Margot lives and works on the unceded traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, part of the Dakelh (Carrier) peoples' territory. When in Aotearoa/NZ, I am most frequiently based in Kai Tahu territory

Born in Aoteaora/New Zealand, I have been fortunate to live, learn, live and work across Oceania, Europe and the Americas.

Melissa lives and works on the unceded traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, part of the Dakelh (Carrier) peoples' territory.

Melissa Bates is currently a UNBC MNRES graduate student. Her professional and personal work is focused on the conservation and well-being co-benefits of Indigenous-led projects.

Traditional Territory of the Ktunaxa and Secwepemc.

GIS specialist and Biologist. Providing mapping and spatial analysis support for the LEAPH Lab, and coordinating efforts on the Nechako Watershed Portal.

Amy is an uninvited visitor living & working on the ancestral and never-ceded homelands of the Wetsuwet’en & Tsimshian people.

Amy is a Health Sciences PhD student at UNBC & an RN teaching as a Senior Instructor at UNBC’s School of Nursing. She is connected to the LEAPH-Lab in her graduate student role & is studying the health effects of industrial development in Northern BC with Dr. Parkes.

Grateful and humbled to be a guest on the unceded ancestral lands of the Lheidli T’enneh

Parisa Khodadadi Sharifabad holds a master's degree from the School of International Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia. Her research focused on strategies for reconnecting individuals with their heritage languages.

Tavia lives, learns, works, and plays on the unceded traditional territories of the Lheidli T'enneh

Tavia's MSW thesis research explored youth relationships with land and place in the Nechako watershed. She currently works as the Social Worker in Manitoba but remains connected to Koh-Learning in our Watersheds program.

Currently an uninvited visitor on the ancestral, traditional, and stolen/unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, specifically the shared traditional territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) First Nations.

Angel Kennedy is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. She currently participates in the LEAPH-Lab across various branches with a focus on youth. In addition to this she works as the Research Manager for the RESET Lab at SFU.

Shona lives, learns, works and plays on the ancestral and unceded territories of the Simpcw First Nation, the Lheidli T'enneh, and McLeod Lake Indian Band.

With a Masters degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, Shona Thorne is an environmental advocate with diverse background in education, research, and operations and is committed to creating resilient communities in sustainable ecosystems.

Lheidli T'enneh Territory

Austin Armstrong has a BSc in Computer Science and Minors in GIS and Political Science. He is currently employed as Web Developer for Takla Nation, and works on developing the Portal.

Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, McLeod Lake Indian Band, and Simpcw First Nation land

Research Assistant currently contributing to work done on the Nechako Watershed Portal.

Currently a visitor on the ancestral, traditional, and stolen territory of the Lheidli T'enneh

Anna Hixson is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in the School of Environment at the University of Northern British Columbia and a research assistant in the LEAPH Lab researching the co-benefits associated with climate change adaptation and health.

As a student of respect, I acknowledge the Lheidli T'enneh territory, the ancestors, and the connections to the land.

Tannis worked as a member of Council for her Nation consistently for over ten years and does recognize the need for equity amongst all genders in the world of leadership. An important part of my work coincides with decolonization, healing, and reconciliation as a Lecturer for UNBC.

Currently an uninvited visitor on the ancestral, traditional, and stolen/unceded territories of the Wolastoqiyik/Maliseet people.

Jamie Reschny is currently working as a Research Manager for Dr. Parkes. As such, within the LEAPH Lab, he works as operational and administrative support on all projects housed within and related to the LEAPH Lab.

Diana lives on the unceded traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh in Prince George.

Dr. Kutzner managed the Environment, Community, Health Observatory (ECHO) Network at UNBC under the leadership of Drs. Margot Parkes and Henry Harder, and working collaboratively with research partners in Northern Health, on the cumulative impacts of resource extraction on health.

Unceded Lheidli T’enneh Territory

Jonathan Doyon is an MSc Health Sciences student attending UNBC. His personal and academic pursuits focus on the co-beneficial relationship between thriving ecosystems and community health.

Lisa lives and works on the unceded and un-surrendered territory of the Wəlastəkwiyik/Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet).

Lisa was a Research Associate in the LEAPH Lab, focused primarily on tasks related to the Nechako Watershed Portal but has moved on to pursue exciting new opportunities.

Currently a visitor on the ancestral, traditional, and stolen territory of the Lheidli T'enneh.

Jelena is an undergraduate studying biology at the University of Northern British Columbia. She is a research assistant in the LEAPH-Lab and works across branches.

Jordan gratefully lives and works on the unceded traditional territory of the Saik’uz First Nation, part of the Dakelh peoples’ territory.

Jordan is a graduate of UNBC’s Community and Population Health program, with a specialty in Environmental Health. Her professional work is focused on community-led ecological approaches to health.

I live and work on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinabewaki, and Attiwonderonk Peoples. These lands are the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit and part of the Haldimand Treaty.

Jane is an Associate Professor at the University of Guelph. Her research focuses on antimicrobial resistance, surveillance, and the interconnections between human, animal and ecosystem health.

Carlos is from traditional Coca, Tecuexe, and Wixarika territory in Guadalajara, Mexico. He is grateful to live in the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, in Toronto, Canada.

Carlos studies at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. He is interested in how stories of ecological and cultural resurgence can help us create better worlds.

I reside, study, and work on the traditional unceded territory of the Lheidli T'enneh in Northern British Columbia.

Christiana Onabola, a UNBC Health Sciences PhD candidate, specializes in integrating health equity into local land-water-energy nexus issues, using a cross-sectoral approach aligned with the SDGs.

Ella grew up and currently lives in the territory of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council, in Whitehorse, Yukon. She also spent much time thinking about and working on the territory of the Saik'uz First Nation during her masters at UNBC.

Ella Parker is a UNBC graduate where she focused her masters on community based monitoring with youth and water-related decision-making. She continues to work on water now with the Yukon Government.

I acknowledge that I live on the traditional and unceded territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka people, north of Tiohtià:ke (Montréal), an area at the confluence of three rivers that, for time immemorial, has been and continues to be a meeting place of nations.

Jena Webb is director of programmes at the Canadian Community of practice in ecosystem approaches to health (CoPEH-Canada) where she leads communications and co-leads networking and teaching.

I wish to acknowledge the land that the University of Toronto is located on. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the New Credit River. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island, including the Anishinabe, Haudenosuanee, Metis and Inuit peoples, and is also host to Indigenous peoples from other countries. I am grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land. It is important for us to recognize colonization as the primary reason for the many social and economic challenges facing Indigenous peoples in Canada. Beginning with the Doctrine of Discovery and Terra Nullus – racist ideologies that were used to justify colonization by European settlers of the land we currently call Canada - our government’s policies and practices have deliberately marginalized Indigenous peoples to the benefit of non-Indigenous settlers. I further recognize that University of Toronto, and the people of this city and country, continue to benefit from both historic and ongoing coloniality-Modernity. We are all harmed by the atrocities of ecocide, genocide, racism, and systems of grotesque wealth accumulation, even though the benefits and harms of coloniality-Modernity are more inequitably distributed than ever. I recognize that current systems are not ‘broken’: they are designed to work this way. I therefore work to actively name, dismantle, resist, and replace the dominant coloniality-Modernity paradigm in my life, work, community, and in the corridors of power, with more eco-centric and socially just ways of knowing, being and doing. I recognize that (conventional/contemporary) efforts to enact sustainability and (community) resilience that do not address these fundamental issues, no matter how well intentioned, are prone to false solutions, greenwashing, whitewashing, and action that is both too little too late and not what is required for the deep transformative change that is needed.

The primary focus of Blake’s research and teaching is on community resilience, community development, and sustainability transitions.

I am a white settler of English and Croatian ancestry. I am currently residing on the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7, which includes the Blackfoot Confederacy, comprising the Siksika, Piikani and Kainai First Nations, the Tsuut’ina First Nation and the Stoney Nakoda First Nations, including the Chiniki, Bearspaw and Goodstoney First Nations. Calgary is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III.

Makayla is currently a medical student at the University of Calgary (class of 2026). She is an aspiring rural family physician who hopes to work in northern BC and serve rural, remote, northern communities.

Barry grew up along the Rideau River in Ottawa on the un-ceded territory of Anishinabe Algonquin people. He currently lives adjacent to the Nechako River on the ancestral and unceded territories of the Lheidli T'enneh.

Barry works as a Research Associate for the Koh-Learning in our Watersheds program where he works along with the rest of the Koh-learning team to help facilitate place-based learning with the students, teachers, and administrators of School District 91.

Ben lives and works in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal on unceded Indigenous lands that have been a gathering place for many First Nations. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is today recognized as the custodians of Tiohtià:ke. Ben’s work is also enabled by information and communication technologies and a general level of privilege that originate in extraction of resources and wealth from Indigenous territories within Turtle Island and from countries around the world.

I was born and raised in Ontario, Canada (Turtle Island) and have lived and worked across Canada and the Americas (Abya Yala).

Ahmad lives on the unceded traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh in Prince George.

Based in northern British Columbia, Ahmad is a master's student concentrating on the intersection of health in remote Canadian regions, with a particular focus on air quality.