THUNDER BAY – An environmental conference hopes to empower change and advance positive environmental initiatives in First Nations communities.
More than 150 other professionals are attending the seventh annual Northern Ontario First Nations Environment Conference to educate environmental professionals from First Nations communities.
The three-day conference is geared toward educating professionals about pressing environmental issues in Northwestern Ontario and to facilitate collaboration between First Nations communities, industry professionals and government officials.
During Tuesday’s training session, fuel systems management trainer Douglas Stuart demonstrated different techniques on spill management and reporting through a video and a hands-on demonstration.
“Training like this is very important,” Stuart said. “When you spill petroleum liquids, and they enter the environment, it can affect not only the people that live in that community but it can also affect the animals that live in the forest.”
Participants watched a 17-minute spill response video, followed by a hands-on demonstration where Stuart punctured a hole in a drum and the participants were required to utilize the spill kits in an attempt to stop the spill and clean it up.
The training session provided a better understanding in regard to spill management, spill reporting and other procedures that need to be done after the spill.
“When you clean up the spill right away, it’s a lot easier to do than if you let it sit for a while,” Stuart said.
“The fastest you can clean the spill the better off you are, and the healthier we will be in our communities.”
Stuart said it’s important people know how to deal with the spill in order to keep communities safe.
“We want to keep everybody safe, so nobody gets hurt,” he said.
“We want to make sure we clean up the spill and make sure the land is the same as it was before the spill.”
Resource development advisor Natalie Popovic said the conference acts as a tool for Northern First Nation environmental leaders and professionals to network.
This is a chance to build their knowledge and bring something back to their community,” Popovic said.
This year’s conference focuses on several initiatives such as operations and management, resource development and land planning.
Along with numerous topics being covered during the workshops, which will take place throughout the three days.
“We were looking for a way we could get people together and train them together, because everything connects regionally,” Popovic said.
“It was really hard to do that individually, so this was the only event that we know of that brings such a wide audience together to talk about regional scale issues.”
The conference runs from Oct. 4 to Oct. 6 at the Best Western Plus NorWester Hotel and Conference Centre.
