Alison Ronson

Alison joined the Weston Family Foundation in 2022 and oversees all programming related to Northern Science and Knowledge. Prior to joining the Foundation, Alison worked as the National Director of Operations and Legal Counsel with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), where she was responsible for instituting operational systems and processes in the CPAWS national office. Alison has an extensive work history in large landscape-scale science and conservation, fundraising, financial planning, and reporting within charitable/non-profit organizations.  

Alison has a degree of Barrister-at-Law, Law Society of Ontario, a Masters in International Affairs from Carleton University, where she focused on the impact of climate change on Arctic environmental institutions, and a Bachelor of Science with Honours from Queens University (Faculty of Biology and Faculty of Environmental Sciences), where she studied the impact of climate change on Arctic soil microbial processes.

Sarah Cook

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.

Applications now being accepted for the 2022 Weston Family Awards in Northern Research

The Weston Family Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of the 2022 Weston Family Awards in Northern Research. Through a competitive process, these awards are presented annually to outstanding students and scientists in northern research from across Canada.

As of Nov. 4, 2021, the Weston Family Awards are open to students pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees, or a postdoctoral fellowship. Past winners have undertaken research projects across a broad spectrum of fields and disciplines in the natural sciences, including studies of northern ecosystems, biodiversity, flora and fauna, meteorology, oceanography, glaciology, geography and environmental studies.

Since the program’s inception in 2007, more than 300 early-career researchers have been selected to receive an award, forming a community of Weston Family Northern Scientists who are at the forefront of northern scholarship and who are helping shape a better future for Canada and the world. In the most recent round of awards, 27 researchers were chosen for a variety of research projects, including bird biodiversity, polar bear ecology, permafrost thaw, beluga health and Inuit knowledge.

The deadline to submit an application for the current awards program is Jan. 27, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. (EST). For more information, please visit www.westonfamilyawards.ca.

Congratulations to the winners of the Weston Family Awards in Northern Research

The Weston Family Awards in Northern Research were launched in 2007 to support early-career researchers focusing on science in the North. Since that time, nearly 300 scientists have been funded at the graduate and postdoctoral level.

Through a competitive process, awards are presented to outstanding students and scientists in northern research from universities across Canada. This year, 27 researchers were chosen for a variety of research projects, including bird biodiversity, polar bear ecology, permafrost thaw, beluga health and Inuit knowledge.

Read more about the work of this year’s award winners here: 2021 Weston Family Awards in Northern Research

Earth Rangers

Since 2011, the Weston Family Foundation has supported Earth Rangers’ mission to foster environmental education and to encourage every child to take action towards the conservation of the North.

Earth Rangers’ national Wildlife Adoptions Program helps to educate children and empower them to improve the environment and protect animals. Foundation support has enabled more than one million children and their families to learn about the caribou, polar bear and beluga whale, bringing a deeper understanding of northern species to new audiences. As a result, Earth Rangers has been successful in engaging families across the country to support biodiversity and conservation in Canada’s North.

For more information, visit the Earth Rangers website: www.earthrangers.com

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada

Encouraging meaningful and informative collaborations is at the core of the Foundation’s work to enhance scientific research and shape dialogue about Canada’s North. The Foundation supports organizations that build new alliances and forge significant relationships between environmental organizations, decision makers and other key stakeholders.

Across the Northern Boreal forests and the western Arctic, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada (WCS Canada) is supported by the Foundation to ensure that scientific data is available to guide decisions for the protection of species and ecosystems through such meaningful collaborations.

WCS Canada also administers the Weston Family Foundation Fellowships, which allow the next generation of northern researchers to work alongside leading scientists, thereby enhancing their graduate-level work and informing new conversations. The annual fellowships are awarded to support field research relevant to WCS Canada’s conservation objectives at their two long-term conservation sites: the boreal region of Northern Ontario and the Northern Boreal Mountains of Yukon and British Columbia.

For more information on the Fellowships, please visit the WCS Canada Fellowships page

For details on the accomplishments of the program, please review the 2009-2019 WCS Canada Fellowship Program Report

Northern Science and Knowledge

A floating iceberg

What We Do

Canada’s North is a unique and sensitive landscape facing unprecedented challenges. Since 2007, our Foundation has committed nearly $40 million to northern natural science research to collaborate with scientists, non-profits and government organizations to better understand the North and foster more informed decision-making.

Through the Weston Family Awards in Northern Research, more than 350 early-career researchers have been selected to receive funding, forming a community of Weston scientists at the forefront of research in Canada’s North.

We also enable knowledge mobilization, not only within the scientific community, but among audiences who otherwise may not have the opportunity to learn about issues that threaten our country’s northern landscapes.

A researcher working in the alpine zone on the side of a mountain

What We Fund

Although our work is continuously evolving, currently we have three priorities for our funding:

  1. Infrastructure and Technology
    Increase innovative technology solutions and improve logistical capacity to advance Canada’s knowledge around northern ecosystems
  2. Land Use Planning and Management
    Influence key decision-makers to make informed land-use planning and sustainable resource development decisions in Canada’s North
  3. Research and Training
    Increase knowledge of Canada’s northern natural sciences, including key biodiversity areas and intact ecosystems, by retaining the current generation and increasing future generations of northern natural science researchers in Canada

There are no open grant programs at this time for our Northern Science and Knowledge program. For future grant opportunities, please check our Grant Calls page or follow us on Twitter @westonfamilyfdn.

Featured Projects and Research

A small motorized boat being piloted on a lake

Weston Family Awards in Northern Research

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A herd of reindeer crossing a snowy field

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada

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A white arctic fox on snow

Earth Rangers

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