What is the community-based revegetation strategy?

In 2020, Dena Cho began working on the revegetation program at the Faro Mine with Integral Ecological Group (IEG). Together, we developed a community-based revegetation strategy to help boost Ross River Dena involvement in the remediation efforts at the mine site.

Who was involved in these programs and what are some of the program details?

In 2021, Dena Cho hired 19 Kaska Dena, 13 youth and 6 Elders from Ross River, to plant 36,000 ts’ū (white spruce) and gą̄dze (lodgepole pine) seedlings.

In 2022, Dena Cho hired 9 Kaska Dena youth and 4 Elders to plant 24,000 ts’ū (spruce), gą̄dze (pine) and chebā (trembling aspen) seedlings. We also had 6 Elders come to Faro for a day to tour the site, talk to youth about the history of Tsē Zūl area, and check in on the tree planting work. Also, we expanded the community-based revegetation strategy to include a seed collection and vegetation sampling program.

In January 2023, Dena Cho toured NATS Nursery in Langley, BC, and the Ministry of Environment Lab in Victoria, BC. In June 2023, we hired 10 Kaska youth, 6 Elders, and several support staff for the tree planting program—the seed collection and vegetation sampling programs employed 7 Kaska youth and 6 Elders. This year, we planted 27,940 seedlings.

From 2021 to 2023, the Kaska Dena have planted 92,298 seedlings at the mine site, consisting of 90,818 tree seedlings and 1,480 locally-sourced herb and shrub seedlings. In 2024, we aim to plant 25,000 to 30,000 seedlings.

What are the seed collection programs and vegetation programs about?

The plants collected for the seed collection program will be used for future revegetation projects at the Faro Mine. Working with Elders, we chose species for seed collection based on plants thought to be suitable for future revegetation. For metals uptake monitoring, we chose plant species for sampling that are both abundant on the Faro Mine site and in the surrounding area and that are identified as potentially important indicators for metal contamination. For the first year of these programs, we hired 3 Kaska youth and worked with 10 Elders across four different areas within Kaska territory.

Who are your project partners?

Our partners in the tree planting program included Ross River Dena Council, Wildside Reforestation, and IEG with support from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

How are Kaska values included in these programs?

Both the 2021 and 2022 tree planting programs began with a welcoming gathering at Blind Creek, a traditional fish camp location that holds great importance to the Dena. It is an act of perseverance and reoccupation of culturally specific areas. The 2022 seed collection and vegetation sampling programs began with a day of training from Elders and ecologists in Ross River. Elders involved in the project taught the group about Kaska teachings, language, and protocols (e.g., prayers, giving thanks and offerings) to help strengthen our connection to the land. Ceremonies about water and plants are part of these programs as well.

What is being planned to continue and grow these community projects?

We are very proud of the youth who worked so hard on these programs. These tree planting programs are the largest tree planting initiatives in Yukon, to date! So, we plan to continue with these revegetation efforts by planting trees, sampling vegetation, and seed collections. Dena Cho is also looking into wildlife monitoring and finding other areas where we can include Ross River Dena members. Moreover, all these efforts have led Dena Cho and our project partners to develop a Tsē Zūl Land Care Plan with the Ross River Dena Council. The Tsē Zūl Land Care Plan aims to provide direct input of Kaska values by providing remediation goals and objectives with the intent of strengthening and restoring Dena relationship with the Tsē Zūl/Faro region.

Sógá sénlá' to those who supported these various programs.