Four Innu First Nations collaborate on climate monitoring of berries

Project carried out in collaboration with the Innu First Nations of Ekuanitshit, Nutashkuan, Unamen Shipu and Pakua Shipu.

Since 2021, we have had the honor of accompanying the First Nations of Ekuanitshit, Nutashkuan, Unamen Shipu and Pakua Shipu in a berry monitoring project on Nitassinan, Innu ancestral land. This project is carried out in collaboration with McGill University and the CEDFOB (Centre d’expérimentation et de développement en forêt boréale). It aims to study the effects of climate change on blueberries, ligonberries (seeds) and chicoutai.

Each year, four Nitassinan agents and four students are hired to monitor the health, flowering and productivity of berry plants, as well as documenting the abundance of pollinating insects. Their work continues in winter with continuous ground temperature and snow height measurements. The aim of this data is to assess the effects of climate change on berry plants, and thus put in place solutions to ensure the continued harvesting of berries.

“

"We want to become one of the greenest indigenous communities in Canada. Nothing less!"
Sylvie BasileOrganizational Development Advisor for the Ekuanitshit Innu Council

“

"What's the reason why there are fewer and fewer berries in the north? We thought we had to find some answers."
Sylvie BasileOrganizational Development Advisor for the Ekuanitshit Innu Council

“

"Throughout the summer, in all three communities, one or two people went to observe the plants several times a week. They would look at their condition, whether they were in flower or fruit, and they would also document their health, their abundance, whether there were any pollinating insects around, whether they had been browsed or crushed."
Coralie GautierClimate Change Project Manager at the Institute

Berry picking is part of Innu culture

Berry picking is a traditional activity that links Innu women to their land and culture. Concerned that the abundance and productivity of berry plants were declining, and that a traditional activity was being threatened, women from Ekuanitshit decided to take action and document the effects of climate change by combining traditional and scientific knowledge.

The First Nations involved have done a colossal amount of work to document the effects of climate change.

4 Nitassinan agents

Thanks to the funding obtained, the participating First Nations hired each years since 2021 four Nitassinan agents and four students to carry out field monitoring and data collection.

1,500 field trips

Since the start of the project, Nitassinan agents have made 1,500 field trips to collect the data needed to analyze the impact of climate change on berries.

790 snow measurements

The amount of snow received during the winter affects the productivity of berry plants by acting as insulation. The more or less rapid melting of snow in spring also plays an important role.

107 temperature sensors

Early snowmelt in spring, combined with spring frosts, can be brutal for berries, which are hypersensitive to temperature drops. In 2021, we will have installed 40 sensors, then 37 in 2022 and finally 30 in 2023.

20 weather stations

Since spring 2024, 20 weather stations have been installed with Nitassinan agents. These stations, spread across the 4 communities, enable continuous measurements to be taken, summer and winter alike, of air and soil temperature and humidity, and light levels, important indicators for the health of the berries.