Environment

The Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation entered into an Environmental Management Agreement to enact environmental protection legislation on reserve. The band has developed a set of by-laws that ensure environmental impacts on reserve lands are prevented or minimized.  In 2008, an environmental scan was conducted to identify the environmental issues and priorities.  The following programs and services were developed to address the environmental needs of the community.

 

Environmental Programs & Services:

 

Climate Adaptation Strategy

 

The Georgina Island Climate Change Adaptation Project has been developed to promote a greater understanding of the effects of Climate Change upon our environment and our community. The Community Adaptation Liaison (CAL) team will be providing information through community meetings and with educational materials provided by our project partner Ontario Center for Climate Impact and Adaptation Conservation (OCCIAR). The CAL’s will also be recruiting, educating and assisting a committee of people representative of the community who will be known as the Community Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee of Georgina Island will support the Climate Change Adaptation Planning within the community as we strive to:

 

 

PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND COMMITTEE MANDATE

 

This Community Advisory Committee will be asked to examine the current status of Climate Change in our region and become aware of the changes expected in the near to long term future. They will be looking at impacts to the lake, wildlife, native plant species and community infrastructure. They will also be studying the effect of seasonal changes and the impact it is having on the annual ice road. They will be tasked with examining and recommending courses of action for the leadership of the community to pursue.

 

COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

 

 

Forest Management & Species at Risk

 

For Aboriginal peoples, culture and identity are based on their spiritual relationship to the land and the pursuit of traditional harvesting activities in all areas of traditional use including: hunting, trapping, fishing and gathering,

 

Aboriginal and Treaty Rights are recognized in the Canadian Constitution and in legal decisions involving natural resources use, and should be given contemporary interpretation.  Their land ethics are not well understood by many governmental natural resource managers.

 

This land ethic includes four belief areas: All Is Sacred, Right Action, All Is Interrelated and Mother Earth.  Beliefs concerning the environment spring from a spiritual context rather than the scientific‐utilitarian context more prevalent in the dominant Euro‐American culture.

 

Because of their unique relationship with the land, Aboriginal peoples have developed special knowledge of forest ecosystems, knowledge which may be shared and used in improving forest management practices.  Aboriginal peoples have a right to share in the economic development afforded others by forestry activities.  Aboriginal peoples are not just another forest “stakeholder”.

 

Forestry provides a focused lens through which to understand, influence and practice sustainable resource management and sustainable development. Unlike environmental science, it is a profession and craft as well as a field of study. A degree in Forestry or Forest Conservation will give you entrance into careers where you can have a profound impact on the sustainability of human social and economic systems.

 

When you study Forestry, you also study:  Ecology, Conservation Biology, Environmental and natural science, Political Science, Economics, Engineering, Management, Sustainable development, Geography, Urban Forestry, Planning, Psychology and Public Health.