September e-Newsletter Community Guest Spotlight with Cheristy Jones
Posted Sep 3, 2025
Cheristy Jones, PhD Candidate, Earth & Environmental Science, University of New Hampshire
CUAHSI Pathfinder Fellowship awardee 2024
Arctic lakes and streams are critical for carbon cycling, biodiversity, and the well-being of the communities that depend on them for recreation, food, and transportation. However, climate warming has begun to alter these ecosystems. With support from the CUAHSI Pathfinder Fellowship, I traveled to northern British Columbia, Canada, to collaborate with Dr. McKenzie Kuhn (University of British Columbia) and the Kaska Dena Nation’s Nan Yḗ Dāh (DNY) Land Guardians. Together, we initiated long-term monitoring of five lakes to assess how climate warming is reshaping these critical ecosystems.
Over the course of a week, I worked alongside Dr. Kuhn, UBC graduate students and Land Guardians to collect high-resolution water quality and carbon data in five culturally and ecologically significant lakes near Watson Lake, Yukon. These lakes, chosen by the Land Guardians, support fishing, transportation, and community gathering and are increasingly impacted by changing temperature and hydrology. At each site, we collected vertical profiles of water samples for dissolved organic carbon, carbon dioxide, and methane, along with measurements for nitrogen, phosphorus, and stable isotopes to identify carbon source. We also deployed temperature and depth sensors to monitor lake stratification throughout the open-water season. Our ultimate goal was to determine the ecological and hydrological drivers of these dynamics to develop a lake and stream model.
This project not only deepened my technical skills in lake biogeochemistry through collaboration with Dr. Kuhn but also emphasized the importance of co-creating knowledge with communities. Working with the Land Guardians was essential not only to identify priority monitoring locations but to also incorporate local knowledge of environmental change. One of the most impactful parts of this experience was witnessing a community-led approach to science. Working with the Land Guardians was essential not only to identify priority monitoring locations but to also incorporate local knowledge of environmental change. The DNY Land Guardians’ leadership created a model for collaborative monitoring that aligns with my broader research goals: to integrate local perspectives into landscape-scale carbon cycling science. Ongoing monthly sampling by the Guardians and UBC researchers will ensure that these data continue to inform both local stewardship efforts and regional climate models.
This experience broadened the scope of my dissertation, which investigates lateral carbon flux and greenhouse gas emissions across Arctic and boreal landscapes. The Pathfinder Fellowship enabled me to explore a new region and ecosystem type and to build relationships with scientists and stewards working at the interface of climate science and Indigenous governance. Throughout my career, I hope to continue to investigate questions that are meaningful to both climate change and communities.
