Announcing the Fall 2022 Culture Grants

We are excited to share this list of grass-roots community culture projects that will be receiving Neighbourhood Small Grants this cycle. 

As usual, we want to extend our thanks to the West Coast Community Resources Society, our community partner for creating the cheques for community members. NSG makes empowering, accessible opportunities for residents from all demographics to rise up and make their communities more inclusive, and vibrant places to live. Check out the projects below and reach out to colin@clayoquotbiosphere.org if you want to connect to a project leader and participate. 

2022 Culture NSG Projects

Make Christmas Ornaments – Michelle Curley, Tla-o-qui-aht
Gathering kids and family to the Tyhistanis Health center to make Christmas decorations to brighten their homes for the holiday season. I would like to have snacks or a meal to draw people in and host them well.

Traditional Clam Harvest – Francis Campbell, Ahousaht
Take youth and adults out on the water and teach them the traditional and sustainable methods to harvest clams in our Traditional Territories. It will connect our community by sharing knowledge and learning our traditional harvest place names and just good getting people on the land. Once we harvest the clams we will share with the community- Elders first."

Women Surviving To Thriving Welcome and information Dinner – Karen Frank, Ahousaht
Many women in our community struggle with Domestic, and systemic violence. We want to host a dinner to bring women together to support each other and learn about options and programs available to increase the safety and well-being for Ahousaht women.  

Traditional Food Harvest with Youth – Neil Keitlah, Ahousaht
Continuation of past NSG grants teaching youth to hunt in and process food, building connection, and confidence. They’ll go over protocols, processing, and sustainable harvest. We will have a meal at the sessions at people learn best with food- The goal of this grant is to share knowledge and learn processing skills- we are looking at another larger grant to take the youth hunting- if successful we will share all the harvest with Elders and family in the community.

Community Dinner hosted by the Youth of Ahousat – Shayleann Little
A dinner put on by youth and kids, where they learn how to host and serve their community including invitations, setup, and cleanup. It will also be a forum for the youth to provide us with their concerns, needs, and wants within the community. All ages elders, chiefs, kids, and adults will be attendees.

Small Orange Tshirt Beaded Pin – Elizabeth George, Tla-o-qui-aht
Creation of orange T-shirt pins for gifting to residential school survivors. The goal is to work with the TFN youth group and teach them how to bead and gift to our survivors to help create connections and light in our community. They’ll each make two pins so they get more practice and can keep one for themselves.

Button Blankets - Annie George, Tla-o-qui-aht
Share with youth and interested community members traditional practices of making small shawls for Potlatches. Funding will cover costs for 15 participants to create their own shawl that they can have for cultural practice. 

Ocean Park Holiday Lights – Jody Kirk, Tofino
Using lights to decorate & lighting up the community playground and a few other common areas in the Ocean Park community to lighten up the neighborhood in the dark nights. This will include the "Light up the Dark-Wishing Tree"" event, where community members can gather in the playground Sunday Dec 18th from 3-6pm to enjoy snacks, and hot chocolate and make decorations for the community wishing tree.

Tofino Chess Open – Chris Reitze, Tofino
Public chess tournament with categories for different ages, with a focus on youth. The event will build on the success of last year’s and we will seek lots of local sponsorship to supplement the Neighbourhood Small Grant. 

Winter pride dance – Kira Cameron, Ucluelet
This will be an all-inclusive pride dance for LGBTQ+ members and allies where there will be music, fun decorations, and dinner/snacks will be provided, all ages are welcome.

Baby and Mom Gatherings – Megan Cameron, Ucluelet
When Covid hit, our community lost many resources that support new moms to have connections. This is still something lacking and it's very important that women have a space where we can feel supported by each other.  Again, because of Covid restrictions, it has been hard to connect moms from Hitacu and Ucluelet and this funding will help support the gathering of moms and babies from both communities. 

Food Preservation – Erica Daley, Ucluelet
Teaching food preservation skills to the USS students in a workshop to prepare spreads to use/serve during the breakfast meals. Students will use berries sourced from the TUCG and learn water-bath canning skills and theory in the workshop. This will build community among the students in the workshop working together to create spreads/jams. It will also bring of sense of community to sharing this food with their peers."

Conserving and Preserving Three usable 49 Parallel Plants – Leah Morgan, Tla-o-qui-aht
Create awareness of 3 Indigenous plants all found within a 1-mile radius. The workshops will focus on learning where to find and how to identify the plants, their traditional uses, their importance in the ecosystem, and ways to conserve and preserve them. 
Awareness of 3 indigenous and usable plants in 1-mile radius 

Tuff Pals on Planks – Lillian Tuomi, Tofino
A weekly skate meet-up geared towards creating inclusivity for all genders and levels of skaters throughout the entire year. It will take place outdoors, weather permitting, and indoors (location pending) to ensure a consistent creation of inclusive skate culture in Tofino. We are looking to collaborate with other local organizations that share our values, including Ukee POP and Coastal Queer Alliance. We are applying for this grant to increase capacity and gain resources for the skate community.