Youth contribute to success of water monitoring projects

Page 18

Students are key allies in two projects that monitor the natural environment at Black River First Nation, Brian Kotak said. He was reporting at the Water for Life conference held in Winnipeg Oct. 19 and 20 about the environmental work done in his department in the community.

Black River is located about 135 km northeast of Winnipeg along the east shore of Lake Winnipeg. One of the first projects undertaken was an enhancement project for walleye and sauger spawning beds in the Black and O'Hanly rivers running through the community. In 2002, 15 Black River First Nation students washed and moved several tonnes of rock and boulders by hand and wheelbarrow from a nearby quarry to help create a spawning riffle in the Black River. The project won a Spirit of the Earth Award sponsored by Manitoba Hydro in 2003.

A current water quality monitoring project is aimed at understanding how forest fires, logging and features of the area's watersheds interact to influence water quality.

Altogether, 24 creeks, streams and rivers are being studied.

High school students from Powerview, Wanipigow and Lac du Bonnet have been front-and-centre in the work. Wearing hip waders and armed with a range of equipment, they've been out several times measuring and recording rates of flow, water pH and other key indicators.

Ultimately, Kotak said, the project will yield tools for forest company Tembec to plan its forest management activities in the area. Sponsors, including Tembec, have donated the measuring equipment.

Tembec also opened up its logging records of the last 50 years and is making its geographic information system (GIS) available to help with analysis.

A climate change study involves the same three schools. Study plots have been set up in different-aged jack pine, aspen and black spruce stands located within the Manitoba Model Forest. The objective is to see how climate change will affect the boreal forest. Several indicators within the broad areas of weather, soils, vegetation and small mammals are being measured and recorded.

Students have collected about four data sets to date, Kotak said. "It's a real technical exercise using current scientific protocols. For example, they use an increment borer to age trees, soil pH and temperature meters, and a clinometer to estimate the height of the trees."

Data collected by the students is now being rolled into a national environmental monitoring network administered by Environment Canada. The climate change project has also produced two educational CDs for elementary and middle years students. It won a Spirit of the Earth Award for 2005.

Team building on the projects began about three years ago, Kotak said, with outside expertise brought in where needed. Proposal writers, scientists, information technology support, installation of wireless communications in the band office and satellite-based high speed Internet got things off the ground. Partners Manitoba Hydro, Tembec, INAC and the Manitoba Model Forest have since joined.

Following his presentation at the Water for Life conference, Kotak opened up the floor to feedback and questions. One comment related to interpretation of data: "If the community does have ownership of the data, then I'd like to see youth empowered and trained to do data interpretation," the participant said.

Another participant noted that most of the students involved to date have been boys, and there was a need to get more girls interested in the projects.

Another comment related to involvement of large companies, such as Manitoba Hydro. It was noted that First Nations have had negative experiences with such companies in the past. The issue raised related to overcoming the psychological hurdle of working with such companies.

In a similar vein, another participant asked, "What is the underlying motive for sponsoring the projects?"

While acknowledging that negatives from the past do linger with new initiatives, Kotak went on o say, "We're not here to kill the companies, but to help them improve their environmental performance."

He explained that Black River had "an environmental vision that fits into the community master plan," Kotak said. "Economic development has to occur at the same time as environmental protection. All projects must have educational and environmental monitoring components as a cornerstone," he added.

Water for Life was sponsored by the Southern Chiefs' Organization representing 36 First Nations in southern Manitoba.