Askîy Berry Health Community Monitor Program

We launched a province-wide berry health monitoring project in 2020 as part of the Askiy Initiative. We assess and monitor berry plant productivity, health, and harvest pressures to gain a better understanding of the availability and accessibility of berry plants across Alberta.

Berry Picking? We Could Use Your Help!

Take part in our Askiy Berry Health Community Monitoring Program by filling out our form when you get back from picking berries:

Berry Harvesting Trip Report

In 2023, over 400 Citizens of the Otipemisiwak Métis Government submitted Berry Harvesting Trip Reports to share concerns and observations about the plants they harvest. This included changes to berry productivity, plant health, accessibility, and plant community structure. The goal of the Berry Health Community Monitor Program is to collect the community’s harvesting experiences on the land and gain a clearer view of berry health across the province and how harvests and harvesters may be impacted by climate change and other factors.

Citizens can help us understand what is affecting plant health by becoming Askîy Guardians. Askîy is our community-based environmental monitoring initiative that is both guided by and incorporates Citizens’ observations to help us understand changes in the environment.

To show our appreciation, we’ll be drawing for and awarding prizes to Citizens who submit forms by November 30, 2024.

Draws will be held, and prizes will be distributed in December 2024.

Thank you to everyone who participated last year and shared their experiences and photos!

Project Highlights

Monitoring locations were established across Alberta in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. At each site, berry and traditionally consumed plants were counted within one metre of a 50m line (transect).

Each spring and summer our team revisits each location to track berry health, productivity, and assess the role climate and its changing conditions have on berry populations.

36 monitoring sites have been established across Alberta.
In 2020, 18,000 individual plants were counted consisting of 17 species of berries and medicinal plants.
Most counted species were blueberry, wild rose, saskatoons, and raspberries.
In 2021, the flowers and buds of 1,200 plants were counted.

Since 2023, we have also started to ask for community contributions through our Berry Health Community Harvesting forms. The goal of the forms is to collect the community’s harvesting experiences on the land and gain a clearer perspective of berry health across the province and how harvests may be impacted by climate change and other human impacts.

In 2023, the species of berry with the largest average berry harvest in liters per person was the blueberry (5.24 L/person), closely followed by the Saskatoon berry (5.17 L/person).
168 harvesting locations were shared by 165 respondents for the 2023 berry harvesting season.
Saskatoons were the most harvested and targeted species by community monitors.

Average berry harvest. Blueberry, Raspberry, Saskatoon Strawberries, Cranberries, Chokecherry — The average berry harvest in liters per person (n=165, however, total number of harvesters was 164 individuals in groups that ranged from 1 to 18 people)

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