Announcing the 2024 Youth & Education Grants

Photo credits: Surfrider Pacific Rim/BC Marine Trails 

We're excited to announce the recipients of the 2024 Youth and Education grants. This year, the CBT awarded over $52,000 in funding to eleven inspiring projects in the region. These grants aim to address urgent needs for youth, as highlighted in CBT's 2023 Vital Signs report. They focus on building capacity, providing education and training opportunities, and fostering connections among youth across communities in the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Region. Additionally, the grants support youth-driven projects and promote education and discussion around multiculturalism, inclusiveness, and diversity.

We deeply appreciate the efforts of the Youth and Education Advisory Committee, comprised of dedicated local volunteers, for their time and efforts to review each application. We also would like to thank the West Coast Sustainable Tourism Association for providing funding for many of the projects below. To learn more about the projects they supported directly, visit their website at https://wcsta.ca/projects.

To learn more about any of the projects below, or connect with project leaders, email jason@clayoquotbiosphere.org.

2024 Youth and Education Grant Projects

Celebrating Learning, Language, and Reconciliation – Ucluelet Secondary School (USS)

This project aims to enhance learning and celebrate language at USS by acquiring six iPads and tablet stands. These tools will enable students to share their knowledge and skills, particularly focused on Truth and Reconciliation with Canada's First Peoples. Key goals include showcasing student work at a Truth & Reconciliation exhibition, supporting language development in nuučaan̓uł (Nuu-chah-nulth), and fostering a sense of belonging among local youth. Activities will involve students researching TRC Calls to Action, creating digital presentations, and recording nuučaan̓uł dialects. Project partners include USS staff and Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ (Ucluelet First Nation).

Earth Keepers Rhythms & Rhymes Workshops – Friends of Clayoquot Sound

Earth Keepers is a youth arts engagement project that was operating before COVID-19 and is now re-energizing. Earth Keepers programming aims to facilitate artistic experiences to empower youth and young adults, ages between 10-25, to develop self-awareness, enhance communication skills, increase technical abilities, build personal leadership capacity, enhance environmental stewardship, and foster regional connectedness. The workshops are designed to empower youth and young adults by fostering self-expression through a variety of artistic experiences. Participants will engage in themed sessions focused on songwriting basics, beat production, positive lifestyle choices, storytelling, lyric writing, improvisation, and performance.

Girl Guides of Canada supporting Accessibility – Girl Guides of Canada

This project aims to facilitate the inclusion of a youth with disabilities in the Girl Guide's weekly meetings and events, fostering her integration into the local community and supporting her educational journey. It also seeks to raise awareness among other youth and adults about individuals with diverse abilities, promoting self-awareness and empathy. The goal is to cultivate an inclusive environment that embraces differences, ensuring all girls and women feel safe, respected, supported, and empowered to achieve their full potential. The initiative aspires to establish a lasting opportunity for youth to engage actively in the community.

Language on the Water – Mułaa Rising Tide Surf Society

This project aims to integrate traditional language more deeply into many facets of their surf and wellness programming provided in a trauma-informed, therapeutic context to Indigenous youth in the nuučaan̓uł territories of the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Region. Language on the Water responds to the vision expressed by the youth to include more language learning as part of their programming, and to work towards seeing traditional names reflected in their communities and territories. This project will integrate traditional language learning into surf sessions, food harvesting, stewardship activities, and other wellness sessions, and will include efforts to enhance education and interpretation around beach names more broadly through connections with the larger community.

Maaqtusiis Girls Group - Maaqtusiis Secondary School

The Girls Group aims to explore and celebrate nuučaanuł identity through learning about gathering practices and territories. This project emphasizes understanding the ocean and land as sources of traditional food, with lessons covering gathering protocols and sustainability practices. Participants will learn to harvest responsibly, care for resources like cedar bark and bear grass, and practice gratitude through offerings. Food-related activities include cleaning, smoking, and canning fish, as well as preparing dishes like clam jacks and other seafood. Additionally, the group plans to honor Elders within the Ahousaht community by sharing the food they gather, prepare, and cook.

nuučaan̓uł (Nuu-chah-nulth) Youth Harvesting Workshop – Uu-a-thluk

The nuučaan̓uł Youth Harvesting Workshop aims to train youth in traditional seafood harvesting, preparation, and preservation, empowering nuučaan̓uł rights and enhancing skills for fisheries and eco-tourism. Workshops cover modern techniques for crab, prawn, groundfish, kelp, and salmon, including handling, cleaning, filleting, and kuutchis salmon preparation. Participants will also learn to can bull kelp, make bull kelp salsa, and understand seasonal harvesting cycles. Collaboration with Uu-a-thluk, Nuu-chah-nulth Nation fisheries staff, Elders, knowledge holders, and community members will greatly enrich the program.

On the Road Tofino/Ucluelet/ʕaaḥuusʔatḥ (Ahousaht) – ASTC Science World Society

On The Road brings fun, high-energy live demos and activities to BC communities that pique science curiosity, and literacy and inspire future science leaders and innovators. In June 2024, OTR visited Tofino/Ucluelet/ ʕaaḥuusʔatḥ schools and communities in between. The project and partnership with Science World contributed to the long-term health of the Clayoquot Biosphere Region by developing further opportunities for collaboration and science education.

Queer Youth Connections (QYC) – Coastal Queer Alliance

This program aims to support queer youth in local communities by providing a consistent, confidential, and supportive space for exploration and connection. Recognizing the lack of dedicated resources for queer youth in the area, the program offers activities and discussions that nurture confidence and identity exploration. Held at the Ucluelet Community Center and supported by Ucluelet Secondary School, the QYC program addresses isolation and under-support among queer and questioning youth. By facilitating interactions between queer youth and supportive adults, the program aims to promote visibility, empowerment, and intergenerational learning within the local queer community.

Youth Environmental Stewardship (YES) Program – Surfrider Pacific Rim

Surfrider will enhance and expand the 2024 YES program across Ucluelet Secondary School and Maaqtusiis Secondary School. The initiative includes beach clean-ups, waste reduction efforts, and classroom activities aligned with the school’s curriculum. Program leads will engage with Wickaninnish Community School and Ucluelet Elementary School, providing resources and training to integrate environmental education into classroom learning. Additionally, they will facilitate teacher workshops, support beach clean events, and guide students through cross-curricular projects aimed at addressing plastic pollution and promoting environmental stewardship.

Youth Kayak Training: Paddle Canada Level 1 Course – Hello Nature Adventure Tours Ltd

This project aims to offer Paddle Canada Sea Kayak training to local youth aged 13-18, equipping them with the skills needed to navigate the water confidently. Over two days, participants will receive practical instruction covering essential aspects such as launching, maneuvering, and capsize recovery in a supportive and enjoyable setting. The initiative seeks to empower young people to connect with and protect the marine environment, build collections with like-minded youth, and celebrate the history of the Indigenous paddle-craft culture of Canada. Paddle sports inherently promote sustainability and carbon-free water travel, and the course will promote low-impact best practices and respectful observation of flora and fauna.

Youth Mentorship Program - Ha'oom Fisheries Society

From July to September, the Youth Mentorship Program integrates First Nations' fishing traditions, focusing on reconciliation and sustainability. It aims to enhance fishing skills while respecting cultural practices, foster community collaboration, and promote sustainable development. Participants, including youth from ʕaaḥuusʔatḥ (Ahousaht), hiškʷiiʔatḥ (Hesquiaht), and ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ (Tla-o-qui-aht) will gain practical skills and a deep appreciation for the cultural importance of fishing, ensuring responsible stewardship of natural resources.