Aya Heritage Institute was formed to preserve, share, and strengthen ancestral and Indigenous ecological knowledge, particularly knowledge connected to plants, nature, and the relationship between people and the environments in which they live.Our big-picture goal is to create opportunities for communities to learn from traditional ecological knowledge while ensuring that Indigenous knowledge is shared ethically, with respect for its origins, cultural ownership, consent, and lineage.We believe environmental stewardship is not only about protecting natural resources; it is also about understanding our relationship with the natural world. Indigenous and ancestral communities have developed knowledge about plants, ecosystems, reciprocity, and biodiversity through generations of observation and lived experience. Much of this knowledge is at risk of being lost, disconnected from its cultural context, or shared without recognition of the communities from which it originates.Through community education, workshops, cultural exchange, and partnerships with traditional knowledge holders, we want to help people reconnect with the natural world while creating spaces where Indigenous voices are respected and valued.Our long-term goal is to build a community that sees environmental responsibility not only as something we do, but as a relationship we cultivate with the Earth and pass to future generations.