Pheasant Rump First Nations Design Workshop

    Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nations is a First Nations community  situated on the 68 reserve near Kisbey, Saskatchewan. The reserve is located on a unique piece of land which is part of an alluvial flume, with high ground water conditions and periodic flooding, as well as high wind conditions. 

    Members of the community reached out to Sheila Boudreau of EOR Inc for assistance in their site redevelopment. The Pheasant Rump community heard of Sheila through her work at Bolton Camp mentoring indigenous youth in green infrastructure. 

    Urban Water TMU and EOR Inc. collaborated to host  Pheasant Rump in Toronto and share planning, hydrology, and engineering expertise. The goal of the event was to  share expertise that would enable Pheasant Rump to take potential solutions back home for further guidance. The key challenges to address in the site redevelopment were identified as: relief from the heat, improved air quality (mitigate pollution from refineries), windbreak, to incorporate gardens, and integrate a walking path. 

    The week consisted of 4 eventful days from September 18-21, 2019. The first day comprised welcomes and introductions followed by a tour of the Ryerson Urban Farm and a Waterfront Toronto tour demonstrating the renaturalization of the Don Valley River and redevelopment of the Portlands. This allowed the Pheasant Rump group to capture ideas being used in Toronto and draw parallels with problems at home. 

    The second day involved a trip to the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ohsweken, Ontario. While there, the Pheasant Rump visitors had a chance to view indigenous architecture projects being undertaken alongside a tour of an indigenous ecological restoration company. 

    The annual Ryerson Pow Wow was held on the third day, so Pheasant Rump guests attended the opening ceremonial entrance with drumming and singing and participated in activities during lunch and breaks. The main focus of the third day was a green infrastructure workshop with Ryerson and EOR experts to enable Pheasant Rump to brainstorm solutions to their site challenges. Urban Water TMU researchers supported the group by providing tools such as GIS maps and expertise on potential green infrastructure solutions to mitigate the problems identified

    On the last day Pheasant Rump visited the Humber River watershed with Dr. David Atkinson and his students. They toured the watershed from the headwaters to Lake Ontario, with discussions on air quality, water quality, ecological services, and communities. 

    During the visit Pheasant Rump was provided with many experiences and learnings to assist them with their site redevelopment. During the visit, Urban Water TMU researchers and staff assisted them with a funding application for the redevelopment. In November, Dr. Atkinson travelled to the reserve to conduct water and soil quality testing.

Many thanks to our Pheasant Rump visitors and their trust in Urban Water TMU and EOR Incorporated to support their site redevelopment.

    The event was a great success and the Pheasant Rump first nations group went back with a lot of learning and experiences that they can implement in their community. Urban Water TMU researchers and staff will maintain contact with the group to assist them as they progress to the next steps of the project including funding applications and geographical analysis.

    Urban Water TMU and EOR Inc will maintain contact with the group to continue to assist them as they progress to the next steps of their redevelopment project. This includes the return of Dr. Atkinson in the Spring 2020, with a view to mentoring others on the reserve to continue water and soil quality monitoring.