When you walk across the land, do you ever think about the soil beneath your feet—where it comes from, what it’s been through, or what it what stories it holds? For Dr. Jean-Thomas (JT) Cornelis, Associate Professor of Soil Science at UBC, these questions are at the heart of his work.

At UBC’s SoilRes3 Lab, Dr. Cornelis leads research that explores the deep relationships between soil, land, and people. He and his team investigate how microscale processes in the soil influence the resilience of entire ecosystems—how they respond to stress, recover, and adapt. Just as importantly, he’s working to decolonize soil science by building research rooted in respect, reciprocity, and collaboration with Indigenous communities. For Dr. Cornelis, soil is more than a natural resource—it’s a living system, one whose health is inseparable from the wellbeing of the people and places it supports.

“The soil is the very memory of the long-term relationship between land and people,” says Dr. Cornelis. “I feel like I learned 100 years of knowledge in only three years from the collaboration and field investigation we are doing with the local Indigenous communities.”

Dr. Cornelis examines how environmental conditions influence soil development and ecosystem resilience. His team conducts place-based research in partnership with Ts’msyen, Gitxsan, and Coast Salish Peoples, actively challenging Eurocentric biases in scientific inquiry through collaborative, community-engaged approaches.

Dr. Cornelis’s research shows how traditional practices like Indigenous forest gardening and cultural burning can improve soil health and help ecosystems thrive—without the need for synthetic chemicals. At the SoilRes3 Lab, his team combines this knowledge with modern science to find better ways to care for the land, especially as communities face the growing impacts of climate change. Their research offers scientific proof of what Indigenous communities have long known: these time-tested practices play a powerful role in keeping ecosystems strong and resilient.

“We are observing that carbon storage within the soil in forest gardens is way higher than in other forest ecosystems in BC—the nutrient content is through the roof,” says Dr. Cornelis.

This work not only helps preserve natural habitats but also supports agricultural practices that honour and sustain the land—benefitting both environmental and human health, and contributing to a thriving society and a healthier planet.

Crucial to advancing this transformative research has been donor support, particularly through the UBC Killam Accelerator Research Fellowship. This backing provides not just resources, but also the flexibility needed to explore complex, long-term questions.

“For doing that kind of long-term research in remote areas, we need funding,” Dr. Cornelis explains. “That’s something that’s been really key at UBC—the flexibility, the time and freedom.”

This fellowship supports in-depth fieldwork, laboratory research, and—most importantly—the time required to build trust and nurture reciprocal relationships with Indigenous communities. It also enables the translation of co-produced knowledge into accessible language for policymakers, helping ensure that research informs real-world action on urgent issues like the Land Back movement. Led by Indigenous communities, this movement seeks to reclaim stewardship of traditional lands and restore Indigenous governance and land management practices.

Dr. Cornelis envisions a future where a new generation—who know “about decolonization, about reconciliation, about ecosystem resiliency, about urgency in terms of climate change”—contributes to greater sustainability by integrating traditional Indigenous ecological knowledge with Western science principles.