Starting January 2019, Fort McKay First Nation (FMFN) started its Environmental Guardian (EG) Program in order to create opportunities for FMFN members to obtain training and develop skills and leadership in the environmental sciences, while simultaneously monitoring the environment within FMFN’s Traditional Territory. Given the significant importance of the sacred Moose Lake area to FMFN, the EG Program has been busy in 2019 implementing its wildlife camera program, and now has 24 wildlife cameras deployed in the Moose Lake area to help understand where caribou and other wildlife are travelling.

As of May 2019, FMFN’s EG Program has been awarded $300,000 in grant funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada, with the potential for an additional $150,000 in 2020. The Environmental Guardians have also been learning how to fly Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and there are now two licensed UAV pilots in the EG Program. An Environmental Monitoring course through UNBC, as well as wilderness first-aid, have been part of the training that FMFN’s Environmental Guardians have received.

Contact
Ryan Grandjambe
Environmental Guardian-Lead
Phone: (780) 828 8803
Cell: (587) 646 1865
Email: rgrandjambe@fortmckay.com