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New website connects Alberta's Indigenous people

The Aboriginal Environmental Services Network has launched its very own website! The new site brings together information in support of Indigenous involvement in the Environmental Services sector.

Looking for information on training, technology, and resources related to supporting Indigenous involvement in the Environmental Services sector? Look no further than the recently launched Aboriginal Environmental Services Network (AESN) website!

The AESN was formed in 2015 as a successor to Alberta Innovates’ Land Stewardship Program, created in 2008. AESN was established to fulfill a community, government, and industry need for skilled people, available locally, to conduct environmental monitoring, wildlife surveys, traditional land use studies, vegetation management, climate change adaptation activities, and reclamation.

The first graduates of an AESN training program were celebrated during a February 2016 ceremony in Edmonton. Fifteen students from eight First Nation and Métis communities from across the oil sands region in northeastern Alberta completed five weeks of training in environmental monitoring, in the process leveraging traditional knowledge and gaining useful skills for serving their communities.

“As the AESN reaches critical mass, the vision is to have many more start-ups of Indigenous environmental services businesses. Part of Alberta Innovates’ mandate is to turn knowledge into economic opportunity, and that is how we hope the new website will assist Indigenous people. On seeing the website for the first time, many are surprised at all the information available, including training options, Indigenous companies and technology providers” says Alberta Innovates Researcher Dr. Shauna-Lee Chai.

Check out the new site, join the Network and contact Shauna-Lee for more information.

Join the AESN group on Facebook for discussions, career opportunities, and more.