View the complete CCRN’s Clayoquot Sound Community Story as a PDF

Laura Loucks

Key Messages

• Collective action in an unsustainable social-ecological system can catalyse a shift towards increased community sustainability when supported with financial resources and appropriate local institutions.

• Cross-cultural knowledge sharing and place-based learning are integral to transforming social-ecological systems at the community level.

• Social innovation can assist with transformation when supported by a network of collaborative organizations with a shared set of principles and a united vision to inspire change.

Community Profile

For millennia, the Indigenous Nuu-chah-nulth people have had strong cultural and livelihood connections with the terrestrial, fresh water and marine ecosystems of the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. Within this area, Clayoquot Sound is located primarily in the Nuu-chah-nulth Ha’ huulthii (homelands) of Hesquiaht, Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, encompassing nearly 350,000 hectares of a complex and globally significant social-ecological landscape (Figure 1).

The ecosystems of Clayoquot Sound are rich in biodiversity and characterized by a large contiguous rainforest canopy of old growth western red cedar and western hemlock covering steep-sided coastal mountains throughout six watersheds.

Figure 1: Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere region

Conservation and Livelihood Challenges

Resource extraction, conflict and collective action
Over the last 50 years, local communities have constantly struggled to assert local access rights to Crown resources and shape government policies for more sustainable resource management practices in fishing and logging. In the forestry industry, unresolved Aboriginal land claims and corporate rights to Timber Forest Licenses were at the heart of unsustainable land use. For example, logging companies commonly built roads along steep mountain slopes, despite the high risk of soil erosion and damage to stream and river habitats. Similarly, large tracts of old growth rainforest were clearcut, causing significant ecological damage without the consultation or consent of the Nuu-chah-nulth Ha’ wiih, who carry the traditional responsibility to preside over and protect the Nuu-chah-nulth Ha’ huulthii⁽⁹⁾.

However, in 1982 the affirmation of Aboriginal rights and treaty rights within Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution marked an enormous shift in Canadian Law⁽⁵⁾. These rights were further strengthened in the seminal Meares Island Case, which catalyzed a transformation process still underway in Clayoquot Sound⁽⁵⁾.

In 1984, a coalition of leaders and residents from Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and the town of Tofino sought to protect Meares Island, within Clayoquot Sound, from being logged by the MacMillan Bloedel forestry company. The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council claimed the island as part of the traditional territory to which it had Aboriginal title and sought a court injunction against the logging of the Island. Subsequently, the logging company requested their own court injunction against the coalition. In an unprecedented decision, the British Columbia Court of Appeal granted the injunction to the Nuu-chah-nulth based on the irreversible damages of unsustainable forestry practices⁽⁵⁾. In the words of Justice Seaton,

“It appears that the area to be logged will be wholly logged. The forest that the Indians know and use will be permanently destroyed. The tree from which the bark was partially stripped in 1642 may be cut down, middens may be destroyed, fish traps damaged and canoe runs despoiled. Finally, the island’s symbolic value will be gone. The subject matter of the trial will be destroyed before the rights are decided”^{(5, pg.149)}.

The victory of the Meares Island Case also marked the beginning of the Tla-o-qui-aht assertion of rights and title to the Meares Island Tribal Park, and 10 years of conflict⁽⁹⁾. In 1994, in an effort to resolve an escalating environmental campaign, the British Columbia government announced a Scientific Panel for Sustainable Forest Practices in Clayoquot Sound. Through this, the Nuu-chah-nulth principle of hishuk-ish-ts’awalk (everything is one and interconnected) inspired a set of new hybrid protocols designed to respect both traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and scientific knowledge systems^(6). Recommendations of the scientific panel were eventually instituted through watershed management plans that now provide the foundation for adaptive ecosystem management in the region. One plan is in the Indigenous community of Ahousaht, where Chief Maquinna has noted:

“The Ahousaht believe that this is the beginning of a new era, based on recognition and celebration of Ahousaht people and culture, conservation of the world-class forest and marine resources of Clayoquot Sound, and the development of a more diversified, sustainable local economy, including community forestry.”⁽⁸⁾

Community Initiatives

Today, the principles and protocols established by the Scientific Panel are embodied in local community organizations with new governance models based on the shared desire to build a sustainable future on West Coast Vancouver Island. One such example is the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust (CBT), which is led by a voluntary board of directors, representing all local First Nations and communities within the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve, with a vision:

“…to live sustainably in a healthy ecosystem with a diversified economy and strong, vibrant and united cultures while embracing the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations living philosophies of Iisaak, (living respectfully), Qwa’aak qin teechmis (life in balance) and Hishuk ish ts’awalk (all things are connected)”⁽²⁾.

In 2016, a collaboration of the CBT, First Nations, municipal governments, local education organizations and destination marketing organizations, launched the West Coast NEST (Nature, Education, Sustainability, Transformation) to connect people to all current learning opportunities offered in the region, focusing on four key market sectors: university field schools, professional development courses, adult learning and youth learning opportunities.

The vision is to enable all local community members and education-oriented organizations to participate fully in the learning economy, together with visiting learners⁽⁷⁾(Figure 2). By linking learning with tourism, the West Coast NEST is creating a global network of learners who can help catalyze a new local economic opportunity while shifting values towards sustainable livelihoods.

Figure 2: Nuu-chah-nulth Elder Ray Haipee teaching visiting learners.

Nested within the Nuu-chah-nulth values of Iisaak, qwa’aak qin teechmis and hishuk ish ts’awalk, the education tourism initiative is an opportunity to transform conventional tourism to attract a different type of visitor: one who wants to stay longer on the West Coast, learn from local people, experience local culture and contribute to stewardship of this ecologically significant place.

In this manner, local community organizations are working to shift away from an unsustainable tourist ‘consumer’ economy and moving incrementally towards a new ‘conserver’ economy, where broken cultures are restored and damaged SES are re-built. The communities see education tourism as having the potential to support an economic return from visiting learners while expanding local learning opportunities.

Seven principles for education tourism:
1) Attract co-learners: we welcome others to learn with us.
2) Community reciprocity: we share benefits between communities.
3) Local knowledge holders are experts: local people are reimbursed for sharing their knowledge.
4) Learning networks of practice: together, we are creating a culture of learning and collaborative problem solving.
5) Stewardship-in-place: every community has an outdoor classroom and a place to learn from the land.
6) Holistic hands-on learning: we learn best by applied learning and practice.
7) Cultural safety and sharing: we create safe spaces for learning and healing across cultural boundaries.

Practical Outcomes

References

Acknowledgements

Support for this story was provided by the Community Conservation Research Network (CCRN) and the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust (CBT).

The traditional foods that our ancestors enjoyed remain a significant aspect of social and cultural events, yet often it’s only our Elders who are experts in how to harvest, prepare, and preserve these foods. Having the knowledge and skills to access good, healthy foods for ourselves and our families is an inherent right that should be encouraged at the community level.

This was part of the motivation behind three harvesting workshops organized and coordinated by Uu-a-thluk this past summer in the three regions (i.e., Southern Region: China Creek and Broken Group Islands, Central Region: Toquaht Bay, and Northern Region: Nootka Sound and Yuquot). Thanks to a Special Projects grant from the Nuu-chah-nulth Employment and Training Program (NETP), Uu-a-thluk was able to launch this pilot project to better equip Nuu-chah-nulth for aquatic-related employment opportunities. 

“Our hope is that we will make these workshops a yearly event and collaborate with Nations who would like to train members on seafood harvesting, preparation, and preservation,” said Michelle Colyn, Uu-a-thluk Capacity Building Coordinator. “This project will allow us to continue to assert our rights for present and future generations to develop fisheries-related opportunities in concert with Nuu-chah-nulth values and rights.”

Community members in the harvesting workshops learned a range of skills and knowledge such as modern ways of harvesting salmon, crab, prawn, groundfish, and kelp; how knowledge of harvesting ocean resources ties into careers in the fisheries and eco-tourism industries; handling, cleaning, filleting salmon, how to prepare kuutchis salmon (Nuu-chah-nulth salmon barbeque over fire), and preservation methods such as canning.

Figure 1: Northern Region Biologist Roger Dunlop leading a seaweed identification activity (harvesting workshop), Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation Science Camp

Participants in the Northern Region workshop canned bull kelp and made bull kelp salsa, while in the Central Region community members learned about the importance of the potlatch for Nuu-chah-nulth governance and for important events. This past summer while the workshop was taking place Toquaht community members were harvesting for a special memorial honouring Bert Mack (Deets–kee-sup), who served as Tyee Ha’wilth (Hereditary Chief) of Toquaht First Nation until 2009. Those taking part in this workshop also learned about how Nuu-chah-nulth would move through the seasons harvesting food during the 13 moons of the Nuu-chah-nulth calendar. Anii-tsa-chist (Larry Johnson), Toquaht fisher and President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Development Corporation spoke about the importance of being familiar with the “Seasonal Round” or Nuu-chah-nulth calendar.  

“To truly get back to traditional foods it’s important to know why and when different foods are harvested. We’ve been removed from the fishing industry and the coastal way of life,” he said, adding that the residential schools and the shutting out of Nuu-chah-nulth from the commercial fishing industry have significantly contributed to this disconnection. 

Defined by the principles of hišukiš c̓awaak meaning “everything is connected,” as Nuu-chah-nulth we understand our sacred duty to foster healthy relationships with the land, waters, plants, and animals that give us our food. With this comes the necessity to respond to our own requirements for safe, healthy cultural foods and the ability to make decisions over how much and what food we hunt, fish, gather, grow and eat to feed our communities. Field-based training opportunities like the harvesting workshops connect food sovereignty and food security with employment on the water, which is crucial to ensuring the long-term success of fisheries and fisheries related businesses. Engaging the next generation in this understanding often begins with something as simple as a first fishing lesson.

Anii-tsa-chist recalled the thrill of catching salmon on a rod for the first time and how he noticed this in the children who he taught to fish at the harvesting workshop in Toquaht Bay. “Adrenalin takes over and that excitement takes me right back to being a little boy and fishing stickleback in the rivers.” Although he added that this should be but one lesson of many. “Being a fisher isn’t something you learn from one course once a year. It’s a lifetime of things you pick up along the way.” 

All information in this post provided by CCRN Researcher Dawn Foxcroft

View the complete CCRN’s Halifax Community Story as a PDF

Sadie Beaton, Miranda Cobb, Will Fawcett-Hill, Marla MacLeod, Laura Mather, Tiffanie Rainville, and Satya Ramen

Key messages

• Collective action in an unsustainable social-ecological system can catalyse a shift towards increased community sustainability when supported with financial resources and appropriate local institutions.

• Cross-cultural knowledge sharing and place-based learning are integral to transforming social-ecological systems at the community level.

• Social innovation can lead to transformation when supported by a network of collaborative organisations with a shared set of principles and a united vision to inspire change.

Community profile 

Figure 1: Map of Select Community Gardens in Halifax

Many communities in Nova Scotia rely on food from large chain grocery stores and discount stores year-round. As a secondary source, and seasonally dependent, there are an increasing number of Farmers’ Markets across the province. However, there are several communities in which grocery stores are physically far away, creating a situation where people rely on what’s available at small convenience stores such as those associated with many petrol stations. These stores typically offer prepared, packaged and convenience foods that tend to be high in sugar, salt and fat, and many do not have facilities to offer fresh foods. This exacerbates economic and social inequalities.

Like the rest of North America, the diet of many Nova Scotians features processed and convenience meals, with trends away from whole foods or home cooked meals. However, there is a strong history of growing and preserving livestock and produce in NS, which has been resurging through the food movement over the past decade.

Conservation and livelihood challenges

Unfortunately, several rural and urban Nova Scotian communities face issues with accessing healthy and sustainable foods. The rate of food insecurity in Nova Scotia is the third highest in Canada at 15.4%^(7,4).

Community initiatives

Since the early 2000s, community-based organizations have been taking a closer look at local food systems and working to improve access to healthy, sustainable food. This community story describes the work of four community groups in Nova Scotia’s capital city, Halifax, towards developing positive food environments: i) the Bayers Westwood Family Resource Centre (BWFRC), ii) the Immigrant Settlement Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS), iii) Mulgrave Park gardens and iv) Common Roots’ Urban Farm (CRUF). These groups are linked through their close relationship with the Ecology Action Centre (EAC), an environmental NGO that has been one of the first in Atlantic Canada to begin connecting food systems and environmental issues.

Bayers-Westwood
The Bayers-Westwood community, of Halifax’s West End, is very diverse, consisting of 358 families, including 60% newcomers. These are mostly single parent families, with many living on disability and income assistance. As one community member described, “The food environment is very challenging. There is never enough food, the food bank runs out, and there are hardly any fruit and vegetables available.”

Figure 2: Community Garden at Bayers-Westwood

Since their partnership with EAC, the community garden infrastructure and leadership has grown significantly. Bayers Westwood Family Resource Centre hired a seasonal garden coordinator, implemented a percentage of staff time toward food and garden programs, and established core volunteer roles for the ongoing maintenance and coordination of the garden. As a result, they now have capacity to grow more produce for initiatives like local pop-up markets, making their own garden preserves, and increase garden membership. According to the centre, factors supporting healthy food access include growing space, knowledge and skill, and social support.

ISANS: Glen Forest & Multicultural Community Gardens
ISANS is a community organization that welcomes immigrants to Nova Scotia, offering services and creating opportunities for immigrants to participate in Canadian life. In 2012, ISANS started their first two community gardens; the Glen Forest Garden, followed by the Multicultural Community Garden in 2013. Although vandalism put the gardens at risk, engagement with the EAC has increased the capacity to effectively run the gardens. Community members emphasized the need for social support, indicating a connection between social coordination and food access, such as through the ability to organise seed swaps, bulk food orders and intergenerational language exchanges.

Garden participants often lack basic social supports that affect their well-being, including their mental health and livelihood outcomes. As one participant put it, “In my ideal world… I don’t have to make a decision between chicken and detergent.” As another describes, “I feel better about myself when I am able to buy necessities.”

Mulgrave Park

Mulgrave Park is a vibrant public housing neighbourhood with a rich history, comprised of primarily of African-Nova Scotians, in the north end of Halifax, home to over 250 families. Progress in the park is a community development initiative that seeks to empower the residents through entrepreneurial action that inspires inclusiveness and challenges stigma. One major focus of the initiative is food security, including community gardens. The community has developed 12 accessible raised beds, which were built to address the needs of residents living beside the garden. Due to the multiple intersecting social and economic barriers experienced by the majority of the residents, community members were hesitant to invest in the gardening project. However, the children’s programme, ‘Plants- to-Plates’, was incredibly successful at engaging youth, and many days during the summer kids can be found playing and working in the garden. As a result, 70% of youth involved reported eating more vegetables because of the garden programme which led parents to become more open to the project. One parent had this to say about their children: “They love to help me at the garden, they enjoy watering, and enjoy the veggies that I have ready. :)” and “I have the veggies at the garden so I don’t need to buy. Just pick-up and enjoy and most important, no chemicals!”.

Figure 3: The HUGS Community Garden in Bayers-Westwood.

Common Roots:

Common Roots Urban Farm (CRUF) is a community garden in Halifax, building “a community-built vision of urban agriculture and productive landscapes” (Food Secure Canada, 2014), and along with over 100 individual and community plots, is made up of a market garden, edible landscaping, and places to sit and relax or learn and work together. Unlike the other gardens, Common Roots has a large volunteer capacity and the majority of participants enjoy a mid-range income. Common Roots also engages with newcomers and immigrants, many of who are living on assistance. Through programmes like Deep Roots, they invite newcomers to volunteer on the farm and employ their extensive farming skills in a new climate. In 2017, the first employee hired there came from the Deep Roots programme.

Practical Outcomes

There are, of course, challenges to be met. For example, the ISANS community found that access is also allayed by the availability of culturally appropriate food – that is, food that residents would customarily eat – but food banks don’t often serve culturally appropriate food (or familiar foods). Participants also spoke of lacking skills/knowledge on preparing the different foods. Language and literacy impacted peoples’ ability to buy at the grocery store, and community garden members commented on a lack of transparency in the food system, and an inability to “know what food has chemicals, what is organic, and what is not going to cause harm.”

Government Policy
The policy context for gardens on municipal land in the Halifax region is positive. For example, the proposed Centre Plan for Halifax allows and encourages urban agriculture. There is an Administrative Order within the Halifax Regional Municipality that allows community gardens on municipal land to sell their produce and reinvest the revenue in the garden (i.e. soil). Community development and recreation staff with the municipality may help gardens become established, helping them with the municipality’s application process and facilitating in-kind access to on-site infrastructure such as water or electricity.

Ultimately, food is a topic that connects all of us. Community garden projects and food skills workshops have proven to be great entry points to increased awareness and engagement with food issues. Community food programs are tangible and accessible; they build skills, and enhance a sense of agency alongside social and community connections. “Positive food environments” can also become points of resistance, as community members feel empowered to challenge the status quo⁽¹⁰⁾. Without a doubt, vulnerable populations experience multiple types of marginalisation related to complex power dynamics that create barriers to agency and food security.

Considering a variety of perspectives is beneficial when addressing complex social problems like food security, whether coming from the lens of health, environment, social justice, or even cultural celebration. There is value in linking communities together to explore some of the diverse elements of food security work in an integrated approach, recognising food production as just one variable in a much larger complex system.

This approach has fostered the development and integration of community food programming within various Nova Scotian communities. It has also enabled new cross-sectoral collaborations to emerge, that help address gaps in access to and availability of healthy foods within a more localised food system.

References

Acknowledgements 

Funding for this work was provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada (Innovation Strategy).

View the complete CCRN’s Tsitsikamma Community Story as a PDF

Ella-Kari Muhl

Key messages

• The Tsitsikamma area includes local communities whose food security and livelihoods have been impacted negatively by various government actions, notably a no-take marine protected area (MPA).
• While MPAs are promoted as a long-term conservation strategy, no-take MPAs threaten the food security and cultural practices of fishers in areas of low economic opportunity and limited alternative livelihoods or transitional support.
• A lack of communication between the regulating authority (SANParks) and the fishers has increased conflict in the Tsitsikamma area and endangered community members’ food security and livelihoods.
• Participatory monitoring, with formalised consultation with community members, may reduce conflict and strengthen conservation goals.

Community profile

Figure 1: The location of the TNP MPA relevant to the local communities

Conservation and livelihood challenges

The impacts of “no-take” MPA

With the abolition of apartheid and introduction of democracy, it was hoped that the right of small-scale and subsistence fishers would be restored in accordance with their culture and tradition^(10). When the legislative change to a “no take” MPA took place in 2000 under the Marine Living Resource Act 18 of 1998, it was shown to affect not only food security for the fishers and their families but also their cultural identity and heritage ⁽⁷⁾. The Thornham, Stormsrivier, Nompumelelo and Sanddrif communities have been reliant on fishing as a form of food security. With the loss of access to fish, there has been a reported decline in health and increase in crime⁽⁴⁾.

Fishers stated that, in addition, their well-being has been affected by the closure of the MPA, as fishing is part of their identity⁽¹⁾. The current top-down governmental conservation programme, which introduced a no-take MPA as a form of conservation to promote sustainability and biodiversity, was implemented without consultation with the community, and subsequently has elevated conflict between community members and the regulating authority.

Food security, customary rights and livelihood impacts

With no alternative livelihood provided, local village economies remain limited with few economic opportunities available (Figure 2). Local household economies are poor and under severe stress.

In 2016, for example, only 52.6% of households met the financial requirements for food security, which increases fisher’s dependence on marine resources as a supplementary food source. The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) housing built by the South African government in 2001 to create Nompumelelo village added 480 households to the area, placing additional pressure on resources⁽⁶⁾. The timing of the completion of RDP housing coincided with the delineation of a no-take MPA, thus increased competition for work, and placed strain on local amenities, with already limited public services and health care.

The change in coastal access and legislation has had a negative effect on the community with a loss of livelihoods, fishing and recreational activity. The community describe themselves as being “born on the rocks (coast)”, claiming original ancestry from the indigenous Khoi-san people, indicating a consideration of the coast as a part of their culture and traditions^(1,6).

Many residents in Tsitsikamma have also historically relied on coastal forests for a range of amenities, such as medicinal plants, honey and woods for fuels and building materials, which they are also denied access to.

Figure 2: A former fisher, no longer allowed to access the coast, writes poetry about the sea now.

The lack of recognition as stakeholders and exclusion from the coastline has illustrated that unless social and ecological factors are considered with the design of the MPA, illegal fishing and conflict will continue between SANParks (South African National Parks) and the local communities.

Community initiatives

In 1994, the community created the Tsitsikamma Angling Forum (TAF) to represent local fishers who wanted access to the coast. The TAF have formally petitioned against the TNP in 1976, 1995, 2006, and 2015. They have also worked with a task team comprised of the Kou Kamma municipality and SANParks to reopen the TNP in 2006, 2014 and 2015. The TAF actively protested SANParks in 2007, when 70 members fished illegally in the Tsitsikamma MPA.

Over time, the community has become increasingly mobilized and in 2015, following workshops between the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), Oceans and Coasts Branch, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), SANParks, the local municipality (Kou Kamma) and representatives from TAF, a decision was made to open specific areas within the MPA for fishing with restrictions. The plan to reopen certain areas was approved in December 2015 through promulgation of a government gazette but was then blocked by the Friends of the Tsitsikamma, an association that obtained a court interdict against SANParks, DEA and TAF in January 2016⁽⁹⁾.

Figure 3: Map depicting the three coastal control zones within the Tsitsikamma MPA

Legal recognition of historically disadvantaged residents

Following the closure in January 2016, the TNP MPA was rezoned later in December 2016 in the new government gazette 40511⁽⁸⁾ to allow three controlled fishing areas to be opened (Figure 3). However, the MPA re-opening process has been questioned as consultation was not carried out with local community members and was poorly conceptualized with little practical changes for community member’s food security or livelihoods.

At present, community members are required to purchase a permit. However, older fishers and minors are either prohibited or unable to fish under the new gazette ruling, halting the multi-generational transfer of knowledge. This prevents the oral traditions and teachings of the older generation from passing down to the present. The subsequent absence of SANParks at the controlled zones prevents fishers from communicating effectively with rangers and leads to miscommunication and further resentment towards SANParks.

The challenges and lack of capacity within SANParks reveal the vulnerability of the Tsitsikamma fishing communities and the need to incorporate local ecological knowledge (LEK) and community members into partnerships with researchers and authorities to better manage MPAs.

Practical outcomes

The Tsitsikamma community have issues of food security and a lack of economic opportunities or alternative livelihoods (Figure 4). The creation of the no-take MPA has disrupted a reliance on fish as a contribution to food and cultural practices^(1,5).

The community members have identified five solutions that would be the most beneficial towards restoring trust between community fishers and SANParks (Figure 5).

(1) Collaboration

(2) Transgenerational access to the Tsitsikamma MPA

Figure 4: The Stormsrivier mouth which is located centrally in the park and would be accessible to fishers, however is reserved for tourists.

(3) Education

(4) Communication

To empower fishers and effectively promote collaboration, communication is necessary between relevant government departments, SANParks, and working groups made up of interested parties, scientists and elected community members. Increasing the capacity of and empowering local fishers to participate in decision-making processes leads to practical, real solutions that strengthen ownership and promote care of the resource.

(5) Acknowledgement of customary rights and access rights

In order to improve management, increased understanding of government officials of the fishers’ customary rights and importance of access will foster respect and promote conservation, as well as help reduce tensions and conflict between the two parties.

Future concerns

Dialogue between the community and the regulating authorities is improving; however, for there to be a successful conservation impact, policy makers need to widely consult on proposed changes before implementing them. Top-down processes of government control only serve to further marginalise the community and promote resentment. A working partnership is necessary to establish trust and understanding with an emphasis on local ecological knowledge combined with scientific expertise for better policy and practice.

Figure 5: The Thornham Focus Group members with their list of practical outcomes

References

Acknowledgements

Check out this CCRN funded video produced by CCRN student Ella-Kari Muhl.

Listen to the accounts of local community members as they describe and express the struggles and challenges related to the implementation of the marine protected area, and how the current challenges are endangering the future of the community. The video highlights the values and needs of the local residents, and, through those values, demonstrates indicators and practices that would lead to success

Victoria Harbour from the Polar Prince

The meeting also involved participants from Indigenous organizations, environmental NGOs, ocean industries, and federal government departments, as well as the Chief Science Advisor, Mona Nemer, and the C3 leader, Geoff Green. Among other ocean issues, Dr. Charles highlighted the importance of coastal communities and their wellbeing to marine stewardship, and the corresponding need to make coastal communities a priority in ocean policy and in practical ocean initiatives, at the national and international levels.

Marine Experts Roundtable meeting room on the Polar Prince

Canada C3 was an epic 150-day sailing journey from Toronto to Victoria via the Northwest Passage, celebrating Canada’s environment, sharing the stories of coastal communities and connecting Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Follow this link for more information about the event and expedition.

Information and pictures provided by Dr. Anthony Charles.

Featured image caption: Polar Prince arriving into Victoria Harbour