2025 Alberta Ecotrust Foundation Environmental Gathering. Credit: Alberta Ecotrust Foundation. May 2025 Alberta Ecotrust Foundation Environmental Gathering From May 7-9, 2025, RAD Operations team members Randi and Chelsea gathered in Moh'kinstsis (now known as Calgary) in Treaty 7 Territory for the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation Environmental Gathering. This year’s theme was Building Bridges to highlight the importance of trust, collaboration and connection in co-creating a sustainable and resilient future. The conference included various expert panels ranging from green landscapes, ‘middle’ housing infrastructure, artificial intelligence as well as various smaller break out rooms for all attendees. Both Randi and Chelsea attended the Rights of Nature breakout [...]

Image: Mount Yamnuska, aptly called Îyâ Mnathka or “flat-faced mountain” by the îyârhe Nakodabi (Stoney Nakoda). This is also the doorway into the passage and is part of the creation story. Rights of Nature: A Reflection  By Britney Supernault The idea of protecting nature is new to Indigenous Peoples. No matter where you go in the world, the Indigenous Peoples of that area have held a relationship based in respect and reciprocity with the land they share life with. There is no hierarchy of whose life matters more, or who should be dominant when it comes to humans, animal people, and the land. Instead Indigenous [...]

RAD Response: Federal Protocol for Offsets on Public Lands  October 2024 The RAD Network connects Indigenous governments to tools and resources to help advance their land relationship visions. When new tools are being developed, we want to make sure that they respond to Nations’ priorities and are designed in a way that upholds Indigenous rights. Most recently, we facilitated a process to influence the federal protocol for projects on Crown and public land in Canada’s Greenhouse Gas (GhG) Offset Credit System. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) published a discussion paper, Facilitating Projects on Crown and Public Land in Canada's Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit [...]

TOOLS & SERVICES FOR INDIGENOUS NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS August 2024 At the RAD Network, we believe that collaboration is key to paving the path forward for Indigenous-led nature-based solutions (NbS). As a network, we weave relationships, connect across silos, and shed light on needs and resources. RAD seeks to connect Nations to tools and supports, while working with non-Indigenous partners to foster decolonized, rights-centered collaboration. With increasing recognition of the value and need for Indigenous-led NbS, we’re seeing a range of programs and resources emerge across the country. We summarized several of such initiatives in our April 2024 report, “Cultivating Capacity: A Scan of Needs and Resources [...]

RAD Accelerator Circles Kick Off We recently held our first RAD Accelerator Circle, kicking off a new initiative to accelerate Indigenous natural climate solutions. What are Accelerator Circles? Accelerator Circles are short online engagements, designed to explore innovative solutions and actionable steps forwards for place-based challenges. We convene around a project or strategic opportunity that Indigenous Nations are facing related to advancing nature-based solutions. In a small talking circle format, practitioners share their challenges and aspirations with a carefully curated panel of experienced voices who provide feedback and support. Circles bring together a small group of knowledge holders, experts, and asset stewards to listen and to share [...]

Cultivating Capacity: A Scan of Needs & Resources for Indigenous-led Nature-based Solutions April 30, 2024 A growing number of Indigenous Nations and communities are pursuing nature-based solutions (NbS) to advance their land relationship visions. Yet, capacity gaps often pose barriers to Indigenous-led NbS. The RAD Network is well-positioned to create tools and resources to help Nations overcome those barriers, but we also know that plenty of tools already exist. So, rather than duplicating efforts, we decided to explore the questions:What capacity-building offerings are already out there and where are the gaps? Who is working on what and how can the RAD Network foster collaboration? What capacity needs [...]

Reposted from Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership on March 13, 2024 Envisioning Pathways Forward: Reflections from the First Gathering of the RAD Network August 16, 2023 The RAD Network Operations Group would like to acknowledge and express gratitude to the many individuals who made this gathering and collaborative work possible. Woliwon, thank you, to our local hosts, guest Elders, Convenor Patricia Saulis, Facilitator Erin Dixon and Knowledge Holder Terry Young. Many thanks to the RAD Leadership Group – David Flood, Trish Nash, Steven Nitah, Kim Neale, Terry Dorward ,and Eli Enns – as well as many RAD Working Group contributors and all the participants who shared their [...]