Climate change is the greatest challenge of this generation. Wildsight launched the Youth Climate Corps (YCC) in the fall of 2020. The YCC empowers young people to inspire and implement solutions to the climate crisis through targeted employment, training, mentorship, community engagement, and personal leadership development.
Our inaugural YCC crew is based in the West Kootenay region surrounding Nelson. From mid-September to mid-January, 14 crew members ages 19 – 29 will be engaged in a variety of projects related to both climate mitigation and adaptation including community wildfire risk reduction, local food security and sustainability, energy efficiency and sustainability, and youth leadership. Along the way, the crew is gaining both “hard” and “soft” skills beneficial for future careers that are both personally fulfilling, and help our society meet the climate change challenge.
Following the debut of this inaugural West Kootenay crew, Wildsight will work toward enabling similar projects in other locations across the Columbia Basin.
If you want to hear about the first few weeks of fieldwork, click here.
For more info, please contact Graeme Lee Rowlands (Program Coordinator) at graeme@wildsight.ca. You can also leave a voicemail for Graeme at 250.427.9325 extension 230.
Substantially funded by the Government of Canada through the Canada-British Columbia Workforce Development Agreement.
Additional funding provided by the Kootenay Career Development Society, Regional District of Central Kootenay, BC Parks, BC Wildfire Service, Loki Tree Service, Johnsons Landing Community Association, Slocan River Streamkeepers, Spiral Farm, Thimble Hill Nursery, and other project partners.
