Participation of Laurence Boudreault at the IUFRO division 5 conference
Laurence Boudreault, a doctoral student in forest sciences under the supervision of Alexis Achim and Maude Flamand-Hubert, took part in the «IUFRO division 5 conference», held from June 4 to 8, 2023 in Cairns, Australia, to present her research project on «black ash as a cultural keystone species».
This was an excellent opportunity to share her research results via an oral presentation on an international level, and to broaden her fields of expertise and networks of contacts, thanks to the CRMR’s student mobility funding program and the Silva21 research initiative.
Congratulations to Laurence, and we wish you every success and prosperity in your academic career!
Title of presentation: Black ash as a cultural keystone species: W8banakiak issus and perspectives.
Abstract : Black ash (Fraxinus nigra) is a ring-porous hardwood, whose natural range extends from the United States to the limit of the temperate zone in Southern Quebec. Black ash plays fundamental cultural importance and is intrinsically tied to the cosmology for many indigenous groups, including the W8banakiak (Canada). The W8banakiak use black ash for traditional basketry because of incredible wood mechanical properties. Basketry consists of weaving strips of wood into basket. Since the 1980s, knowledge carrier experiment difficulties to find basket grade quality trees. Black ash stands access has also been compromised by issues, such as silvicultural practices and privatization of the territory. The emerald ash borer, an invasive species introduced in North America in 2002, constitutes a growing threat to the survival of ash trees. The Nation has mobilized many times in history, performing acts of resurgence to maintain the relationship that unites them to black ash. We are now conduction a partnership project at the crossroads of anthropology and forestry with the Grand Council of the Waban-Aki Nation. The general aim is to participate in the governance first nation-led process regarding this cultural keystone species. The objective is to document the properties of black ash that are associated with basketry and to identify the growing conditions that affect these properties, to propose innovative measures for the management of the species based on the W8banakiak stewardship vision and knowledge that can enhance and sustain both black ash and basketry has to ensure the transmission and securing of knowledge and practices.