Imalirijiit: A Community-Based Environmental Montoring Program in the George River Watershed, Nunavik, Canada

There is increasing interest in community-based environmental monitoring(CBEM) in Canadas North in response to the rising impacts of resource exploitation and climate change, and with increased recognition of indigenous knowledge. IMALIRIJIIT, meaning those who study water in Inuktitut, is a CBEM program involving science land camps, capacity-building workshops, and scientific data collection with the participation of youth, elders, local experts, and researchers. It was coinitiated by the Inuit community of Kangiqsualujjuaq (Nunavik, Quebec) and university-based researchers. This hands-on and landbased program aims to establish a sustainable environmental monitoring program of the George River, before the start of a rare earth elements (REEs) mining project in its upper watershed. 1) Create a long-term community-based environmental monitoring (CBEM) program in the George River watershed; 2) Study water quality and environmental change at the watershed scale; 3) Build an environmental database as baseline data of the George River before any mining activities; 4) Train local resources and champions in environmental stewardship, especially among youth; 5) Run science land camps as meeting and sharing platforms for community members and researchers to do collaborative science that benefits to all parties; 6) Develop an interactive multimedia map of the George River watershed including ecological knowledge and local place names.