Thamnolia subuliformis, Resolute (2025-10-14T20:54:16.000Z) by Paul C. SokoloffCanadian Museum of Nature / Musée canadien de la nature
Researching Canada’s Living Collections
The Canadian Museum of Nature conducts long-term research across Canada, combining fieldwork and museum collections to document biodiversity, particularly in rapidly changing Arctic environments.
Xanthoria (2017-07-05) by Paul SokoloffCanadian Museum of Nature / Musée canadien de la nature
Creating a Lasting Botanical Archive
Specimens collected during expeditions are preserved in the National Herbarium of Canada to create a permanent scientific record that supports conservation and climate research.
Meet the Researcher: Paul Sokoloff
At the heart of many Arctic expeditions is Paul Sokoloff, a botanist at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
He studies the plants of northern Canada, focusing on identifying Arctic flora and documenting the diversity of plant life across remote, often untouched landscapes.
Paul Sokoloff and Geoff Levin collecting Poa arctica subsp. caespitans, Gillespie 12694, Site 13-5, Napartulik Territorial Park (2025-08-13T16:21:33.000Z) by Lynn GillepieCanadian Museum of Nature / Musée canadien de la nature
Sokoloff values fieldwork that translates scientific discovery into valuable tools for conservation and land management, finding fulfillment in research that supports community-informed conservation and future stewardship.
Unloading Twin Otter, Resolute Bay Airport, Cornwallis Island (2025-08-16T16:56:53.000Z) by Lynn GillepieCanadian Museum of Nature / Musée canadien de la nature
Fieldwork in the High Arctic
In the summer field season, botanists Lynn Gillespie, Paul Sokoloff, and Geoff Levin head to Napartulik to create a biodiversity baseline that will support conservation and land-use planning in the rapidly changing Arctic.
Conserving the Arctic's Future
Napartulik is proposed as the core of a new territorial park, protecting both its fossil forest and nearby coastal archaeological sites.
Hazen Camp (2017-07-16) by Paul SokoloffCanadian Museum of Nature / Musée canadien de la nature
Conducting research in the High Arctic is physically demanding and unpredictable, requiring not only technical expertise but a deep passion for the work and the places it serves.
Paul Sokoloff and Lynn Gillespie collecting Hippuris lanceolata, Gillespie 12634, Site 9-7, Napartulik Territorial Park (2025-08-09T14:05:38.000Z) by Geoffrey LevinCanadian Museum of Nature / Musée canadien de la nature
A Long-Term Partnership in Arctic Stewardship
Since 2015, the Canadian Museum of Nature and Nunavut Parks have collaborated to catalog Nunavut's flora. This partnership helps park managers understand and protect biodiversity in these protected Arctic ecosystems for the future.
Moss, Gillespie 12717 to 12719, Site 15-1, Napartulik Territorial Park (2026-01-09T21:22:20.000Z) by Lynn GillepieCanadian Museum of Nature / Musée canadien de la nature
Honouring Napartulik’s Living Past
Napartulik brings together ancient geology and living ecosystems. By documenting the plants found there today, the CMN helps protect this landscape—its fossil forests, tundra, and cultural history, so it can endure for future generations.
Special thanks to Paul Sokoloff for graciously agreeing to be interviewed for this story.
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