13 Dr. Teresa Ryan

Dr. Teresa Ryan

Sm’hayetsk

Time period: Present

Subject: Ecology, Natural Resources Conservation, Ancestral Knowledge systems

Biography: Dr. Ryan is a professor at UBC in the Faculty of Forestry. She is a member of the Tsimshian Nation and is a cedar basket weaver. Most of her research focused on the use of Ancestral Knowledge systems in the management of natural resources, particularly the eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) and the importance of the grease that this species provides for indigenous peoples. She is currently working on the Mother Tree Project, looking at the interconnectedness of trees within a forest.

Summary of their contributions:

The Mother Tree Project is about how species within a forest are interconnected, below ground, by networks of fungal species. Nearby trees send chemical messages to one another. The Mother Tree is a large, older tree that supports seedlings by sharing resources through their fungal networks.

Dr. Ryan has also studied how eulachon, traditionally used as fuel by indigenous nations, have been negatively impacted since colonization. She bridged the effects of colonialism on ecology with the economic prosperity of indigenous peoples who live on the land and depend on its resources.

Integration with the BC Secondary Science Curriculum:

First Peoples knowledge on interconnectedness and sustainability is in the Science curriculum. Dr. Ryan’s work to incorporate traditional knowledge into land management also fits with the curricular competency “apply First Peoples perspectives and knowledge, other ways of knowing, and local knowledge as sources of information”. Her work could also be used in a life science class when talking about fungi and the importance of plant-fungus associations in the soil. The idea of Mother Trees could be tied into ecology and environmental science and can be used as an example of systems thinking.

References:

Home

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Teresa-Ryan

https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0167417

https://forestry.ubc.ca/news/tedx-talk-ancestral-legacy-of-natures-connections/