The Clam Garden Network consists of some 300 people who are part of our email list and who have a keen interest in the many aspects of clam gardens. To organize the 2021/2022 Clam Conversations webinar series we formed an interim steering committee. Over the course of 2022, we will be reimagining the governance of the Network to ensure that the Network remains as inclusive and relevant to diverse community needs and interests as they relate to traditional mariculture practices.
Hwsyun’yun Skye Augustine
Skye is a descendant of the Stz’uminus Nation and is a doctoral candidate with the Coastal Marine Ecology & Conservation Lab at Simon Fraser University. Skye first fell in love with clam gardens in 2009, when she began working with them as a summer student. Recently, she led a 6-year clam garden restoration project in the Southern Gulf Islands – a collaboration between Coast Salish Nations and Parks Canada. This landscape-scale restoration experiment examines the impacts of revitalized clam garden
practices on intertidal ecosystems and linked human communities by drawing on Indigenous knowledge and marine ecology. Skye continues to advise on this effort as a member of Hul’q’umi’num Seafood Working Group. Outside of work and her studies, Skye can be found adventuring in nature, dancing with friends, and being a pet parent to her sweet dog Willow.
Ala̱g̱a̱mił Nicole Norris
Halalt First Nation
Shellfish Aquaculture Specialist, Intergovernmental Communicator, Cultural Support Worker; knowledge holder and language preserver for the Hul’qumi’num.
Q̓íx̌itasu
Central Coast Archaeology
Q̓íx̌itasu (Elroy White) (MA) from the Haìɫzaqv Nation is the proud owner/operator of Central Coast Archaeology and alumnus of Simon Fraser University. He studies the food, social, and ceremonial use of the ancestral past of the Haíɫzaqv people through the examination of the products of his ancestor’s labour.
With his in-depth cultural-historical knowledge of the archaeological sites in his territory, he has collaborated with archaeologists and ecologists from several universities. When Q̓íx̌itasu first recorded a clam garden in his territory in 2004, he observed that the clam garden rock walls were built to a different tidal height than the selective fishery stone fish traps in his territory. Q̓íx̌itasu conducts Haíɫzaqv-driven research by including multiple generations of Haíɫzaqv people, incorporating his language, and combining science with oral history. His research examines these important clam beaches which were formed in antiquity, yet, continue to be used in modern time by the descendants of the Haìɫzaqv people.
Marco Hatch
Marco Hatch is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science at Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University. Marco is marine ecologist with a Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a member of the Samish Indian Nation. Prior to WWU he directed the Salish Sea Research Center at Northwest Indian College. At WWU he has created a wonderfully diverse lab charged with preparing the next generation of environmental scientists and leaders through fostering respect for Indigenous knowledge and
providing students with a solid background in scientific methods. His research focuses on the nexus of people and marine ecology, centered on Indigenous marine management.
Dana Lepofsky
Dana is an archaeologist who studies the social and ecological aspects of past human interactions with their land and seascapes, particularly among Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest of North America and the Society Islands of French Polynesia. Within the Northwest Coast, she works in the traditional territories of, and in collaboration with, several First Nations. Her recognition of the value of different disciplines and kinds of knowledge has led her to believe strongly in multi-disciplinary and collaborative research. Her research teams seek to blend local ecological and
historical knowledge with archaeological data to understand human-environment interactions and when possible, to apply this knowledge to current social and ecological issues. Dana’s role as one of the coordinators of the Clam Garden Network, the Quadra Ecology-Archaeology project and the Hakai Herring School reflects her commitment to collaboration and education. Affiliation: Professor, Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University.
Anne Salomon
Anne is an applied marine ecologist working at the nexus of community and ecosystem ecology, sustainability science, and marine policy. Her research aims to advance the understanding of the feedbacks between humans and the productivity, biodiversity, and resilience of marine ecosystems with the goal of informing ecologically sustainable and socially just conservation policies. Anne is deeply committed to working across disciplines and sectors to catalyze transdisciplinary research that addresses environmental challenges of concern to Canadian and global
society. To that end, Anne cultivates research partnerships among Indigenous knowledge holders, government and non-government organizations, and natural and social scientists. As a strong advocate of evidence-based decision-making, Anne links science to policy by co-designing her research with Indigenous, provincial, and federal government agencies and resource users from the outset, with knowledge mobilization as a fundamental goal of her research. Much of Annes’ work aims to incorporate archaeological data and Indigenous traditional knowledge into quantitative ecological analyses to provide greater time-depth to her analyses of coastal system dynamics to better inform and democratize ocean governance.
Nicole Smith
Nicole is an independent archaeologist based in Victoria, B.C. She has been working on the B.C. coast since 2000, primarily with First Nations communities, Hakai Institute, Parks Canada, and university colleagues. She began studying clam gardens in 2007 and since then has been involved in clam garden research in Haida Gwaii as well as various locations in Coast Salish, Laich-Kwil-Tach, Heiltsuk, and Nuu-chah-nulth culture areas. She and colleagues in the Clam Garden Network have used archaeological techniques to confirm what Indigenous communities have always known; that First Nations have been
building and caring for clam gardens continuously for thousands of years. She is most passionate about collaborating with First Nations communities and youth to explore and connect with archaeological heritage. www.nicolefsmith.com
Jennifer Silver
Jen is trained as a social scientist and has over 15 years of research experience working in and with coastal communities. These projects have explored questions around the diverse local values and uses of marine resources and about how communities could/should be involved in governance. She is very happy to be a part of the Clam Garden Network! Clam Gardens provide an exciting opportunity to share knowledge about their extent, function(s) and past management and to inform contemporary debates about community economy, cultural revitalization, and Indigenous ocean spaces and territories. Jen’s published research
has been about how shellfish aquaculture expansion has catalyzed changing ocean property regimes and about access and equity in British Columbia commercial fisheries. Affiliation: Associate Professor, Geography, Environment and Geomatics at the University of Guelph.
Emily Spencer
Emily is a master's student in The Coastal Marine Ecology and Conservation Lab at Simon Fraser University. Her research aims to support the revitalization of Indigenous food systems through collaborative study. Emily works in collaboration with a clam garden restoration project in the Southern Gulf Islands led by nine Coast Salish Nations and Parks Canada.
Maya Guttman
Maya Guttmann is a second year Master's student in SFU's School of Resource and Environmental Management. Maya's research aims to create space for community members, knowledge holders, youth, and harvesters to be full partners in the research process. She hopes to center community-based approaches in her study of intertidal ecosystems. Maya's work is done in partnership with the Tsleil Waututh Nation.
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