Four Rivers Group

08/25/2026

Notice of Drone Field Work! August 24-28, 2026

08/14/2026

Field Friday!

Last Friday, Guardian Interns Tyrin and Darynne joined Rowan, the newest Environmental Technician at Four Rivers for a field outing to the Pennock Creek trail in Rosslyn. 🍃
The Guardians spent the afternoon learning how to identify common tree species within the Boreal forest such as Jack Pine, Eastern White Cedar, White Spruce, and Paper Birch. Rowan taught Tyrin and Darynne how to differentiate between the various tree species by their leaves, bark, cones/catkins, and even smell! 🌲
The team also collected samples (twigs/cones) of each of the tree species to use as reference in the office.
Rowan, having a background in forestry and wildlife management, was eager to get out with the Guardians to share his knowledge and create practical, hands-on learning opportunities. Rowan is looking forward to planning more Field Fridays and getting outside!☀️

06/24/2026

This webinar is happening tomorrow June 25th! Join us!

Also upcoming! (June 25)
Episode #4 in our Webinar Series – Caribou lichen, beaver engineering & permafrost conditions in the homelands!
This webinar will be on Thursday June 25th at 10am EST
Is there adequate lichen for caribou to eat during the winter? How many beaver ponds are near your community? Will permafrost distribution change under climate warming? To an-swer these questions, a team of researchers from the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation, Natural Resources Canada, has conducted mapping and monitoring of environmental indicators over the homelands of the Matawa and the Mushkegowuk Com-munities in northern Ontario using satellite imagery and ground measurements. At the June 25 webinar, they will present their progress, including an overview by Darren Janzen (Section Head), caribou lichen availability by Wenjun Chen (Research Scientist), beaver engineering by Robert Fraser (Research Scientist), and permafrost conditions by Yu Zhang (Re-search Scientist).
This Webinar will be hosted LIVE via Zoom. Please join via the Zoom link below and add it to your calendars!
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81521953844?pwd=LCPA7ppbcUaA886k27Xt79qKaXw4Zu.1
Keep your eyes open for details on more upcoming Four Rivers Webinars!

06/16/2026

Happening Tomorrow!!

Four Rivers is back with Episode #3 in our Webinar Series – Invasive Species Kinship: Protecting What Sustains Us

This webinar will be on Wednesday June 17th at 10:30am EST

Derissa Vincentini, Northern Ontario Regional Coordinator for the Ontario Phragmites Action program
Vincent La Tassa, Program Development Coordinator for the Black Ash Community Action Network

Join Derissa and Vince from the Invasive Species Centre to explore the basics of invasive species kinship, their pathways of spread, and ecosystem and societal impacts. We will take a closer look into Phragmites and Emerald Ash Borer as two examples of species spreading in the Matawa homelands and the programs the ISC facilitates to support mitigating the impacts of their spread. We'll end the session with practical ways to prevent the spread of these species and how you can help.

This Webinar will be hosted LIVE via Zoom. Please join via the Zoom link below and add it to your calendars!

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87456836931?pwd=pQ0XlPiHia2FgkRkzQ17hDNFp8vMlV.1

Keep your eyes open for details on more upcoming Four Rivers Webinars!

06/10/2026

Also upcoming! (June 25)
Episode #4 in our Webinar Series – Caribou lichen, beaver engineering & permafrost conditions in the homelands!
This webinar will be on Thursday June 25th at 10am EST
Is there adequate lichen for caribou to eat during the winter? How many beaver ponds are near your community? Will permafrost distribution change under climate warming? To an-swer these questions, a team of researchers from the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation, Natural Resources Canada, has conducted mapping and monitoring of environmental indicators over the homelands of the Matawa and the Mushkegowuk Com-munities in northern Ontario using satellite imagery and ground measurements. At the June 25 webinar, they will present their progress, including an overview by Darren Janzen (Section Head), caribou lichen availability by Wenjun Chen (Research Scientist), beaver engineering by Robert Fraser (Research Scientist), and permafrost conditions by Yu Zhang (Re-search Scientist).
This Webinar will be hosted LIVE via Zoom. Please join via the Zoom link below and add it to your calendars!
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81521953844?pwd=LCPA7ppbcUaA886k27Xt79qKaXw4Zu.1
Keep your eyes open for details on more upcoming Four Rivers Webinars!

06/09/2026

Four Rivers is back with Episode #3 in our Webinar Series – Invasive Species Kinship: Protecting What Sustains Us

This webinar will be on Wednesday June 17th at 10:30am EST

Derissa Vincentini, Northern Ontario Regional Coordinator for the Ontario Phragmites Action program
Vincent La Tassa, Program Development Coordinator for the Black Ash Community Action Network

Join Derissa and Vince from the Invasive Species Centre to explore the basics of invasive species kinship, their pathways of spread, and ecosystem and societal impacts. We will take a closer look into Phragmites and Emerald Ash Borer as two examples of species spreading in the Matawa homelands and the programs the ISC facilitates to support mitigating the impacts of their spread. We'll end the session with practical ways to prevent the spread of these species and how you can help.

This Webinar will be hosted LIVE via Zoom. Please join via the Zoom link below and add it to your calendars!

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87456836931?pwd=pQ0XlPiHia2FgkRkzQ17hDNFp8vMlV.1

Keep your eyes open for details on more upcoming Four Rivers Webinars!

06/08/2026

On May 26-27 Four Rivers and our Guardian Interns attended a Caribou Workshop at Lakehead University.

“The caribou workshop was an interesting experience and very informative, it was intriguing to know about them and what they have done to support the species. The way everyone came together to help one another with this concern and trusted in each other to make a real difference in what we can do as people to protect the caribou species is wonderful.”
– Moesha Bunting, Four Rivers Guardian Intern

06/03/2026

On May 26-27 Four Rivers and our Guardian Interns attended a Caribou Workshop at Lakehead University. The goal of this workshop was to identify challenges in caribou conservation and prioritise them to develop solutions to benefit research across multiple sectors. Our Guardians were asked to pick their favorite caribou photo taken from our very own cameras and provide a small write-up about their experience with caribou and the workshop. We will be posting each of the Guardians responses as part of a small series over the next few weeks!

05/05/2026

Apply! Engagement Specialist!

Apply Now! Engagement Specialist, Four Rivers Group
Deadline to apply: May 19th 2026 at 4:30pm
Visit: https://www.matawa.on.ca/recruitment/careers/

05/01/2026

Apply Now!
https://www.matawa.on.ca/recruitment/careers/

Now Hiring:

Environmental Technician
closing: Friday May 15, 2026, 4:30pm EST

Geomatics Technician
Closing: Friday May 15, 2026, 4:30pmEST

Visit: https://www.matawa.on.ca/recruitment/careers/