4 innovative Indigenous-led clean energy projects

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This week:

• 4 innovative Indigenous-led clean energy projects
• The Big Picture: 4,000 dead birds and what to do about them
• Garden and microforest celebrate Indigenous culture, capture carbon

4 innovative Indigenous-led clean energy projects

Clean energy projects are booming in Indigenous communities, with big gains in the number of solar, bioenergy, wind, hydro and battery storage projects.

Roughly 200 major projects are in operation, along with 2,000 more smaller-scale projects, according to a recent report from Indigenous Clean Energy.

Many Indigenous communities have turned to renewable energy projects to replace diesel as their main energy source, especially in remote areas in the North, the report said.

"In our experience, when communities are at the heart of energy work, energy projects are much more impactful and sustainable," said Freddie Campbell, director of energy and climate at Indigenous Clean Energy, a network that helps First Nations, Inuit, and Mtis start new clean energy projects.

Campbell said the shift toward renewable energy began two decades ago and has ramped up in recent years.

Since 2017, the number of medium and large Indigenous-led clean energy projects has jumped by 30 per cent.

"It takes a lot of hard work," Campbell said in an interview. "The barriers to do a community-led clean energy project an Indigenous-led clean energy project are massive."

Here are a few recent examples, ahead of National Truth and Reconciliation Day on Sept. 30.

Solar to power a community

Last April, Anahim Lake, a small community in central British Columbia, announced plans for a solar farm spanning 12 hectares at the site of an old saw mill.

The 1,500 residents of Anahim Lake, home of the Ulkatcho First Nation, and surrounding small communities rely entirely on costly diesel for power. The project is expected to reduce the use of diesel by more than 60 per cent.

"We believe that solar energy will be the source of our ability, for a lot of our families, to live off the grid," Chief Lynda Price said.

"We're really excited that this is the first stage of our solar power, and I believe our future generations will benefit."

Electricity from wood chips

For years, a sawmill in northwestern Saskatchewan had simply burned its wood waste including bark, wood chips, and sawdust.

The Meadow Lake Tribal Council, which is made up of nine First Nations in northwestern Saskatchewan, owns the sawmill.

It now uses the leftover wood from trees cut down for lumber to power 5,000 homes, thanks to a new bioenergy plant. The plant also breaks down harmful pollutants into ash that's sold to farmers.

"It's something new, something that I'm excited about because it's new technology and good for the environment," said Paul Opikokew, who works at the facility and is a member of Canoe Lake Cree Nation.

Wind farm leads to economic windfall

Neqotkuk First Nation is behind a wind farm in New Brunswick that is helping generate power for nearby Saint John, and revenue for the community.

The wind farm consists of 10 turbines, each standing more than 200 metres tall, on unceded territory outside the city.

The community expects to reap a $100-million windfall over the next 25 years.
Neqotkuk Chief Ross Perley said the money has helped fund recreational programs and services for youth and elders.

Battery storage

An electricity battery storage facility, billed as the largest in Canada, is being built on Indigenous land in southwestern Ontario.

The facility is expected to be able to store 250 megawatts of electricity, which would more than double province's capacity.

Six Nations of the Grand River and the federal government are among the investors. Construction of the project has put $50 million into the community, and generated jobs for workers from Six Nations of the Grand River.

The project will draw and store electricity from the grid when power demand is low and return it when demand increases.

Ben Shingler

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The Big Picture: 4,000 dead birds and what to do about them

The winner of this year's Bird Photographerof the Year Award shows 4,000 birds, all of which died after colliding with buildings in Toronto last year. The image, called When Worlds Collide, was taken by Patricia Homonylo. The birds were collected and arranged by members of the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP), a Canadian charity where Homonylo volunteers. Here's more on the award-winning photo, and a longer feature on how Canadian communities are working to prevent birds from flying into windows.

Ben Shingler

Hot and bothered: Provocative ideas from around the web

• Solar energy is often seen as a clean way to generate electricity. But it can also be used to heat water directly. This is how 93.5 per cent of homes in Cyprus get their domestic hot water. The Guardian takes a look at how that happened.

• The Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, site of the U.S.'s worstnuclear accident, has been shuttered since 2019 and is slated for decommissioning. Now Microsoft has teamed up with utility Constellation Energy to get it restarted to supply low-carbon energy for its AI data centres.

• After installing solar panels, some Canadians have been told by their insurance company that their home will no longer be covered. Here's a closer look at where the insurance industry stands on residential solar, and what homeowners can do.

• California is suing Exxon Mobil, alleging the company "has been deceiving the public to convince us that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste and pollution crisis when they clearly knew this wasn't possible."

• Want to fight climate change and not sure where to start? This week, Heatmap offers a report with detailed advice on how to decarbonize your life, starting with your car and your home.

Garden and microforest celebrate Indigenous cultures, capture carbon

A school in Montreal's West Island has inaugurated a green space dedicated to environmental restoration and the celebration of Indigenous culture.

John Abbott College, an English-language post-secondary program, or CEGEP, located in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., is calling the space Kahnikonri:io - Good Mind Garden and Microforest.

The space blends Indigenous knowledge and ecological sustainability, and is aimed at fostering sustainability, community and education through nature.

WATCH | This microforest on a CEGEP campus celebrates Indigenous cultures:

This microforest on a CEGEP campus celebrates Indigenous cultures

13 days ago

Duration 2:22

John Abbott College in Montreals West Island created a green space dedicated to biodiversity and highlighting Indigenous traditions. Its called Kahnikonri:io or Good Mind Garden and Microforest.

The space will also have tobacco burning ceremonies every Monday. The school's dean of Indigenous education said it's a step toward reconciliation.

"It means a lot. Some of my own personal tobacco plants are planted here in the garden," said Kim Tekakwitha Martin.

Thinking back to the 80s, she remembers attending John Abbott College and visiting on a tour for the first time.

"If I would have came here back then and the bus pulled up and I saw this, I would have immediately felt like, wow, this is going to be awesome," she said. "Like I'm home or there's something here I can relate to."

Chris Lvesque, who teaches biology at the college, came up with the idea of building a microforest which, he said, is a small forest that is constructed very densely.

Chris Lvesque, who teaches biology at John Abbott College, says the small forest is constructed very densely, and despite the fence surrounding it, animals have already been visiting. (Rowan Kennedy/CBC)

"We have 600 trees here in a fairly small area," he said. "They're removing greenhouse gases really fast, at a very high rate. Then they attract insects and birds and other animals. So we're really increasing biodiversity on campus by having this microforest here."

The area will be protected by a fence for the first two years, but once it is removed, it will look even better, he said. Already, a lot of insects and small animals have been visiting despite the fence, he noted.

He said next year, the school will begin measuring the amount of greenhouse gases being removed from the air by the microforest.

In four to five years, the forest will be growing and flourishing, said Tekakwitha Martin. And another five years after that, the small, tree-dense patch of campus will clearly be a forest, said Lvesque.

In the next eight to nine decades, he added, the trees will remove several tonnes of greenhouse gases.

On its website, the college says it is on unceded Indigenous lands of the traditional territory of both the Kanien'keh:ka and the Anishinabeg peoples.

"Together, as a diverse college community, we commit to building a sincere relationship with Indigenous peoples based on respect, dignity, trust and cooperation, in the process of advancing truth and reconciliation," it says.

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Editors: Emily Chung and Hannah Hoag| Logo design: Skdt McNalty