YCC is in the design phase of a new program on Ma’amtagila lands on Kwakwaka’wakw territory (Northern Vancouver Island). The program will be led and attended by Kwakwaka'wakw youth, ages 15-30 (with intergenerational components as well), and will consist of a series of youth camps over the spring and summer of 2023. The youth camps will centre on food security, low-carbon building, cultural resilience, ecosystem restoration, traditional food harvesting and preservation, and infrastructural enhancement at an ancestral village site that is being re-occupied, to name a few. The program will run in partnership with ongoing local initiatives such as the Nawalakw youth camps, BATI program (Broughton Aquaculture Transition Initiative), working to restore wild salmon ecosystems, as well as working Awinakola: Tree of Life foundation, working with Chief Rande Cook and Suzanna Simard on old-growth forest research and preservation.
The team completed their S100 and Chainsaw Safety training last week. YCC team is now ready to tackle this season's Ecosystem Restoration and Wildfire Risk Reduction projects with confidence and safety to protect lives, communities, and resources. Thanks to Wildsight for leading YCC in Kimberley - Cranbrook and Loki Tree and their crew for providing excellent mentorship and guidance.
Follow the journey of the new YCC 2022 Crew hosted by Wildsight in the region of Kimberley - Cranbrook by visiting Wildsight Program YCC.
