| Following two years of extensive research, organization, and design Plenty Canada will be hosting a Zoom webinar on Monday, May 27th, 2024 from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon to introduce and launch its Greenbelt Indigenous Botanical Survey. The Survey is a website platform that identifies the status of Indigenous plants ground-truthed in 69 plots as a means of securing the ecological diversity, integrity, and cultural heritage of natural systems across the Greenbelt.
As part of the research phase a team of Indigenous knowledge holders and language speakers in Kanienke’ha(Mohawk from the Iroquoian linguistic family) and Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe from Algonquian linguistic family) worked with Western scientists from Guelph University to identify and process the findings, creating a repository highly valued for its technical and ethnobotanical knowledge. This includes information on how the plants were and are used by Indigenous cultures for various purposes, while not identifying sensitive information that would lead to harm. The locations studied were selected by their presence along historic Indigenous trails, villages, and portages, thereby providing a baseline of geographic and cultural cohesion for the project.
“This innovative work represents the fusion between Plenty Canada’s existing content compilation and technology for The Great Niagara Escarpment Indigenous Cultural Map and the vision of Dr. Jessica Dolan who had an interest in creating a field guide of Indigenous plants produced in collaboration with Indigenous people,” said Project Director Tim Johnson. “We are delighted by the outcome for several reasons, first and foremost to recover, secure, and share Indigenous plant knowledge for the benefit of future generations.”
“The Greenbelt Indigenous Botanical Survey is a biocultural resource for land-based learning, that re-stories Indigenous relationships with plants and trees on the urban, peri-urban, and rural landscapes of Southern Ontario,” said Dr. Jessica Dolan. “This one-of-a-kind resource offers a strong new contribution to Indigenous environmental studies and conservation, by illustrating ethnobotany and Indigenous plant names in Kanyen’kéha, Anishinaabemowin, Latin, English, and French, on the landscapes where they grow.”
From the platform’s description about the project, plant profiles contain species description, habitat, conservation status, harvesting protocols, uses, and stories. Botanical species are cross-referenced according to plant types, ethnobotanical uses, and habitat types, so learners will be able to understand where to go to learn the plants, and the different kinds of vegetative communities they form. Botanical photography will help learners gain knowledge of defining characteristics of each species, and historical and contemporary photographs will provide learning aids for species’ cultural significance.
The project was made possible with financial support from the Greenbelt Foundation, Plenty Canada, Guelph University, and Mitacs. “We are pleased to support Plenty Canada’s important work with Indigenous knowledge holders and language speakers to add an Indigenous cultural lens to botanical knowledge across what we now call the Greenbelt,” said Edward McDonnell, CEO of the Greenbelt Foundation. “This project adds significantly to our shared understanding of the biocultural significance of the Greenbelt and provides an invaluable resource for all those experiencing the Greenbelt to learn more about its connected cultural heritage system.”
Robin Roth, principal investigator for the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership and professor of Geography at the University of Guelph, has partnered on the project from its outset. “This is a significant product for the advancement of Indigenous-led conservation,” she said. “The ability of Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabek to continue stewarding their lands is greatly enhanced by this work that has assembled scientific and Indigenous knowledge about critical plants throughout the Greenbelt. I am also excited about the prospects for using this tool in education, both to re-invigorate biocultural knowledge amongst the rightful Indigenous stewards of these lands and for generating greater cross-cultural appreciation for the importance of the Greenbelt as a biocultural landscape.”
The project’s research of plant and tree relatives is shaped by cultural knowledge and responsibilities embedded in Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabek relationships with them. Dr. Dolan and the team used Western science in service of regenerating and restoring Indigenous environmental knowledges by investigating the legacies of Indigenous land management within the plant communities of the Greenbelt, and combining that with oral,historical, and ethnographic insights into the cultural legacies and relationships with plants and trees.
“The Greenbelt Indigenous Botanical Survey is an invaluable resource that weaves together history, plants, language, and Indigenous and scholarly knowledge into a document that explores the depth, breath, and beauty of Indigenous relationships to the land,” said Plenty Canada Deep Knowledge Researcher Alyssa General. “The Survey crystallizes the importance of safeguarding these spaces for generations to come.”
Webinar Registration Information:
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: May 27, 2024 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Greenbelt Indigenous Botanical Survey Launch
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5k4q7rHMTnuvvvCtfNynNw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
For more information please contact:
Emily Morris
emilymorris@plentycanada.com
— or —
Amanda Harwood
amandaharwood@plentycanada.com |
