For decades, researchers from Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) have worked in the Northwest Territories, studying various aspects of the environment from multiple disciplines and perspectives. WLU research is closely aligned with government and community priorities and has contributed to the development of evidence-based policy and practical management decisions for both environmental integrity and human health in the territory.
Officially established in 2010, Laurier’s longstanding partnership with the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) aims to expand the Territories’ capacity to conduct environmental research and monitoring, and to assist in developing the next leaders needed to manage the NWT’s natural resources for future generations. WLU’s network of established field sites throughout the NWT, each representing a widely occurring biophysical environment, support field studies that focus on the impacts of a warming climate and human activities on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, water resources, food security and communities.
To further assist in enhancing and broadening this partnership and to support our growing capacity for research needs in the NWT, WLU established a research office in downtown Yellowknife in 2017. The goal of Laurier’s physical presence in the region is to work more effectively with all GNWT departments, agencies, and communities throughout the NWT in supporting their present and future research needs. The core WLU Yellowknife team includes personnel working on climate, hydrological, permafrost, water quality, and environmental change research with partners across the NWT.
Looking forward, WLU northern research is focused on delivering risk-management solutions to manage water resources throughout Canada where climate change is altering landscapes, ecosystems, and freshwater aquatic and marine environments. This poster presentation includes an overview of the past, present, and future of Laurier research in the NWT, and an introduction to the people who are involved.