It is estimated that 130 million trees in the Tłı̨chǫ region alone were burned in the devastating 2023 fires. An ambitions new reforestation project is taking on a unprecedented initiative to plant over 1 million trees as part of a six-year plan to plant 13 million trees to bring back the forest.
The Tłı̨chǫ Government is holding a special opening ceremony tomorrow at the Behchokǫ̀ Culture Centre at 10:00 a.m. in celebration of the launch of their major reforestation project. “This will mark the beginning of the largest reforestation effort ever undertaken in the Northwest Territories,” said Paul Cressman, who is working with the Tłı̨chǫ government on the new reforestation project.
The opening ceremony will feature traditional drumming and an opening prayer to honour and bless the land.
“This project is an effort to push back against the effects of climate change and is focused to supporting regeneration of the land and restoration of habitat for Caribou and all people and animals that use the land,” said Cressman.
There are interconnected goals the project is aiming to achieve, one is Caribou habitat restoration.
“So it actually started out a couple of years ago as a project to rehabilitate critical areas for caribou migration that had been affected by wildfire but then of course in 2023 the wildfires forced evacuation of Yellowknife and Behchokǫ̀ and burned some houses in Behchokǫ̀ came right up to the community,” said Cressman.
The wildfires had devastating impacts on the people of Behchokǫ̀. The project came to a pause and was then reborn with a new focus.
“This summer we are planting in some caribou migration corridors but we’re also then planting around the community of Behchokǫ̀ for a couple of reasons. To re-beautify the community. I think that when people had to evacuate the community in 2023, there was a lot of fear, a lot of uncertainty. This is a way for the Tłı̨chǫ people and the people of Behchokǫ̀ to push back against the effects of climate change that they’ve been victims of. This is an opportunity for them to say no, we’re not victims, we are taking action. We are protecting the land and revitalising, the land that has supported the Tłı̨chǫ people for millennia so there is there is an environmental component to it, there’s a psychological component to it.”
The Tłı̨chǫ people are deeply connected to the land.
“Just listening to elders and listening to people talk about the responsibilities that have been passed down over the generations. This is something that people take very seriously,” said Cressman.
The Tłı̨chǫ language and culture and way of life are intimately related to the land. And so the destruction by fire had an environmental impact obviously but it also has had a cultural impact,” he continued.
Over the summer, 1.4 million trees will be planted around Behchokǫ̀, Russell Lake, and James Lake. Using locally harvested seeds, the tree planting is “the first step” in a six-year plan to plant 13 million trees across Tłı̨chǫ lands.
“In response to worsening wildfires and shrinking forests, this project will accelerate natural regeneration, protect wildlife, and strengthen Tłı̨chǫ ties to the land. It will also create local job opportunities and career pathways in reforestation and land stewardship,” said Cressman.
This project is funded in partnership with the Tłı̨chǫ Government, the Government of Canada’s 2 Billion Trees program and Tree Canada, said Cressman.
More on this story to come
