Canadian Mountain Network Announces Financial Support to Upcoming Cohort of Indigenous-led Conservation Students

The Canadian Mountain Network is proud to announce a collaboration with Vancouver Island University (VIU) for the upcoming 2023-2024 academic year, to support land-based learning initiatives within VIU’s Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCA) Advanced Planning Certificate. 

This post-secondary certificate program is the first of its kind, designed to educate a new generation of planners with the skills, education, and capacity necessary to support the ongoing development and management of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) and other Indigenous-led conservation efforts. Graduates of this program will play a significant role in Canada’s future achievement of the “30% by 2030” goal, which aims to conserve 30% of Canada’s lands and waters by 2030. 

With advanced training in the management, administration, and development of IPCAs, graduates from this program will strengthen their leadership skills in Indigenous-led conservation. Through learning about the differences between Western land-use planning and Indigenous practices and worldviews, graduates will be able to engage in frameworks such as Ethical Space and Two-Eyed Seeing to support the holistic application of IPCAs across Canada. 

To support student’s ability to engage in land-based learning within the program, CMN has contributed scholarship funding to cover the cost of the field school fees for each student in the upcoming 2023/2024 cohort, at a value of approximately $2,000 per student. In partnership with the IISAAK OLAM Foundation, VIU’s field school–the first course of the certificate–takes place in Tla-o-qui-aht territory, at the Clayoquot Campus of the Pacific IPCA Innovation Centre. By eliminating this financial barrier to participation, CMN is supporting the development of a new generation of planners with a specialization in IPCAs and who are better equipped to serve and support Indigenous leadership in conservation. 

For more information about this program and to learn how to apply, please visit Vancouver Island University’s website.