Our People

Preferring to see the Elk Valley and beyond with the aid of running shoes, Courtney has been fortunate to call Fernie home for the last 32 years. Building on her passion for nonprofits and community building Courtney is keen to keep our area of the planet as abundant as she can. Graduating from the University of Victoria with a degree in Sociology and minors in Political Science and English Literature she feels very lucky that she was able to move home and be continually inspired by the mountains of her youth.

Ayla Bennett lives with her family in Fernie, BC. She is passionate about conserving and discovering more of our beautiful mountains, free-flowing rivers and wild spaces. Ayla works with environmental non-profit groups including Wildsight, Elk River Alliance and Mainstreams Environmental Society.

Casey and his family live work and play in Fernie in the heart of Canada's beautiful Southern Rockies. Casey managed Wildsight's Southern Rockies Campaign for a decade and is grateful for the opportunity to continue to support progress on conservation and community sustainability through volunteering with Wildsight.

Mary Cosman has been a grower-member of Seeds of Diversity Canada since the early 1990s. She was a member of the Prince George Community Garden while living there, and has been a director of Fernie’s Community EcoGarden since moving here in 2005.

Founder of the Rocky Mountain Education Series, Dawn Deydey brings the experience and understanding of five years of Beyond Recycling coordination and development to the table. As Community Program Coordinator for the Wildsight Elk Valley Branch, her ability to weave environmental education and community action into successful programming that moves our community towards sustainability has been proven repeatedly.

Tif moved to Fernie in 2016. She grew up on an acreage in Quesnel, BC and studied Global Development in Camrose, Alberta. She's grateful for the opportunity to learn about the Kootenays through Wildsight's important work. 

I have been active in Wildsight since 2000 and the Elk Valley Branch President for 6 years after serving as an Elk Valley Branch Board Member 16 years. I was also a member of the Wildsight Regional Board of Directors for two years.

I am passionate about local and regional environmental issues and am currently focusing on Waste Reduction for Elk Valley events and residential construction developments.