The shortlisted nominees for the 2025 Arctic Academic Action Award:

  • Dina Arreak, Jedidah Merkosak and Tessa Lochhead are considered for the project Early Childhood Education Food Growing and Food Sharing in Mittimatalik. The initiative fosters climate resilience by establishing food-growing domes and training Arctic educators to integrate Inuit traditional knowledge and Montessori methods into early childhood education.
  • Mathilde Lapointe St-Pierre, Andrew Tanentzap and Olesya Kolmakova were selected for the project Nunamit Takunnatut: Community-Led Wildlife and Human Health Monitoring. The project aims to establish a community-led wildlife and human health monitoring system in the Canadian Arctic using DNA/RNA sampling to track climate-sensitive pathogens and support Indigenous food security.
  • Sharon Snowshoe, Arlyn Charlie, Kristi Benson, Trevor Lantz and Tracey Proverbs are shortlisted for the project Nan guk’anàatii ejuk t’igwinjik (The land we are taking care of is changing), a project which aims to integrate Gwich’in traditional knowledge with climate and geospatial data to assess and adapt to landscape change across the Gwich’in Settlement Region.

The Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award recognises action-oriented scientific and academic ideas that hold potential for addressing the challenges and critical needs posed by climate change in the Arctic region. The prize comes with 100,000 euros of unrestricted funds, intended to help develop the ideas through outreach, engagement, and communication.

The call for nominations ran from February 5 to April 30 and was open to all, from individuals to community groups and organizations. After a thorough review and evaluation of all nominated ideas, the UArctic Academic Advisory Board, Mimir, which serves as the Award Evaluation Committee, selected three nominated ideas to continue to the final round. The final evaluation includes online interviews where the shortlisted candidates get a chance to introduce their ideas in more detail to the Mimir representatives.

Here is more information about the shortlisted nominees for the 2025 Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award:

Dina Arreak, Jedidah Merkosak and Tessa Lochhead are working on Early Childhood Education Food Growing and Food Sharing in Mittimatalik, a project that seeks to transform early childhood education in the Canadian High Arctic through hands-on, land-based learning rooted in Inuit knowledge. At its heart is the construction of interconnected geo-domes in Mittimatalik, where preschool children will grow and prepare food year-round, learning from Elders, educators, and community members. Led by experts from the Pirurvik Montessori Preschool, the project will also host educators from 25 Inuit communities for immersive training in culturally grounded and Montessori-informed methods as part of its broader work, and is now piloting local food production in Pond Inlet. In response to the climate crisis and growing food insecurity in the North, this initiative aims to lay the groundwork for long-term, community-led sustainability through the reduction of reliance on air-freighted food, ultimately lowering emissions, and build community resilience. More than just vegetables, it aims to grow confidence, connection, and capacity in the next generation and in early learning systems across the Arctic.

Mathilde Lapointe St-Pierre, Andrew Tanentzap and Olesya Kolmakova were selected for the project Nunamit Takunnatut: Community-Led Wildlife and Human Health Monitoring, a project that aims to develop an early warning system for zoonotic and wildlife diseases in Nunavik. By using DNA/RNA-based surveillance of lakes, rivers, and coastal waters, the system will track climate-sensitive pathogens and support Arctic communities in addressing threats to food security, public health, and wildlife populations. The project combines Indigenous knowledge with environmental microbiology, empowering hunters and trappers to identify ecological changes in areas of cultural significance. This innovative approach led by researchers from Trent University, Nunavik Research Centre, and the University of Cambridge builds on successful work funded through the Canada-Inuit Nunangat-United Kingdom Arctic Research Programme and seeks to scale up surveillance efforts across the Arctic while respecting Indigenous data sovereignty and traditional knowledge systems.

Sharon Snowshoe, Arlyn Charlie, Kristi Benson, Trevor Lantz and Tracey Proverbs are shortlisted for Nan guk’anàatii ejuk t’igwinjik (The land we are taking care of is changing), a project that brings together Gwich’in knowledge and scientific modelling to assess the impacts of climate change and industrial development on culturally important landscapes in the Northwest Territories. Building on over three decades of cultural documentation by the Gwich’in Tribal Council’s Department of Culture and Heritage and 12 years of collaboration with the Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab, the project will classify Gwich’in landscapes, model future disturbances such as wildfires and permafrost thaw, and evaluate their impacts on key harvesting areas and wildlife species. Led by experts from the Gwich’in Tribal Council, University of Victoria and University of Alberta, this work will support Indigenous-led land use planning, cultural protection, and climate adaptation, and will provide a transferable model for combining Indigenous and scientific knowledge systems across the Arctic.

The Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award provides high-level recognition for innovative ideas that transform knowledge into action to help address the impacts of climate change in the Arctic. The prize comes with a 100,000 euro unrestricted grant intended to help develop the ideas through outreach, engagement, and communication.

Arctic Circle is the largest network of international dialogue and cooperation on the future of the Arctic and our planet. It is an open democratic platform with participation from governments, organisations, corporations, universities, think tanks, environmental associations, Indigenous communities, concerned citizens, and others. It is nonprofit and nonpartisan.

UArctic is a network of more than 200 universities, colleges, research institutes, and other organisations concerned with education and research in and about the Arctic. UArctic builds and strengthens collective resources and infrastructures that enable member institutions to serve their constituents and their regions better. Through cooperation in education, research, and outreach, UArctic enhances human capacity in the North, promotes viable communities and sustainable economies, and forges global partnerships.