Ancient Indigenous 'clam gardens' could be modern-day climate solution
CBC
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For close to four centuries, "clam gardens" on beaches on the west coast of B.C. have provided First Nations with a supply of not just clams but other types of seafood.
In the aftermath of the brutal 2021 heat dome on the West Coast, there's renewed interest in this ancient aquaculture technique.
Five days of stifling heat killed hundreds of people and billions of sea creatures. But scientific experimentation by researchers from Simon Fraser University, in collaboration with Coastal Salish First Nations, indicates clam gardens help sea life stay cooler.
The research aims to show how ancient Indigenous practices offer a modern-day solution to coping with climate change.
SFU master's student Emily Spencer wanted to know whether the clam gardens, with their steady supply of cool water, could help keep shellfish cooler and protect them from future episodes of extreme heat.
Ken Thomas was more than willing to demonstrate the age-old practices of maintaining clam gardens on a recent visit to Russell Island, which lies close to the better-known Saltspring Island, off the southeast coast of Vancouver Island.
He's intimately involved with the research being carried out here. A tall, broad-shouldered man in his 50s, Thomas is in charge of fisheries, wildlife and natural resources for the Penelakut First Nation.
He picked up a three-pronged rake and began "tilling" the sand. As he pulled the rake down, he explained that it helps keep the beach from becoming "hard and dormant." It also revealed small clams and crabs living close to the sand's surface.
When the idea of reconstructing a clam garden on this beach was broached a few years ago, Thomas wasn't convinced. Elders directed him and others to pick up large rocks from higher up the shore and arrange them to form a rough seawall close to the low tide line.
"At first it was, 'OK, yeah, I'll go move rocks, whatever,'" Thomas told What On Earth. But something shifted in him as he heard the elders tell stories from the past. He began to understand and appreciate how a technique so old could work so well for him and his children.
"It really touched me in a way that I can't explain," Thomas said. "Every time I moved a rock and placed it on the wall, I was like, wow, my ancestors touched these rocks, and here I am putting it back, restoring it back to what it was meant for."
This could be an unusually good year to spot snowy owls in southern Canada.
Over five dozen items belonging to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis are one step closer to returning home.
After Canada announced Tuesday it wouldn’t list the American eel under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) some First Nations people with cultural and spiritual ties to the species are questioning the decision.
The B.C. government is issuing new guidance for physicians when it comes to treating youth with overlapping cases of mental health and substance use challenges, clarifying the use of involuntary care in the process.
Former Assembly of First Nations national chief RoseAnne Archibald says her lawsuit against the national advocacy organization is moving forward, after settlement talks “were stalled and stonewalled” for 18 months.
An early start to Canada’s flu season is hitting children hard, sending a flood of young patients into multiple pediatric hospitals as medical teams warn that emergency visits and admissions could keep climbing in the weeks ahead.
Energy efficient homes are key to improving some health issues and solving the housing crisis in Indigenous communities, according to a new report on Indigenous housing.
Satellite constellations, networks of multiple satellites that can number from a few dozen to tens of thousands, are interfering with scientific research using ground-based telescopes, but now a new study looks at how they might affect space-bound telescopes like Hubble.
A surge in the rate of incurable prostate cancer cases could be a sign to rethink Canada’s stance on screening for one of the most common diseases for men, according to new research.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is limiting the use of its 973 Chinese-made drones to non-sensitive operations, stating the devices present "high security risks, primarily due to their country of origin."
As Katrina Bellavance’s seven-week-old daughter kept coughing non-stop, the Calgary mother unzipped her newborn’s pajamas and saw the skin around her tiny ribs tugging inward with each laboured breath.
Assembly of First Nations chiefs are gathering this week in Ottawa for their annual December meeting, which will include discussions on the federal government’s major projects office and the urgent need for First Nations infrastructure, the AFN says.
The company behind three major data centres in northern B.C. and the Kootenays is making a big shift.