COMMUNITY

Rooted in Learning

How students, community leaders and conservation partners came together to restore the forest in Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation.

By Allison Bench

Students from Sturgeon Lake School get ready to plant. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF AMA; ATLANTICAMBIENCE/PEXELS

Shelly Hamelin has spent three decades looking at ways to create opportunities for young people.

The teacher at Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation School believes students need to learn beyond the classroom — tending school gardens, directly meeting leaders and learning about new possibilities for their community.

“What I try to do for the students is find extension activities that take place outside of our school — experiences with real-world applications,” says Hamelin.

This spring, Hamelin and four of her students had the opportunity to attend the Inside Education Regenerate Forest & Wildlife Youth Summit in Canmore. For some of her students, this was their first time seeing Alberta’s mountains in person.

Attending the conference allowed them to learn directly from experts working in forestry, conservation and environmental stewardship.

“These outside experiences really open up opportunities like, ‘I didn’t know I could do that,’” says Hamelin. “[Students] get to meet all these people from all these industries.”

“What I try to do for the students is find extension activities that take place outside of our school — experiences with real-world applications.”

One of the experts her students connected with at the conference was Mike Toffan, founder and executive director of Project Forest. During the summit, students learned from Toffan about silviculture, tree health and forest ecosystems after wildfires.

This particularly resonated with the students from Sturgeon Lake School, as they had to evacuate their homes during the Paskwa wildfire that hit their First Nation in 2023. That wildfire left the surrounding landscape visibly altered and led to discussions on how they could help support recovery.

At the same time, Toffan was already working with Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation Councillor Rosalyn Goodswimmer to explore restoration options for the area. Connecting directly with the students from the First Nation at the conference added another dimension: an opportunity for young people to help shape what it could look like in their own community.

“This is a unique one, because it was a youth conference,” says Toffan. “When I met the students from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, I told them: we were already coming up there.”

Four teens pose together on a sidewalk with snow-capped mountains behind them.

A canvas planting bag holds bundles of tree seedlings.

A gloved hand plants a seedling into freshly dug soil.

(From left) Students Payton Hamelin, Kylie Picken, Damien Chowace and Etienne Hamelin at a forest and wildlife youth summit in Canmore; planting tools at the ready; getting seedlings into the ground; students learn how to plant seedlings from Project Forest. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF SHELLEY HAMELIN; COURTESY OF AMA

Those very same students joined the community conversation when Toffan visited Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation about a month later to begin planning what a reforestation effort there could look like. A site walk helped identify which areas could support new seedlings, including locations near the school.

There was also some urgency. AMA and Project Forest had committed to planting 100 hectares of forever forests during AMA’s centennial year. When a previous planting site was no longer an option, work was underway to identify a new community that could support a restoration effort. Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation was a natural fit, bringing together a shared goal of helping the landscape recover, while also creating opportunities for the students to take part in the work. “My hope when I came in there was, if the stars align, we’ll be able to find a place for these AMA trees and get them into the ground in two weeks,” says Toffan. “And the stars aligned.”

For Hamelin, the project represented not only environmental restoration, but also a way for her students to put their learning into action and build connection with the land.

“One of the reasons... we want to give the kids these tools to work with the ecology that’s in our area is we want them to be healthy,” says Hamelin. “And in order for them to be healthy, we want them to be connected to something.” The plan quickly became a larger reforestation effort. More than 26,000 new trees and shrubs were planted across Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, with support from Project Forest and several funding partners. As part of that effort, AMA sponsored two sites: a field project with 6,000 seedlings as well as a school-based site with 3,600 trees and shrubs, designed to give students hands-on experiences with planting and stewardship.

Educator Shelly Hamelin helps her students at a planting event on the school’s grounds in June 2026. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF AMA

Thousands of trees and shrubs were prepared for the project, selected from a range of species that support biodiversity and pollinators, as well as plants like willows and Saskatoon berries that hold cultural significance for the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation community. It also became part of a larger milestone for AMA, marking the completion of the Centennial Forest program. The seedlings in Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation were the last of 200,000 total seedlings planted in Alberta in honour of AMA’s centennial year.

“For us, this has been about more than planting trees,” says Jane Flower, AMA’s vice president of corporate purpose. “It’s about creating spaces where people can connect with nature, with each other and with future generations.”

On planting day this past June, students at the school heard directly from a professional tree planter, who taught them how to handle and space the saplings to give them the best chance to grow.

Then, small groups of students began digging small holes and placing the trees and shrubs on their school grounds, putting months of learning into action.

“When the community gets involved, you know the trees are going to be taken care of for generations,” says Toffan. “The children now feel like they’re contributing to the rebuilding and the healing of the Nation.”

“I’ve been in education for a long time, and I’ve seen what happens when kids are given real opportunities to connect with their community and their land,” says Hamelin. “If we can set them up with those experiences early, they’re more likely to find their place and build something positive for the future.” AMA

“One of the reasons... we want to give the kids these tools to work with the ecology that’s in our area is we want them to be healthy. And in order for them to be healthy, we want them to be connected to something.”

Want to learn more about the Centennial Forest program? AMA worked with Project Forest to plant 100 hectares of forever forests — about 200,000 seedlings — across Alberta in honour of our centennial year.

Learn More

Rooted in Learning

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