The Tłı̨chǫ Government is hosting a special opening ceremony tomorrow at the Culture Centre in Behchokǫ̀ to celebrate the second year of their major reforestation project.
The ceremony will have traditional drumming and an opening prayer to bless the land, beginning the year’s planting with cultural reverence and good faith.
This project, the largest reforestation effort in the history of the Northwest Territories, is an effort to push back against climate change, and help regenerate the land and restore the natural habitat for caribou and other animals that use the land.
1.5 million trees, grown from locally harvested seeds, will be planted around Behchokǫ, along Highway 3 on Tłı̨chǫ land, and on the south shore of Snare Lake. This is the second year of the six-year plan to plant 13 million trees across Tłı̨chǫ lands.
With worsening wildfires and shrinking forests, says the Tłı̨chǫ Government, this project will help accelerate natural regeneration, strength Tłı̨chǫ ties to the land, and provide job opportunities in reforestation and land stewardship.
This project is funded in partnership by the Tłı̨chǫ Government, the Government of Canada’s 2 billion Trees program and Tree Canada.
