Dr. Jesse Popp combines Indigenous and Western ways of knowing to advance environmental science

SACKVILLE, NB — Mount Allison University Geography and Environment assistant professor Dr. Jesse Popp has been named the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Science. The announcement was made as part of a national event with the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of the Science and Sport, earlier this summer.

Specializing in wildlife ecology and Indigenous science, Popp works with researchers and Indigenous communities across Canada to help investigate the impacts of environmental change on ecological processes and wildlife populations.

“With collaborators across the country, our research team works to weave Indigenous and Western science to investigate pressing environmental concerns,” explains Popp. “These include disturbance impacts on wildlife diversity, demographics, and distributions. We’re also exploring the consequences of wildlife population fluctuations on Indigenous traditional ways of life. The Canada Research Chair appointment will greatly assist my research endeavours. I’m honoured to receive this distinction.”

Jeff Ollerhead, Mount Allison University’s provost and vice-president, academic and research says Popp’s cross-country research is important in terms of reconciliation and fostering ecological and cultural understanding.

“Jesse’s research and classes are helping to bring Indigenous science and traditional knowledge into the curriculum and to the Mount Allison campus and wider communities,” says Ollerhead. “On behalf of the entire University community, I wish to congratulate her on this latest appointment.”

Popp holds a PhD in Boreal Ecology from Laurentian University, where she was the first Indigenous student to complete a doctorate specializing in natural sciences. Along with her community-led research program and courses at Mount Allison, she is currently working with Dr. Adam Ford from the University of British Columbia (Okanagan) and Dr. Deborah McGregor from York University through the New Frontiers in Research program. The team received $250,000 and will be meeting with First Nations communities across British Columbia, Ontario, and the Maritime region to learn more about cultural keystone species in different regions.

At Mount Allison, Popp’s research program also includes direct student involvement in a number of projects. Student researchers are assisting with workshops across Canada as part of their degrees. One student, Raven Elwell, is spending this summer helping to plan and establish Indigenous gardens on campus. The new gardens include local plants with important meaning and use to Indigenous people, most notably the Mi’kmaw community.

“We’ve worked with the University to design several gardens, one focuses on the medicine wheel, and another is called the Three Sisters garden, which includes corn, beans, and squash,” explains Popp. “We’re looking forward to sharing these with the campus and wider community in the fall.”

Popp’s appointment is for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair, which is for five years and comes with $500,000 in research funding over that time period.

During the June 2019 federal announcement, Mount Allison University Chemistry and Biochemistry professor Dr. Stephen Westcott was also renewed as a Canada Research Chair in Green Boron Chemistry. Westcott’s latest appointment is for a Tier 1 Chair, which is for seven years and comes with over $1.4-million in research funding over that time period.

The Canada Research Chair (CRC) program is a national research program funded by the federal government. Chairholders aim to achieve research excellence in engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Mount Allison currently holds four Canada Research Chairs in the areas of chemistry, environment, languages, and biology (mta.ca/research)