Image: UFV / Provided / Dr. Lauren Erland preparing a geocache site in the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.

By Alyssa Conti

COMMUNITY RESEARCH

UFV researchers join forces to help improve food security for northern Indigenous groups

Nov 30, 2025 | 1:54 PM

ABBOTSFORD — Two experts from the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) have used their seemingly differing backgrounds to cook up better food security up in northern Canada.

Dr. Cindy Jardine and Dr. Lauren Erland, UFV research chairs for Health and Community and Berry Horticulture, respectively, have both received a national grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Dr. Lauren Erland (left) and Dr. Cindy Jardine, both federally funded Canada Research Chairs at UFV (Jardine in Health and Community and Erland in Berry Horticulture), joined forces for a food security research project with Indigenous partners in the Yellowknives. / UFV / Provided

The Catalyst project, “Strengthening and Enhancing Agriculture for Indigenous Community-Driven Climate Change Food Security in Northern Canada”, draws on both doctors’ expertise in plant science and on community outreach with Indigenous communities in the North, particularly the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.

“The project brought together our expertise in community engagement and plant biology, both of which were needed to make it work,” noted Jardine.

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Food and climate change

One aspect of the project involved community representatives from the Yellowknives Dene accompanying the duo in a two-day tour of B.C. food production systems, including a community garden on the Ch’iyaqtel (formerly Tzeatchen) First Nation, and a vertical garden run by Archway Community Services in Abbotsford.

“The climate is changing in Canada’s North,” said Erland. “This poses two questions: is the change good or not good for existing food sources, and does it open up the opportunity for new food sources?”

Erland says the project aims to gather community priorities before introducing new food and determining any actions needed to address climate change-related food security issues for Indigenous people in the North.

“Climate change is disproportionately impacting Indigenous Peoples in northern Canada, who are experiencing rising temperatures and an increased frequency of unpredictable weather phenomena, including droughts, floods and forest fires,” Jardine added.

“As food security is already problematic in many remote northern communities in Canada, exploring the possibilities for continued access to traditional plant foods, as well as expanding production to other acceptable agricultural foods, is important to establishing food sovereignty.”

Action points identified through the project will be used to build further research between the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and UFV, which would ultimately help the community gain access to locally grown, culturally appropriate foods and advance their food sovereignty and self-determination.