Active Program
YOUTH CLIMATE CORPS BC - VERNON
The Vernon Youth Climate Corps Mobilizers have fun plans for Vernon—we’re going to be supporting several projects over the summer, as well as doing some community outreach and professional development. The Vernon mobilizers are made up of university students studying environmental science, climate science, and art.
Several projects we are excited to support are the sncacmatqtn agricultural park’s food forest and three sisters’ gardens, as well as staffing bike valets twice a week and at community events for cyclists, who want free, secure storage options for their ride. We’ll be supporting the youth when they present their Climate Action Ripple Effect (CARE) projects, and we will be helping with the development of and outreach for the community-led Climate Engagement Centre (CEC). We will host a Climate Engagement booth at the Polson Artisan Market each Friday evening, and will be assisting Vernon’s FireSmart Coordinator in carrying out the complimentary FireSmart house assessments, as your Local FireSmart Representatives. Lastly, we will also be hosting Climate Resiliency Workshops for the public, later in the summer—from DIY air filters to perhaps hot-dry gardening, or repair workshops (if you have ideas, come tell us when you see us!)
We’ve already started some of these projects, and are excited for those to come. If you see us at events, we’d love it if you came and said hi!
Land Acknowledgment
The City of Vernon is located within the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Syilx Peoples of the Okanagan Nation, who have inhabited the area for millennia. An Okanagan name for the area is Nintle-Moos-Chin, meaning "jumping over creek", referencing a point where the banks of BX Creek nearly met and it was possible to leap across it.
In recent years, efforts have been made to build stronger relationships and foster reconciliation between the City of Vernon and the Okanagan Indian Band. YCCBC is grateful to be part of the necessary and ongoing relationship building efforts based on reciprocity.
The Vernon team invites you to consider taking these action steps as a starting point:
Learn with the Land: Organize or participate in guided learning opportunities at places like sncəcmałqtn Agricultural Park, the nsisúlaʔxʷ Food Forest or the Kalamalka Garden to understand Syilx approaches to food security, restoration, and seasonal cycles.
Integrate Indigenous-informed sustainability education: Partner with Syilx educators and Knowledge Keepers to include Indigenous perspectives in climate, ecology, and community resiliency workshops.
Photo Caption: The 2026 Vernon YCC team. Front row, left to right, is Annika Nichols-Ree, Sebastian Wilson, Christina Spoor, Hadley Krieser, and Ryan Koelwyn. Back row is Kevin McCarty (City of Vernon), Sam Fuster and Liz Stewart.
Within Youth Climate Corps, crew members are between 17-30 years old; they earn wages, gain work experience, build networks, and develop themselves personally and professionally. Meanwhile, they complete projects that both benefit their own communities and support global efforts to act on the climate crisis.
If you or your organization wants to learn more about how to team up with us and move forward on projects in your community, or if you are interested in funding one of our projects related to our different focus areas, we are here to support you.