Stretching across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, Canada’s prairie grasslands support hundreds of species, including migratory birds, pollinators and people, while also sustaining soil health, water systems, and livestock production. Yet of the roughly 141 million acres of historical grasslands across the country, only 26 million acres remain intact today.
Originally launched in 2021 with $30 million awarded to five organizations, the Weston Family Prairie Grasslands Initiative has already demonstrated significant measurable impact. Between 2021 and 2024, participating organizations helped support conservation activities across more than 1.2 million acres of grasslands habitat, trained more than 3,500 land stewards in various management practices, and established hundreds of ecological management agreements and conservation easements.
From 2025 to 2030, ten organizations will be delivering projects focused on land stewardship, economic viability, and training across the Prairie Provinces. While many of the teams are new to the Initiative, Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation, Meewasin Valley Authority, and Nature Conservancy of Canada are continuing the work they began in 2021.
For more information, please refer to the link below:
Explore the map below to learn more.
above images provided by participating grantee organizations
Toronto, ON – March 18,2026. In 2024, the Weston Family Foundation launched the Northern Conservation Program to support projects that deliver tangible biodiversity conservation outcomes in northern Canada. The Program prioritizes Indigenous-led and partnered initiatives and aims to expand protected areas while strengthening long-term stewardship of lands and waters.
We are pleased to introduce the 2025 cohort of grantees for the Northern Conservation Program. Recipients include Indigenous governments and organizations, conservation partners, and community-led initiatives working to advance protected and conserved areas and strengthen stewardship across northern landscapes.
Their projects support Indigenous leadership in conservation, protect culturally and ecologically important lands and waters, and help sustain healthy ecosystems and wildlife for future generations.
Introducing the 2025 Northern Conservation Program Grantees!
Dehcho First Nations
Project Name: Edéhzhíe Protected Area Sustainable Stewardship Project
The Edéhzhíe Protected Area Sustainable Stewardship Project is an Indigenous-led conservation initiative led by Dehcho First Nations to protect and care for one of Canada’s largest Indigenous protected areas. Through community-based Guardians work, the project strengthens land stewardship by monitoring wildlife and ecosystems, documenting environmental change, and integrating Dene knowledge into day-to-day stewardship practices. Funding from the Weston Family Foundation enhances operational capacity, training, and equipment for on-the-land stewardship, supporting healthy lands, waters, and wildlife across Edehzhie and reinforcing community leadership in conservation.
Dena Kayeh Institute
Project Name: Dena Kēyeh Sōgadze’ī (We are Caring for Dena Country): Kaska Stewardship Training Program
The Kaska Land Stewardship Certificate Program is an Indigenous-led education and capacity-building initiative designed to strengthen long-term stewardship of Kaska Dena traditional territory in northern British Columbia and the Yukon. Grounded in Kaska knowledge systems and land-based learning, the program brings together Elders, Guardians, youth, and academic partners to deliver training that blends Indigenous ecological knowledge with contemporary stewardship tools. The program builds a new generation of land stewards equipped to respond to climate change, support Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, and guide sustainable land and water governance across Kaska territory.
Nature Conservancy of Canada/ Cree Nation Government
Project Name: Supporting Expansion of the Network of Cree-Led Protected Areas in Eeyou Istchee
This project supports Cree-led conservation initiatives to expand a network of protected areas across Eeyou Istchee, the traditional territory of the Cree people in northern Quebec. Led by the Cree Nation Government and Cree communities, in partnership with the Government of Quebec, the initiative safeguards culturally and ecologically important lands essential to the Cree way of life while responding to growing land-use pressures and conservation challenges. The Nature Conservancy of Canada supports planning by integrating Western science and Cree knowledge, with a focus on biodiversity protection, climate resilience, and strong community engagement.
Ya’thi Néné Land and Resource Office (YNLR)
Project Name: Establishing Protected Areas in Nuhenéné (Athabasca Denesųłine Traditional Territory)
Ya’thi Néné Lands and Resources, representing the three Athabasca Denesųłiné First Nations and four municipal communities, is leading the establishment of Etthén Néné Stewardship Areas (ENSAs) across approximately 1.2 million hectares in Nuhenéné, the traditional territory of the Athabasca Denesųłiné people in northern Saskatchewan. Grounded in Denesųłiné knowledge and informed by interviews with more than 350 community members, ENSAs protects critical barren-ground caribou habitat, historic travel routes, and culturally significant lands while supporting biodiversity, cumulative effects management, and sustainable economic development.
Saulteu First Nations
Project name: Restoring Biodiversity and Enhancing Indigenous Stewardship in Klinse-za/Twin Sisters Park and Protected Area
This project supports the long-term recovery of southern mountain caribou while strengthening Indigenous-led conservation in the expanded Klinse-Za Park and Protected Area. Guided by Wahkôtowin, the laws of kinship and interconnectedness, Saulteau First Nations is leading habitat restoration, monitoring, and stewardship activities to protect culturally and ecologically significant landscapes. Guardian and research collaborations integrate Indigenous knowledge and Western science to enhance understanding of biodiversity and restore critical habitats in northeast British Columbia.
SNAP Quebec
Project name: Innu Sister Rivers Protection Project
Since time immemorial, the great rivers of northern Quebec have served as vital routes for the Innu First Nation to access their territory and practice their traditional way of life, Innu Aitun. The Muteshekau Shipu (Magpie) and Mishta Shipu (Moisie) rivers are two major waterways that this project seeks to protect permanently, along with their vast watersheds and the biodiversity they sustain.
Building on partnerships between First Nations, municipalities, and environmental and citizen groups, the project conducts biocultural inventories, organizes community expeditions, and advances efforts to secure long-term protection of these lands and waters.
World Wildlife Fund Canada in partnership with Taloyoak Umaruliririgut Association
Project Name: Advancing Aqviqtuuq Inuit Protected and Conserved Area on the Boothia Peninsula in Taloyoak, Nunavut
Aqviqtuuq is a proposed Inuit Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) led by the Hamlet of Taloyoak in Nunavut, grounded in Inuit stewardship that has existed since time immemorial. The initiative aims to protect ecologically and culturally important lands, waters, and wildlife while strengthening Inuit governance, decision-making, and intergenerational knowledge transfer. By bringing together Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and modern science, the project supports Guardian programs, sustainable harvesting practices, and a conservation-based economy that contributes to long-term resilience across the Kitikmeot region.
York Factory First Nation
Project Name: Kitaskeenan Kaweekanawaynitamuk (Our Land We Want to Take Care Of) Indigenous Protected Area.
The Kitaskeenan Kaweekanawaynitamuk project brings together five Cree Nations to explore the creation of an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) across their shared ancestral homelands in northeastern Manitoba. Initiated by York Factory First Nation, the project collaborates with Fox Lake Cree Nation, Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Shamattawa First Nation, and War Lake First Nation. Guided by the Nayhenaway Ininewuk (Cree People) laws, governance, and knowledge systems of each community, the initiative aims to protect culturally and ecologically significant lands while strengthening Indigenous stewardship for future generations.
Click the link to read the press release in French
TORONTO, ON – February 25, 2026 —The Weston Family Foundation, and the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus (UBCO), have launched a first-of-its-kind $8M Canadian Prescribed Fire Training Program. This program will strengthen national capacity for the safe and effective use of prescribed fire, with the goal of enhancing biodiversity and strengthening ecological and community resilience.
Prescribed fire is a safe, planned, and controlled land management practice essential to maintaining healthy ecosystems. Despite its demonstrated benefits, the value of prescribed fire is not widely recognized or understood. In Canada, its use remains limited due to a lack of training, mentorship, and opportunities for firsthand operational experience.
The Canadian Prescribed Fire Training Program addresses this critical gap by training practitioners across Canada, ensuring that prescribed fire practices reflect local ecosystems, governance structures, and operational realities. The program emphasizes evidence-informed practice, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and respect for Indigenous-led fire stewardship and cultural fire. By strengthening training and capacity nationwide, the Program will support healthier and more resilient landscapes and communities.
For more information, please refer to the links below:
Erin Kiyonaga (she/her) joined the Weston Family Foundation in September 2024. As a Grants Coordinator, she is a member of the Operations team and primarily supports the Foundation’s Conservation Committee.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Erin worked as a Senior Project Coordinator at FACTOR (The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings). Erin holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Archaeology from the University of Toronto.
Faire progresser les connaissances pour contribuer à la protection et à la restauration de la biodiversité boréale
TORONTO, ON – Le 17 juillet 2025, Nous avons l’honneur de dévoiler les lauréats des bourses de la famille Weston pour la recherche nordique 2025. Créé il y a 18 ans, le programme continue de soutenir les chercheurs en début de carrière dont les travaux permettent de mieux comprendre le Nord canadien et de préserver sa biodiversité unique. À l’issue d’un examen indépendant de plus de 90 candidatures provenant de partout au pays, 30 chercheurs ont été sélectionnés pour recevoir un financement:
- 15 étudiants à la maîtrise (20 000 $ sur un an)
- 11 étudiants au doctorat (120 000 $ sur trois ans)
- 4 étudiants au postdoctorat (110 000 dollars sur deux ans et un montant annuel allant jusqu’à 10 000 $ pour couvrir les frais de déplacement et de participation à des conférences)
Depuis 2007, la Fondation de la famille Weston a soutenu plus de 400 chercheurs dans le cadre de ce programme, dont les bourses figurent parmi les plus importantes et les plus prestigieuses dans le secteur des sciences naturelles nordiques au Canada.
La cohorte de 2025 mènera des recherches innovantes dans des domaines allant de la glaciologie et de l’océanographie à l’écologie des espèces et aux changements climatiques. Voici quelques-uns des projets qui obtiendront du financement:
- Explorer les réactions des espèces marines de l’Arctique aux variations de la glace de mer
- Étudier la régénération des forêts boréales après un incendie et les implications sur les écosystèmes de la forêt.
- Travailler en collaboration avec les communautés autochtones pour tresser les savoirs autochtones avec la science.
- Pleins des autres projects!
Dans le cadre du programme, les lauréats des bourses pour la recherche nordique sont encouragés à travailler en partenariat avec les communautés nordiques et autochtones – une approche qui se reflète dans la conception et la mise en œuvre de nombreux projets choisis pour 2025.
Nous remercions sincèrement les évaluateurs, les établissements de recherche et les collectivités qui continuent à soutenir et à guider ces chercheurs.
Faites la connaissance des lauréats des bourses de la famille Weston pour la recherche nordique 2025 et apprenez-en plus sur leurs projets de recherche ici.
Advancing knowledge to help protect and restore northern biodiversity
TORONTO, ON – July 17, 2025, We are honoured to share the recipients of the 2025 Weston Family Awards in Northern Research. Now in its 18th year, this program continues to support early-career researchers whose work deepens our understanding of Northern Canada and safeguards its unique biodiversity.
Following a competitive, arms-length review of over 90 applications from across the country, 30 scholars have been selected to receive funding:
- 15 Master’s students ($20,000 over one year)
- 11 PhD students ($120,000 over three years)
- 4 Postdoctoral Fellows ($110,000 over two years, with up to $10,000/year for travel and conference expenses)
Since 2007, the Weston Family Foundation has supported more than 400 researchers through this program—one of the most substantial and prestigious awards for northern natural sciences in Canada.
The 2025 cohort will lead innovative research in fields ranging from glaciology and oceanography to species ecology and climate change. Funded projects include:
- Exploring Arctic marine species’ responses to shifting sea ice patterns.
- Studying post-fire recovery of boreal forests and implications for forest ecosystems.
- Working with Indigenous communities and braiding Indigenous Knowledge with science.
As part of the program, Northern Scholars are encouraged to work in partnership with northern and Indigenous communities—an approach reflected in the design and implementation of many 2025 projects.
We extend our sincere thanks to the reviewers, research institutions, and communities that continue to support and guide these scholars.
Meet the 2025 Weston Family Northern Scholars and learn more about their research here.
Sarah Cook joined the Weston Family Foundation in January 2022 as a Grants Coordinator. She is responsible for supporting the operational needs of programs related to the Weston Family Microbiome Initiative and Northern Science and Knowledge.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Sarah worked on the Operations and Finance teams for a number of Canadian and international non-profit organizations including the Stephen Lewis Foundation and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation.
Sarah holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Development Studies and a Postgraduate Certificate in International Development Management.
