Carolynne Crawley, co-founder of Turtle Protectors and founder of Msit No’kmaq, has Mi'kmaw, Black and Irish ancestry. She is Turtle Clan and is from Mi’kma’ki territory, also known today as Nova Scotia. But Tkaronto has been her home for fifty years since a young child. Carolynne grew up with a deep relationship with Mother Earth that was fostered through her cultural land based teachings. Carolynne grew up listening to family stories of her Grandmother harvesting medicines from the land, her Grandfather burning the lands every spring, and her Mum and siblings picking blueberries and other foods. She has also been assisting animal relatives since a young child.

Carolynne is passionate about reconnecting people with the land, waters, and all beings as there is no separation between us. From many Indigenous perspectives around Mother Earth they are all our relatives to be treated with as much love, respect, and reciprocity as we do with our human loved ones. She shares the importance of this relationship as it can be healing for ourselves and Mother Earth.

Over the past decades she has been dedicated to social and environmental justice.  Carolynne worked in food security for 12 years and advocated for children and youth during her twenty year career as a Child & Youth Worker. She has shared the importance of protecting all of our relations throughout all of her work. She is a Forest Therapy Guide and has been a Mentor and Trainer in the practice for five years. She is also a Holistic Nutritionist, a Storyteller, a Co-Producer of a documentary Reckoning with the Wendigo and a member of the Indigenous Land Stewardship Circle based in High Park in Tkaronto/Toronto.  Ceremony with Elders is an integral part of her life as she strives to fulfill her vision upon Mother Earth.