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 northern Canada 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 iconic northern species such as caribou, polar bear, and beluga whale, bringing a deeper understanding of northern wildlife 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 meaningful collaborations.

WCS Canada also administers the Weston Family Boreal Research 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