Teaching and learning about climate change with Innu Environmental Guardians

Impacts related to climate change are commonly reported in northern Canada. Labrador Innu have a multi-millennial history in this area, putting them in a good position to document and interpret these changes. Western Science monitoring initiatives are commonplace throughout northern areas and offer one approach for answering questions related to ecosystem change. Since 2001, the Innu EnvironmentalGuardians Training Program has offered modules covering topics including fisheries, caribou, archaeology and most recently on climate change and forest ecosystems. This article provides an approach for detecting changes to the borealforests of Labrador using empiricalmonitoring protocols that were determined in consultation with Labrador Innu and university-trained scientists, which ultimately led to the establishment of Innu Permanent Sample Plots (IPSPs). In our experience facilitating these modules, much has been learned regarding the importance of culturally appropriate place and module content. Challenges encountered throughout the modules, including sustaining attendance, dealing with remote locations and attention to accuracy and precision, are explored. In our experience, the establishment of long-term monitoring plots with continued Innu involvement will go far in bettering our understanding of how the borealforests of Labrador are responding to climate change.