Canada’s Foremost Ethnobotanist & Best-selling Author
Learn all about “Edible & Medicinal Plants & Traditional Indigenous Plant Management Systems of Coastal First Peoples” from world-renowned ethnobotanist & best-selling author Dr. Nancy Turner.
About Nancy Turner ~ CM, OBC, PhD, FRSC, FLS
Emeritus Professor Nancy Turner’s extensive list of degrees and her academic and research credentials are truly impressive! She is an ethnobotanist and Distinguished Professor in the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria, B.C. Dr. Turner is also a research associate with the Royal British Columbia Museum. She has authored or co-authored more than 20 books, including the well-loved classics The Royal British Columbia Museum Handbook Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples; Plants of Haida Gwaii and Plant Technology of British Columbia First People. Her numerous other publications in the areas of ethnobotany, traditional ecological knowledge and sustainable resource use have made her one of Canada’s most respected speakers.
Focus on Traditional Plants & Knowledge of First Nations
Working with First Nations elders and cultural specialists in northwestern North America for over 40 years, Dr. Turner collaborates with Indigenous communities to help document, retain and promote their traditional knowledge of plants and habitats, including Indigenous foods, materials and medicines, as well as language and vocabulary relating to plants and environments. Her interests also include the roles of plants and animals in narratives, ceremonies, language and belief systems.
“One of the Top 10 Thinkers in British Columbia”
In 2000, Dr. Turner was voted one of the “Top Ten Thinkers” in British Columbia. Her valuable and unique research integrates the fields of botany and ecology with anthropology, geography and linguistics, among others. She is especially interested in the traditional knowledge systems and traditional land and resource management systems of Indigenous Peoples, particularly in western Canada. In 2015, Dr. Turner was awarded a Pierre Elliot Trudeau Fellowship which enabled her to coordinate and participate in a progressive and focused discussion amongst multiple informed groups on the roles of ethnobotany and ethnoecology in policy, planning and decision-making in the legal and governance arenas around Indigenous Peoples’ land rights and title.
Popular Author, Educator & Researcher
Dr. Turner has authored, co-authored or co-edited over 20 books (most recently a two-volume book, Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge: Ethnobotany and Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples of Northwestern North America. Her other books include: Saanich Ethnobotany: Culturally Important Plants of the WSÁNEĆ People (co-authored with Richard Hebda); Plants of Haida Gwaii; The Earth’s Blanket; Keeping it Living: Traditions of Plant Use and Cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America ( co-edited with Douglas Deur). Dr. Turner has also written more than 150 book chapters and peer-reviewed papers, along with numerous other publications, both popular and academic. Much of her work focuses on the importance of ethnobotany and ethnoecology in modern sustainability and the modern use of resources.
Learn more about Dr. Nancy Turner here:
https://www.hakai.org/people/faculty-staff/nancy-turner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1lbFfsE-l0
https://www.uvic.ca/socialsciences/environmental/people/faculty/emeritus/turnernancy.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Turner