2022 Discretionary Grants

Each year, the CBT provides funding up to $5,000 for small projects that promote the health of individuals, communities, and ecosystems throughout the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Region. Each granting stream is overseen by an advisory committee of local volunteers who have an interest and expertise related to the grant. Granting streams include: Arts & Culture, Community Development, Research & Environment, and Youth & Education. 

Applications for the 2023 grants will open in the new year, with funding dispersed by June.

The following is a list of projects that were funded by the 2022 grants. 

Arts & Culture Grant

Wild Pacific Trail – Ancient Cedar Voice Box: Educate the public on the diversity of trees and plants while helping to preserve the language first spoken on the land through the design and installation of an eco-friendly, hand-powered audio box.

Pacific Rim Arts Society – Missoula Children’s Theatre: The theatre group will hold an open audition casting 50 to 60 local students (Kindergarten to Grade 12) to perform in a theatre production. During the week-long event, children also have the opportunity to learn set design, lighting and costume design, leading up to two performances at the end of the week.

Seal Folk Productions - QʷAYAĆIIK: A 40-minute documentary project exploring the ecological, cultural, and social transformation happening in the relationship between humans and wildlife - namely the coastal wolves.

Carving on the Edge Festival Society – Naa’Waya’Sum Pole Raising: A Totem Pole is set to be raised during this year's Carving on the Edge Festival, in the hopes of inspiring the public, as well as to demonstrate the traditional way of raising a pole. By doing so the pole will be able to completely return to the soil when its time comes.

Coastal Queer Alliance – Coastal Queers Concert: Coastal Queer Alliance will be hosting its inaugural in-person introduction to the community through a music fundraising/educational event set for the fall. This event is intended to introduce the work that Coastal Queers has already done, provide a framework for envisioning a queer-friendly future of Tofino and provide opportunities to support that vision, while also creating a fun, engaging, musical evening.

Toquaht Nation – Toquaht Intermediate Carving Workshop: After hosting a successful beginner’s carving workshop in the Toquaht village of Macoah, Citizen Dennis Hetu is building on the momentum to offer an intermediate workshop that will build on the foundation from the first workshop.

Wickaninnish Community School – Afterschool Central Dialect classes at Wickaninnish Community School: Instructed by Grace George who has years of experience instructing language and culture, after school central dialect classes offer an opportunity for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to learn and participate in Nuu-Chah-Nulth language and culture in an inter-generational format.

Community Development Grant

Yuulu?il?ath Government - Ucluelet First Nation - UFN Trail Crew – Collaborative Sustainable Trail Building Training: Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government signed a formal land use agreement with the Ucluelet Mountain Bike Association (UMBA) in an effort to collaborate to better manage and improve the previously illegal and unmaintained network of  Mt. Ozzard mountain bike trail systems without barring access to the greater community. 

Ahousaht - Revisiting our Haahoulthee (Ahousaht' Territory): Ahousaht Youth will be taken to paddle around Ahousaht Territory, enabling youth to gain self-identity and self-pride in where they are from.

District of Ucluelet – Youth Cooking Classes: This program offers youth the chance to join in after school and develop some cooking skills, alongside general food and nutrition knowledge, while working together in a positive environment.

Westcoast Community Resources Society - Wellness Markets: Monthly outdoor wellness markets aim to cultivate more compassion, understanding and connection within our communities by promoting access to resources, services and education; providing support for substance misuse through positive coping strategies, education and awareness; and promoting an inclusive approach to healing and growth by providing a link between mental heal-focused services and wellness-based local businesses.

Westcoast Community Resources Society – Sexual Assault Response Program: Set up a community-coordinated Indigenous-informed sexual assault response program for the west coast with conducted training.  

Research & Environment Grant

Ucluelet Aquarium Society – Ucluelet Harbour Eelgrass Society: The Aquarium is setting up a new project to survey eelgrass in the Ucluelet Harbour for the first time since 2002, by collaborating with local organizations already skilled in the survey techniques and methods.

Redd Fish Restoration Society – Yellow Flag Iris Volunteer Project: Volunteer project to manage the infestation of an extensive patch of Yellow Flag Iris that was discovered near Big Beach. This is a high-profile invasive species that can quickly take over entire wetlands and choke out native species.

Wetlands Stewards for Clayoquot and Barkley Sounds - Waaʕit habitat stewardship on tukʷaaʔatḥ lands: The toadlet protection project at Cadillac Lake has resumed with the goal to increase the survival of waaʕit, Western Toads and learn more about the species distribution in the region. The project will continue with initiative surveys of other lakes in the region to see if other breeding populations are found.

Redd Fish Restoration Society – Barkley Sound Kelp Monitoring: A multi-year kelp monitoring project with the goal of determining what the current baseline for kelp forest ecosystems is in the Barkley Sound region.

Pacific Peoples Partnership - ƛ i ̓ ḥ u k c a̓ a RedTide International Indigenous Climate Change Gathering: RedTide is a gathering of Indigenous peoples, knowledge and ideas from around the World. This year, ʕaḥuusʔatḥ (Ahousaht) has been established as host Nation for RedTide 2022.   ƛ̓iḥuk c̓aa - is a nuučaan̓uł term that means: “a red, strong tide” and acts as a more appropriate local indigenous title for this event. The event is for international Indigenous climate activists and the scientific community, but, is also open to the Climate Action conversation in Clayoquot Sound communities.

Youth & Education Grant

Ucluelet Secondary School – Exploring the Role of Story and Land in First People’s Perspectives: Students at USS will learn firsthand about the importance of storytelling, oral traditions, and the impact land/place has on First People’s perspectives. Three knowledge holders from different local indigenous communities will share stories, lessons, values, beliefs, and perspectives on the connections between land, identity, and culture with the students.

Yuulu?il?ath Government - Ucluelet First Nation – BMSC Field Trip: A field trip supporting UFN students to learn more about their marine backyard in a “hands on” real world experiential manner at Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre.

Ha’oom Fisheries Society – Traditional Seafood Harvest: The project will bring together youth from Ahousaht, Hesquiaht, and Tla-o-qui-aht to participate in two workshops and one harvest day to spark interest and teach about traditional seafoods.

Ahousaht Fisheries – Food security teaching traditional hunting and gathering: Support and teach youth to live off the land by connecting them to the land and sea.  

District of Tofino – Tofino Youth Night: A weekly program available for youth in grades six to twelve with the goal to enhance learning and social opportunities, and prioritize identified youth needs.

Carving on the Edge Festival Society – Through our Eyes: Tla-o-qui-aht Territory Youth: Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth, ages 10-18, living within the traditional ha-hoothlee of the Tla-o-quiaht First Nations engage in a place-based Photovoice project that teaches creative process, photography, interviewing and writing as a means to express and empower themselves.

Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation Education Department - Mułaa Surf Summer Camp & Surf Shed Build: The Indigenous led Surf Team, mułaa (Rising Tide) provides culturally relevant surf instruction and camaraderie to any Nuu-chah-nulth member over the age of 10. Mułaa does not only focus on physical skill-building around surfing, but also on reigniting the connection to land/waters/nature, mentorship of youth, community connection through bringing together families in a safe space, and cultural healing through the inclusion of knowledge holders

Ucluelet Secondary School – PAC - USS Surfrider Youth Club Waste Reduction Campaign: To encourage waste reduction and to promote environmentally conscious practices, the Surfrider Youth Club at USs will purchase four 4-bin recycling systems for the new school. The project aims to reduce unnecessary waste to the west coast landfill and educate youth on the ways to reduce waste.

Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation - Traditional Seafood Harvest: The project will bring together youth from Ahousaht, Hesquiaht, and Tla-o-qui-aht to participate in two workshops and one harvest day to spark interesting and teach about traditional seafoods.