Land Guardians Caring for the Seal River Watershed
Land Guardian Jordan Stensgard conducting seal monitoring outside of Churchill, Manitoba. Credt: SRWA
Land Guardians help care for the Seal River Watershed in northern Manitoba—one of the largest intact watersheds left in the world. As Land Guardians, we see ourselves as caretakers, entrusted with preserving this watershed’s health and vitality. It is our responsibility to ensure this landscape remains vibrant and resilient for generations to come.
My role as the Land Guardian Coordinator is to connect the four First Nations that make up the Seal River Watershed Alliance and align our efforts in protecting its health and biodiversity. This is no small task, and it’s something that requires continuous collaboration, learning, and adaptation.
Supporting our Land Guardians is central to my work. They are highly trained—learning essential skills such as survival techniques, safety practices, and advanced equipment handling. These skills help them work in challenging, often remote environments and also equip them as leaders in conservation within our communities.
Our work is crucial, not only for environmental reasons but also because it strengthens our communities. Protecting the land is deeply connected to preserving our Indigenous ways of life, our cultural values, and our traditions. We view conservation as a holistic process, where taking care of the land also involves fostering a sense of identity, resilience, and interconnectedness.
Environmental Monitoring
One of our core responsibilities as Land Guardians is environmental monitoring. The photo above shows Land Guardian Jina Cook from Barren Lands working alongside Elder Advisor Adam Nalge from Lac Brochet, and Ian Souza-Cole from the National Audubon Society. Together, they are part of a team that recently installed a MOTUS tower in the watershed. This device helps us track migratory patterns of birds, and it’s just one of many ways we engage in wildlife and environmental monitoring.
Our monitoring projects are extensive and varied. We set up trail cameras to observe wildlife, conduct wildlife surveys, install audio recording units to monitor bird populations, and track fish populations. We also harvest natural medicines, conduct language translations to preserve our cultural heritage, harvest fish and berries, create animal habitats, organize youth programs, and provide survival training. Recently, we have even begun laying the groundwork for new initiatives in fish quality testing and water quality monitoring within the watershed.
Water quality is absolutely essential to all life. The Seal River Watershed Alliance has a particular focus on maintaining clean, safe water for our communities, the plants, and the wildlife that depend on it. Starting in 2025, we’re launching a comprehensive water quality testing program. This initiative is not just about collecting data; it’s about safeguarding the source of life for all the species, plants, and people in our watershed. We see this as a legacy project—something we are determined to protect not only for our communities today but also for those who will come after us.
Youth Engagement
Here is a photo of Youth Land Guardian Trevin Baker conducting water quality testing with Parks Canada last summer in Wapusk National Park. Trevin’s work represents our hope for the future. By engaging youth in projects like these, we’re not only collecting valuable environmental data, but we’re also empowering the next generation of Land Guardians. Our plan is to expand this type of testing into the watershed, allowing us to create a water quality dataset that will serve our communities for years to come.
Working with Communities
Community engagement is another important part of our work. Shown here is Linda Inglis, one of our head Land Guardians from Lac Brochet, presenting at a school about why it the watershed should be protected. We frequently host events in our communities, whether in schools or on the land itself. These gatherings are a chance to share knowledge about conservation and hear from our community members about what matters most to them. Through these events, we’re able to build a stronger, more connected community that is engaged in the work of protecting our watershed.
Youth Engagement
Youth engagement is especially important to us. One of our recent events shown a youth bird-watching and fish-harvesting trip led by Sadie Dumas, a Land Guardian from the O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation. These events teach young people about conservation and traditional practices, blending Indigenous knowledge with modern environmental science. By involving youth, we’re helping to create the next generation of Land Guardians—young people who are equipped with the skills and knowledge to care for our lands.
Our connection to the land runs deep. This isn’t just about natural resources; it’s about a cultural and spiritual relationship.
Learning from Our Elders
Much of our knowledge is passed down through oral teachings from our elders. One example is our project translating bird species names into our traditional Indigenous languages, which we conducted in partnership with the National Audubon Society. This is more than just a translation project—it’s a way to strengthen our ties to the land and to our elders, preserving cultural knowledge for future generations.
While we’ve made significant progress, our journey is far from over. Looking ahead, our plans are ambitious. We aim to expand our monitoring programs, add new environmental testing projects, increase youth involvement, and even explore eco-tourism as a way to support our work while sharing the beauty of our watershed with others.
Ultimately, our work as Land Guardians is about more than conservation. It’s about honoring our cultural heritage, strengthening our communities, and protecting a landscape that we hold sacred. It’s about ensuring that this watershed remains a place of life, health, and beauty for generations to come.
*This post was published in partnership with the Seal River Watershed Alliance.