The Northern Sustainable Food Systems Research Group (NSFSRG), led by Professor Andrew Spring at Wilfrid Laurier University, brings together a diverse team of researchers, students, and community partners dedicated to advancing food security and climate resilience in northern and remote regions. Our team works across disciplines—from geography and environmental studies to anthropology, planning, and the arts—and collaborates closely with Indigenous governments, local organizations, and territorial partners. Together, we are co-creating knowledge and solutions that integrate traditional knowledge with innovative practices, while training the next generation of leaders in sustainable food systems.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Jennifer is a rural planner with a expertise in sustainable agriculture and participatory research methodologies. She works in Kakisa, NWT with the Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation to plan and implement food systems projects that combine asset-based planning tools with Dene worldviews and agroecology principles to advance communities goals of self-determination, food sovereignty and holistic well-being.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Jules’ research interests are reflective of the complexity of food systems. Jules is passionate about the health and wellbeing of people, communities, and ecosystems. Jules recognizes the value of food for connection, including with people and place, and from a personal to societal level. Specific areas of focus have included: Indigenous and northern food systems, food security, food sovereignty, health equity, and veganism. Jules’ academic background includes public health, community health, and environmental science.
Research Associate
Megan is a distiller of information (and sometimes plants) with a passion for solving puzzles and using data to turn simple questions into complex systems-level analyses in the name of efficiency. She holds a PhD in Experimental Psychology from McGill University and for six years, served as Vice President of Research & Insights at a data science & analytics consultancy specialized in supporting public advocacy and political campaigns internationally. A lifelong northerner, Megan lives in Yellowknife where she works as a Research Associate with the Future Harvest Partnership and runs a small business foraging plants from the boreal forest to create practical products for everyday NWT living.
Project Coordinator
Liz supports the NSFSRG as the Project Coordinator with the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems. She keeps projects moving forward and steps into support areas where she is needed. She holds a MSc. In Applied Human Nutrition from the University of Guelph, and a Bachelors from Western University in Health Sciences. She brings prior project management experience in community-research relationships that have focused on land-based learning and food sovereignty in Waterloo Region. As an advocate for sustainable food systems, outside of work you can find her tending to her community garden plot or serving on local non-profit boards.
PhD student
Carla Johnston is a 2024-2025 Polar Knowledge Canada Fellow and a specialist in community-based participatory action research, Indigenous rights, and food systems governance from the local to global scale. She has 9 years of experience in political advocacy, community-level planning, and policy analysis in the Northwest Territories, Canada (NWT) and at the United Nations Committee on World Food Security. Carla's research focuses on building trust-based relationships to co-create knowledge with, by and for Indigenous Peoples. Carla was a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship recipient and is affiliated with the Balsillie School of International Affairs, UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies, Laurier Center for Sustainable Food Systems, and the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Mechanism for the United Nations Committee on World Food Security.
PhD Student
Calin’s (kuh-lean) research is focused on strengthening and evaluating food systems within the Northwest Territories in the face of climate change stressors. Specifically, his work focuses on the three dimensions of a Northern Indigenous Food System: traditional food, market food, and community-procured/grown food. By analyzing community initiatives, policies, and practices that impact each dimension of the food system, Calin will determine the steps communities need to take to ensure their food system is localized, rooted in food sovereignty, and resilient, thus ensuring they are working towards sustainability.
Masters student
Susan is a 2nd year Masters Student.She is passionate about leveraging Participatory GIS for sustainable food systems. With a keen interest in participatory mapping, she aims to explore the intricate relationship between Indigenous communities and their food systems. By focusing on Kakisa (NWT) her research seeks to document traditional food harvesting practices, identify environmental and land use changes, and contribute to community-led initiatives such as the Ka'a'gee Tu Atlas for food security and cultural preservation.
Masters student
Narayan (Nuh-ryan) is a Master of Environmental Studies Student with a background in mathematics and business administration. He is grateful to work with Sambaa K'e First Nations in Northwest Territories on their food security and food sovereignty efforts. His research is primarily around fitting the retail food model to meet the needs of Northern sustainable food systems as determined by Indigenous communities. Besides this primary focus, he is involved with improving northern food policy and editing food systems podcasts.
Masters student
Danielle is a second-year Masters student in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. Her work centers on integrating youth perspectives into the development of sustainable food systems in Northern communities, particularly Sambaa K’e First Nation. By employing a collaborative, community-led approach, Danielle’s research not only addresses food security challenges but also aims to empower younger generations to play an active role in fostering a food system that is representative of their needs, aspirations, and cultural values.
Masters student
Jie-Soo Park is a first year MA student from Waterloo, Ontario. Jie-Soo graduated with honoursfrom Wilfrid Laurier University in 2024 with a BA in Political Science and a minor in Sociology. Her research interests are food insecurity and establishing sustainable food systems through community consultation and systems analysis. Her interests build on her work in the non-profit sector serving food insecure populations in the Region.
Research Assistant
Sheyda is a research assistant specializing in spatial analysis and mapping projects that support community-focused initiatives. Her work includes collaborating with the self-governed community of Deline in the Northwest Territories, mapping traditional knowledge and creating local spatial data systems. Sheyda also contributes to the Nutrition North Canada project, where she conducts spatial analyses to evaluate food security subsidies in remote Indigenous communities. Her research is driven by a commitment to enhancing sustainability and supporting local communities through data-driven solutions.
Research Assistant
I am a third-year Environmental Studies major with a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies, aiming to pursue a career in Law with a Focus on Environmental Law. I participate in the Geography Environmental Studies Students Association club (GESSA) and serve as a mentor in the Women in Leadership Laurier club (WILL). In my free time, I enjoy staying active at the gym, spending time with friends, and cooking or baking.
Research Assistant
A Master's student in Environmental Data Analysis at Wilfrid Laurier University with over a decade of fisheries research experience. Skilled in algae cultivation, lab management, and advanced environmental analyses. Proficient in ArcGIS, R, and Microsoft Office for data analysis and visualization. Dedicated to high-quality results, continuous learning, and effective collaboration with cross-functional teams.
Research Assistant
Ramon is a Health Sciences undergraduate student at Wilfrid Laurier University with research interests that bridge public health, wellness, and sustainability. In summer 2025, he worked with the Northern Sustainable Food Systems Research Group in Kakisa, Northwest Territories, supporting community-based food security initiatives, youth programming, and greenhouse development. His work emphasized youth engagement, bilingual education, and the integration of cultural knowledge into health and food systems. Ramon is passionate about connecting medical and social approaches to health, with a focus on equity, community well-being, and sustainable solutions.
Research Assistant
Danielle is an undergraduate Geography student at Wilfrid Laurier University. She worked as a research assistant in Kakisa, NWT in summer 2024 helping to grow food in the communities' greenhouse and garden to work towards creating a sustainable food system. Her interests lie in the water levels and quality up north and its effect on the community.
Research Assistant
Born with the innate ability to overthink even the simplest tasks, Fahim can often be found pondering the deep mysteries of life, like how to microwave pizza without turning it into molten lava.
Undergraduate Thesis
Justin is a fourth-year Environmental Studies student who is passonate about sustainable waste management. His research focuses on composting in remote communities. He spent a summer in Kakisa, NWT, where he worked with Ka'a' gee Tu First Nation to push forward their composting system to meet the community's needs. Currently, he is working on his undergraduate thesis, using these experiences to develop a framework to help other communities implement similar initiatives.
Undergraduate Thesis
Gayathri is a third-year undergraduate student in Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. Passionate about human geography, she enjoys exploring how people interact with their environments and loves working with maps to visualize spatial relationships. She recently completed an independent study under Dr. Spring, where she deepened her understanding of environmental and geographic research methods. Gayathri is looking forward to travelling north to Fort Smith in the summer of 2026 to gain hands-on field experience and expand her knowledge of northern environments.
Research Associate
Research Associate
Post Doctoral Fellow (PDF)