Grant: College & Community Social Innovation Fund

Land and the species that it produces are a critical and sacred component of Indigenous culture, health, environment, and spirituality. Biodiversity is essential for maintaining the natural processes that support a healthy ecosystem. It is not only determined aboveground but also belowground, including native seeds and plants that indigenous peoples collectively use for food, medicine, materials, and in cultural rituals. Aamjiwnaang First Nation is an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) First Nations Band on reserve land by the St. Clair River. They have a rapidly decreasing biodiversity and encroachment of invasive plant species due to impacts from development. They approached Lambton College’s Bioindustrial Process Research Centre (BPRC) to partner on the proposed project that will focus on increasing the biodiversity of their land for current and future members. The research team will focus on consultation with the community, specifically the elders, general community, and First Nation Council to understand what native plants are important to the community, determine if there are differences in species between the soil seed bank and above-ground vegetation and if there is a preference for rehabilitating a specific degraded site in within the community. Lambton will gain knowledge about the unknown soil seed bank characteristics in a variety of plant community types and land uses to guide plant species selection and site management strategies. There will be a focus to establish a collection of target plant seeds with genotypes adapted to the local environment to be used in site rehabilitation. The project will allow Aamjiwnaang First Nation to increase its biodiversity by increasing native species on their land, developing pollinator or food/medicine gardens within the community, and an opportunity for future economic activity by potentially establishing an Indigenous Plant Nursery. It will support the preservation of culture and knowledge by disseminating information among community members, including the youth. The results will be valuable for other First Nation communities in Ontario who are challenged with the same biodiversity issues and will have long-lasting effects for many generations, supporting indigenous methods for land management and conservation. This project supports Canada's commitment to a renewed nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous Peoples based on recognition of rights, respect, cooperation, and partnership.