Leona Shaw

CURA Graduate Student, Traditional Ecological Knowledge Stream

Phone: 250.960.5166

Email: lshaw@unbc.ca

Location: CURA office, UNBC, Room 4-230

I was born in Montreal, Quebec, and grew up mainly in London, Ontario, with my parents and two younger sisters. After highschool I attended the University of Western Ontario (UWO). I was not sure what I wanted to do with my future and was enrolled in a variety of science and math
courses. After a few years I decided that I wanted to get some field experience and moved to Castlegar, BC, where I obtained my Fish and Wildlife Management Diploma. I then took a couple years off school and travelled through a few countries in South America and volunteered on an
animal refuge in a small village (Villa Tunari) in Bolivia.

When I returned to Canada I attended the University of Northern B.C. (UNBC) where I finished my Bachelor of Science (BSc) and began my Masters of Natural Resources and Environmental Science (MNRES).

I am currently a part of the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) stream and look forward to working with the Tl'azt'enne and the rest of the people involved with CURA. My project focuses on the "ecology of harvesting". It involves working with the Tl'azt'en Elders and learning about taditional medicinal gathering sites through the collection of botanical and ecological information. Hopefully this data can be used in the future to aid in the restoration and protection of these special sites. I am excited to be working on this project and am grateful to
have this opportunity to work with the Tl'azt'en Nation.

If you are interested in knowing more about my research, please see my posters below:

• The Ecology of Food and Medicine Plant Gathering Sites as Defined by Tl'azt'en Nation, May 2008

• The Ecology of Plant Gathering and Tl'azt'en Nation, May 2007

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