My name is Léna Bureau, and I’m a French PhD candidate at McGill University in Montreal, where I’ve been conducting research since January 2023. My work is grounded in both socio-ecological sciences and Indigenous Knowledge, exploring knowledge weaving methodologies in Community-Engaged Research for Arctic and Subarctic wildlife monitoring, management, and conservation. It’s been a privilege to learn through my involvement in three projects, in close collaboration with four Cree and Inuit communities across Eeyou Istchee, Nunavut, and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region:

1. Understanding the Impacts of Climate Change on Arctic Nesting Geese and Inuit Food Sovereignty in Arviat, Nunavut

2. Peary Caribou, Muskoxen, and Their Predators: The Value of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit in Informing Species Recovery in the Inuvialuit region

3. Moose Habitat Quality in Eeyou Istchee under the Adapted Forestry Regime

I’ll be sharing more about each of these projects here soon, stay tuned!

I'm pursuing this doctoral work as part of the Northern Wildlife Knowledges Lab led by Professor Murray Humphries, and I'm co-supervised by Dr. Dominique Henri from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Before beginning this interdisciplinary PhD journey, I worked as a behavioral biologist with several research organizations, including the French Polar Institute in the remote Kerguelen Islands of the subantarctic region, and the Kalahari Meerkat Project in South Africa. 

In my spare time, I'm also a wildlife photographer and outdoor addict.