Chevaun Toulouse is an Anishinabekwe from Sagamok Anishnawbek and a member of the Ginoozhe (pike) clan. Growing up in Sagamok gave her an interest in and respect for the environment, as much of her youth was spent trying to catch turtles and snakes in the swamp. Whether snatching snakes or catching turtles, it was on the land interacting with reptiles and amphibians that she found her passion.

Her environmental education began at Sault College in the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Technician Diploma program. She completed the Indigenous Environmental Leadership Pathways Certificate from Royal Roads University, Ontario Master Naturalist program with Ontario Nature and Lakehead University, as well as the Indigenous Undergraduate Summer Research Scholars Program with McMaster University. She recently graduated from Trent University, Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences with a joint major in Biology Honors BSc program.

Over her career Chevaun has worked in many capacities pertaining to environmental conservation and education. She has worked in various technician positions with the Ministry of Natural Resources, Turtle Island Conservation at Toronto Zoo, and Magnetewan First Nation Lands, Resources and Environment Department. Currently, Chevaun is the Environment & Climate Change Coordinator for the Sagamok Anishnawbek Lands, Resources & Environment department.

Additionally, as a proud member of Sagamok Anishnawbek, Chevaun has worked over the years to bring resources to her community for the purpose of research and education. She has successfully secured funding from various grants to fund environmental research and food sovereignty and security initiatives for her community.

In addition to sourcing resources for community initiatives, Chevaun has worked hard to prioritize and integrate Anishinaabemowin language education and preservation into her work. She has researched and created lists of Anishinaabemowin words for many different species of flora and fauna and shared them with schools, environmental organizations, and language groups. Chevaun partnered with Saugeen Conservation to create an Anishinaabemowin bird series that featured bird graphics with their Anishinaabemowin names and meanings. This bird series was shared by Cornell Lab of Ornithology K12, Earth Rangers, and many more environmental organizations.

To compliment her research, over the course of her career, Chevaun has been documenting species through photography which has been featured in the book Wildlife on Roads: A Handbook by Gunson, Kari E.; Schueler, Frederick W. Wildlife on Roads. Her work was also included in an Anishinaabemowin/English bilingual colouring book developed and produced by the Magnetewan First Nation Lands, Resources and Environment department.

Chevaun is a well-known Indigenous environmentalist, securing a position as research advisor for a TV series called Great Lakes Untamed. Great Lakes Untamed is the first definitive natural history TV series illustrating this vast watershed’s incredible wildlife, landscapes, and human importance. Bringing an Indigenous scientific perspective to this project was important to her while also highlighting the current environmental struggles the Great Lakes face.

In addition to her experience discussed above, Chevaun is well practiced in preparing and delivering educational presentations, delivering keynote presentations for many events and at many institutions.