Recently Conklin’s mînsa mawso enowak (Berry Picking People) completed their report for the 2023-2024 year. The report is available for download below the photo gallery. In short, the group found that the berries remain healthy in and around Conklin, but that for many reasons, fewer people are picking berries year over year. There are many reasons for this including blocked access, fear of pollution, climate change, and industry encroachment.
Moving forward, the committee plans to continue monitoring these things to better understand how oil sands development impacts berry picking and more generally our community. Analysis of the 2024-2025 berry year is still ongoing with a final report expected in the next few months. Additionally the mînsa mawso enowak hope to participate in a community meeting about oil sands monitoring sometime in April or May once the Oil Sands Monitoring program announces its funding decisions for 2025-2026.
If you have any questions about getting involved in oil sands monitoring, please reach out to Kim Desjarlais in the office. If you have questions about this specific report, please contact Peter Fortna at 780-381-9168 or other members of the mînsa mawso enowak (you should be able to recognize them in the berry picking pictures in this post!). Can’t wait to see you on the berry patch this summer!
