The Environmental Education Program for Indigenous Youth provides opportunities for the next generation of Indigenous youth to participate in experiential post-secondary environmental education within the Athabasca river basin and Wood Bufalo region.

The goal of the program is to engage and encourage Indigenous youth to pursue an education in environmental sciences and land reclamation, thereby increasing the capacity of Indigenous communities to combat environmental challenges. It provides opportunities for First Nations, Métis or Inuit youth to explore career pathways and develop disciplinary and interdisciplinary expertise in specific environmental education fields that include science, technology, engineering, policy, law and management. Drawing on the Indigenous youth development objective of the program and its focal disciplines that straddle both the sciences and the arts, we call this program I-STEAM.

Successful applicants will be part of a paid 2020 Summer Internship cohort that works closely with leading environmental experts and researchers from the University of Alberta. Students will participate in workshops and complete hands-on research projects that educate, prepare and equip them for a potential career trajectory in Environmental Science and related disciplines, such as engineering or law. The program also includes a 39 hour interdisciplinary seminar course to be completed by all enrolled students. All eligible and interested Indigenous youth are welcome to apply by following the application process below.

This program is sponsored under the creative sentencing program by Alberta Justice and administered by the Alberta Energy Regulator. The Undergraduate Research Initiative provides administrative support to the program.

All applicants will be informed of their status by late March 2020. Internships for successful applicants will run from May 1-August 31, 2020.