Coldstream Nature-Based Solutions is an Indigenous-owned environmental research and consulting company. In 2009, the company was founded by the founder of Coldstream Ecology and a few community members from Xwísten to provide nature-based solutions to support Indigenous and local communities across Canada and the United States.
They serve Indigenous communities, companies, and governments across Canada and the United States with ecosystem management from their base in Lillooet, British Columbia, and the St’át’imc Nation.
Coldstream Nature-Based Solutions supports local communities using cutting-edge technology, innovation, and research along with traditional local wisdom to monitor, comprehend, safeguard, and restore their environment.
They are on a mission to create space for nature in everything they do. In their services, they are committed to including the benefits nature provides to the world in the research, monitoring and technical solutions and tools.
As an Indigenous-owned business, Coldstream Nature-Based Solutions is aware of the need to keep communities safe and preserve the ecosystems they depend on. By working with community members, they strive to understand the important environmental threats to the population.
Using approaches tailored to each community, they provide various nature-based solutions, including Indigenous monitoring programs, salmon recovery planning and implementation, and critical indigenous-led habitat restoration works and reclamation programs to enhance the environment.
Coldstream develops web app storytelling that is community-specific and privacy-controlled web applications for effective communication and information sharing through a storytelling lens. They display environmental monitoring data in a simple, interactive way that engages community members and governments.
Through their unique lens, they specialize in creating win-win for communities, people and nature, industry, and the environment. These solutions include:
- Resiliency Planning with Firesmart: Coldstream Nature-Based Solutions provides high-quality, solution-focused wildfire management and mitigation services with Frontera, a forestry consulting company based in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Together they are a team of certified and experienced forest professionals ready to offer assistance for all FireSmart services.
- Fish and Aquatic Ecosystems: Coldstream Nature-Based Solutions offers full environmental services for fish and aquatic ecosystem projects. From salmonid counts to habitat assessments, monitoring and restoration, their team can help design, implement, and monitor fish and fish habitat projects.
- Wildlife: They offer full environmental services for wildlife and terrestrial ecosystem projects. From wildlife habitat assessments, monitoring, and restoration to building your team’s capacity to participate in these projects, Coldstream has the expertise to get the job done using a holistic and culturally sensitive approach.
- Environmental Management: They are passionate about creating space for nature. They use Indigenous and place-based approaches in every environmental management project they undertake. This ensures that their work delivers the best solution for each situation, location, and environment.
- Ecosystem Restoration and Remediation: Coldstream Nature-Based Solutions believes that sometimes nature needs a helping hand to repair the damage done more quickly than just waiting for natural regeneration. They work with natural systems to restore and revitalize ecological services damaged through industrial actions, pollution, habitat destruction and neglect.
- Coaching: Alyson McHugh is a business owner and a professional biologist with more than twenty years of experience managing contracts and dealing with business issues. She is a Certified Coach with the Professional Business Coach Association of Canada, who helps identify your stress points and build skills to manage yourself and your business more effectively.
- Capacity Development and Training: Coldstream Nature-Based Solutions believe that nature needs everyone to do their part to solve environmental issues to build and restore ecosystem resiliency in the face of climate change. They offer capacity development and training opportunities.
Coldstream Nature-Based Solutions builds capacity and support community participation in decisions that affect their environment. In addition, they provide training to ensure environmental work is maintained even after the project is finished, allowing communities to continue protecting their environment.
They invest in environmental monitoring and stewardship and use their services and profits to fund and support important restoration work and community involvement in local stewardship initiatives.
Coldstream Nature-Based Solutions combines Indigenous and scientific expertise to create space for nature in everything they do. To know more about their initiatives, visit their website at https://www.coldstreamnbs.com/.
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