The Learning from Lake Sturgeon Youth Advisory Group ©Brianna Roye
Learning from Lake Sturgeon Youth Advisory Group
For the Learning from Lake Sturgeon Youth Advisory Group, conservation is about more than protecting a species. It is about ensuring the next generation has the knowledge, connection and voice to carry that work forward.
Led by Moose Cree youth, the group centres its work on namewak — Lake Sturgeon — a species that can live for more than 100 years.
Guided by Elders and using two-eyed seeing, the group brings Indigenous knowledge and Western perspectives together to understand and protect the rivers and wildlife of the Moose Cree Homeland.
In 2024, 12 youth canoed 200 kilometres in eight days along ancestral routes on the Mattagami and Moose rivers, experiencing firsthand how changing water levels and hydroelectric development affect Lake Sturgeon habitat.
The innovation is creating a cycle of learning: mentees become mentors, knowledge is shared across generations, and young people become advocates for the future of their lands and waters.
Congratulations to Learning from Lake Sturgeon Youth Advisory Group, recipient of the 2026 True North Wildlife Conservation Youth for Wildlife Award