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Led by Dr. Andrew Spring, the Northern Food Systems Research Group (NFSRG) is composed of researchers, students, and community practitioners engaged in Participatory Action Research in the Northwest Territories. The NFSRG works collaboratively with partners on community-defined and led projects that build towards more resilient Northern food systems.
Graduate Student Positions
Currently recruiting graduate students to join our research projects.
New Research Website
Check out the Northern Sustainable Food Systems Research Group Website at northernfoodsystems.ca.
Projects
Awarded in Fall 2024, the Future Harvest Partnership is a multi-year collaboration between Wilfrid Laurier University, the Territorial Agrifood Association and the Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Supported by an interdisciplinary team of leading academics from across North America, and informed by Indigenous Governments and traditional knowledge, the Partnership engages with food producers and local communities of the Northwest Territories to co-create research and generate useful insights for innovation and policy that can inform the development of a climate-resilient local food system.
Funding Acknowledgement
The Future Harvest Partnership is funded by the NSERC-SSHRC Sustainable Agriculture Research Initiative.
Northern Agriculture Futures (NAF) is a multi-year project led by the Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation in partnership with Dr. Andrew Spring. The research team works with communities in the NWT to envision and realize a future for agricultural development that meets the needs of communities without negatively impacting the health of the lands or waters on which traditional food system depend.
The project recognizes that agricultural opportunities in the North cannot be met by transplanting southern approaches. Instead, agricultural development must be community-defined, locally adapted, culturally relevant, and integrated into existing food landscapes.
Research projects span across environmental monitoring, developing and piloting agricultural best management practices, policy development and adaptation, community and regional governance, and knowledge sharing across the NWT.
Regions and Key Partners
NAF projects are currently concentrated in the South Slave and Dehcho Regions.
Key Partners:
- Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation
- Hamlet of Enterprise
- Sambaa K’e First Nation
- Territorial Agri-Food Association
- Government of Northwest Territories
- University of Guelph (Department of Integrative Biology)
Funding Acknowledgement
This research is supported by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and Indigenous Services Canada through their Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program.
Reports
The Food Learning and Growing (FLOW) Partnership aims to advance sustainable food system transformation at the regional scale. The Partnership involves eight regional research teams (NWT, Brazil, Mexico, BC, Ottawa, Montreal, Kenya, and Melbourne) and an international network of researchers, practitioners, and community partners. Each region will track specific practices over time to compare across contexts and understand how social, ecological and economic factors impact regional food system transformation.
The NWT Team aims to build links and facilitate cooperation across partners, funders, and government in the NWT to advance community agroecology within the agri-food system. We envision the NWT will be a Circumpolar leader in sustainable food systems through innovation and policy that prioritizes local food production, fosters reconciliation, and is adaptive to climate change.
Funding Acknowledgement
FLOW is funded by a Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Launched in 2020, the Community Capacity for Climate Change and Food Security (C4FS) research project works closely with six NWT communities to identify, develop, and apply community-defined actions that strengthen their capacity to create resilient and secure community food systems in the face of climate change. The project’s four focus areas are: Traditional Knowledge, community governance, youth empowerment, and gender.
Regions and Key Partners
The Research Team at Laurier are working in the:
- South Slave Region with the Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation in Kakisa
- Sahtú Region with the Délįnę Got’įnę Government in Délįnę
- North Slave Region with the Tłįcho Government in Wekweètì and Whatì.
- Inuvialuit Settlement Region in Tuktoyaktuk and Paulatuk
The project’s co-principal investigators are Dr. Andrew Spring (Wilfrid Laurier University), Dr. Kelly Skinner (University of Waterloo), and Dr. Sonia Wesche (University of Ottawa)
Funding Acknowledgement
This research is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
Northern Water Futures (NWF) is a major multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional project that works collaboratively with knowledge producers, mobilizers, and users from communities; regional and territorial governments; non-governmental organizations; and universities to understand and address the challenges that climate change poses for water security in the NWT.
Regions and Key Partners
The project is led by Dr. Jennifer Baltzer (WLU) with collaborators at several institutions. NWF projects led by the Northern Food Systems Research Group are focused in the Sahtú and South Slave Regions but cover much of the Northwest Territories.
Key Partners:
- Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation
- Délįnę Got’įnę Government and the Tsá Tué Biosphere Reserve
Funding Acknowledgement
The Northern Water Futures projects is funded by the Global Water Futures program.
Community Reports
Wilfrid Laurier University students and Ecology North staff collaboratively organized a Compost Summer Camp in Ka'a'gee Tu/K'ágee Tue First Nation (Kakisa) in July 2024. The camp provided educational programming related to composting for youth in the community.
Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation (KTFN) and researchers from Wilfrid Laurier University’s Northern Food Systems Research Group celebrate 10 years of sustainable food systems research and practice. This milestone was reached due to the trustbased relationships between community members and researchers that have been nurtured through collaborative Participatory Action Research.
In 2022, WLU Masters student Laura Rodriguez-Reyes worked with partners in Kakisa to understand the dynamics of food and economic development in the community. This research aimed to 1) identify the challenges and opportunities of operating an enterprise in Kakisa, 2) determine the community’s vision of an Indigenous-led enterprise, and 3) identify next steps to realize this vision.
On-the-land camps provide a space for youth to learn about changes happening in their homelands and connect vital Indigenous teaching peactices and ways of knowing with scientific tools in traditional languages.
As climate change impacts the northern landscape and expands agricultural opportunities, it is important to consider how land use changes will impact soil carbon and what it will mean for communities in the North.
Laurier researchers are working with Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation (KTFN) and territorial fire managers to establish a Firebreak Farm that supports the community’s food system and adapt to climate change.
Food hubs connect those who grow, harvest, and process food directly with people. While food hubs can look different, they make a significant impact on food system sustainability and resilience in the North.
The Sambaa K'e First Nation is working with Laurier researchers to integrate agroecology—ecological approaches to farming—into their planning for food system resilience. Community gardens are important sites for agroecological food growing, education, research, and engagement.
Agroecology offers a model for agriculture in the North that centers the relationship between humans and the environment, prioritizes long-term land stewardship over short-term yields, works within the unique boreal landscape, and supports Indigenous sovereignty.
Northern Sustainable Food Systems Research Group
Andrew Spring, Principal Investigator