In the Canadian North berries are essential, being used extensively as a food source, for medicines, and for dyes. In the Gwich'in Settlement Area alone, it is estimated that more than 5,000 liters of the berries are harvested per year. Unfortunately, climate change poses a serious threat to berry harvests, and has led to a noticeable decline in the condition and yield of harvestable berries across the arctic. Berries have been a staple food source for generations of northern residents and are equally important to northern animals, particularly birds, small mammals, bears, pollinators and caribou.
My presentation follows the steps our research team has taken with the Gwich’in Tribal Council to co-create a species distribution model of Vaccinium vitis-idaea (Cranberry) with Traditional Ecological Knowledge. This poster provides a methodological framework that is replicable by Indigenous Governments and ecologists to investigate the current range of any species of berries and how that range may be impacted by climate change.
Addressing Access to Country Foods Using Species Distribution Modelling Techniques