Steph Woodworth
PhD Student
Étudiant.e en doctorat
Steph Woodworth (they/them) is a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics at the University of Ottawa, supervised by Dr. Sonia Wesche. They completed their BKIN and MSc in Kinesiology at the University of Toronto. Their area of expertise lies in kinesiology, physical cultural studies, human geography, and Indigenous geographies. For their doctoral research, Steph is working with Dehcho First Nations, Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation, and Northern Water Futures to evaluate on-the-land camps in the Northwest Territories, which bring together Elders and scientists to educate and engage Dene and Métis youth. Specifically, they use photovoice during on-the-land camps with local Indigenous youth to capture their experiences of land-based education and their concerns of and priorities for changes happening in their communities.
Email / Courriel : swood048[at]uottawa.ca
Research Project:
Evaluating on-the-land camps with Indigenous youth, Elders, and scientists in the Dehcho
Steph Woodworth is collaborating with Dehcho First Nations, Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation, and Northern Water Futures to implement and evaluate community-led on-the-land camp programming. By working with Indigenous youth, we are exploring how on-the-land camps create a space to connect them to the land, their culture, knowledge, language, and ways of life, while also providing a space for them to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing programming. Through experience with Indigenous youth camp participants, collaboration with community partners, and based on gaps in the literature, we have identified three iterative research questions: (R1) What is the landscape of youth focused land-based education (LBE) programming in the Northwest Territories? (R2) How do on-the-land camps in the NWT facilitate and build relationships between Indigenous youth and the land? (R3) How can the concerns and priorities of local Indigenous youth be addressed to build more resilient and sustainable LBE programming in the NWT? Using a community-based, participatory action research approach, this research is responsive to the practical concerns of partner communities through active collaboration and co-learning, and values Indigenous Knowledge systems, worldviews, cultures, and experiences. Our research involves the use of mixed-methods and activities at youth-focused camps with partners in the Dehcho region. Watch Steph’s Decho Youth Ecology and Traditional Knowledge Camp videos here: https://dehcho.org/resource-management/youth-camps/dehcho-youth-ecology-camp/