An area known as Charlie’s Place, situated in the Gander Lake area in Central Newfoundland, is revealing secrets of ecological and cultural importance.

A team of researchers and land guardians led by members of the Qalipu First Nation and Dr. Yolanda Wiersma, a Department of Biology landscape ecologist who focuses on conservation and biodiversity of lichens at Memorial University, has documented a rare concentration of lichen species and evidence of longstanding Indigenous ties to the land.

The collaboration that led to these discoveries began when Justin Hodge, a local resident and land and river guardian for Qalipu First Nation, invited Dr. Wiersma to Charlie’s Place in 2023.

In its first major study, the team discovered 175 species of lichens not previously documented in the region, including several new to the province — and even one new to Canada. The paper, which made the cover of The Bryologist, is one of the journal’s most-read articles.

The group’s newest paper, appearing in Northeastern Naturalist, documents the presence of blue felt lichen, a species at risk across Canada. The team counted over 1,000 individual blue felt lichens (Pectenia plumbea) in Charlie’s Place during fieldwork last year.

The figure represents more than 20 per cent of the known Canadian population.

“These lichens are large and quite charismatic,” Dr. Wiersma explained. “We have documented hundreds on a single tree, especially in stands of aspen. I haven’t seen anything like it before.”

Two-eyed seeing

The team surveying and conducting fieldwork in Charlie’s Place uses a “two-eyed seeing” approach, co-developed by Elder Dr. Alberta Marshall, Murdena Marshall and Western Scientist Dr. Cheryl Bartlett in 2012, which blends Indigenous knowledge with Western science.

The goal is not only ecological understanding, but reconnecting with traditional stories and uses of the land, says Mr. Hodge.

“For generations, my grandfather and other Mi’kmaw people hunted caribou here. Now we understand the caribou were surviving on these very lichens.”

The area also carries deep historical weight.

It includes sites linked to the Beothuk, Maritime Archaic and Mi'kmaw peoples. 

Natasha Jones, a Mi’kmaw graduate student in the Department of Archaeology, co-supervised by Drs. Barry Gaulton and Scott Neilsen, are doing field research in Charlie’s Place to document traditional use and occupancy.

The focus of her graduate research is locating and documenting Mi'kmaw sites in the central region of the island.

More than lichen

For the researchers, the work is about more than science.

“Lichen may seem like just moss on trees, but they play vital roles in ecosystems,” said Denika Kelly, manager of environment and natural resources with the Qalipu First Nation. “Everything out there serves a purpose, even if we don’t fully understand it yet.”

For Mr. Hodge, the collaboration is deeply personal.

“To walk in the steps of my ancestors and watch this place reveal its secrets is a privilege. Yolanda and I come from different backgrounds, but we’ve built a bond out here in the woods.

“It’s more than research,” he added. “It’s about healing, learning and protecting what’s ours for the next generation.”

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For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact Nicole Squires, communications, Faculty of Science, Memorial University, at 709-864-2019 or n.squires@mun.ca.