CEPI’s Journey to Collaboration

Authors

  • Dan Christmas

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/jaed544

Keywords:

Collaborative Environmental Planning Initiative (CEPI), Unama’ki-Cape Breton, Mi’kmaq, Bras d’Or Lakes

Abstract

The Collaborative Environmental Planning Initiative (CEPI) is a one-of-a-kind organization in Unama’ki-Cape Breton. Fittingly, it was brought together through the vision and dedication of Charlie Dennis who was searching for a way to turn around the ecological health of the Bras d’Or Lakes or Pitupaq in Mi’kmaq, an inland estuary in the heart of Cape Breton. This essay will describe the events leading to the founding of CEPI and outline its first seven years of growth as it struggled with its identity. 

References

Bras d’Or Lakes Collaborative Environmental Planning Initiative. (2011). The Spirit of the Lake Speaks. Eskasoni: Bras d’Or CEPI.

Collaborative Environmental Planning Initiative (2024). “Bras d’Or Lakes CEPI,” Minutes and Agenda Archive, 2024, https://brasdorcepi.ca/minutes/.

Collaborative Environmental Planning Initiative (2006). Bras d’Or Lakes Traditional Ecological Knowledge Workshop Proceedings. Eskasoni: Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources.

Collaborative Environmental Planning Initiative. (2005). Bras d’Or Charter. Eskasoni: Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources.

Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources. (2004). Bras d’Or Lakes Workshop 2003 Proceedings. Eskasoni: Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources.

Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources. (2005). Bras d’Or Lakes Workshop 2004 Proceedings. Eskasoni: Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources.

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Published

2025-06-26

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2025): Muiwatmnej Etuaptmumk: “Two-eyed seeing from vision to action”

Section

Lessons From Experience

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Dan Christmas

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.