoration work. In exchange, we provided over twenty community members with training on remote first aid, the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) and the SOPFEU (Société de protection des forêts contre le feu) information system.
