Connecting with the Land
The Mission StatementWe put environment first.
What? The TNCC was started in March 2020 to explore options for greater support for, and collaboration among, groups doing conservation work in the Thompson-Nicola (T-N) region, including the possibility of a regional conservation partnership, similar to others in BC.
Who? It was initiated by the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD), with start-up funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada – Canadian Wildlife Service (ECCC-CWS). In April 2021, the TNCC will be launched as a member-driven collaborative organization, independent of government.
Why? ECCC has identified 11 Priority Places for biodiversity conservation in Canada, including the BC Dry Interior. The T-N region comprises 45% of the Dry Interior and contains provincially, nationally and globally significant biodiversity values, including many species and ecosystems at risk. For example, the grassland ecosystem covers only 1% of the province but has over 30% of the species at risk.
When? In Phase 1, March 2020 to March 2021, consultants conducted background research, directed by an ad hoc Working Group, including 80 interviews with over 60 organizations. Results from the interviews show overwhelming support for the idea of a conservation partnership!
Connecting With the Land is an outdoor environmental educational experience for Indigenous youth, developed in collaboration with Indigenous Elders, educators and western science educators. The main objective of this one-year project is to help connect Indigenous youth with the land and their culture.
The project aims to achieve this by hosting Connecting with the Land Youth Elder Field Days., and due to the 2023 wildfire season, pivoted to include developing educational resources for communities to adapt and use.
Connecting With the Land Field Days
Connecting With the Land: Field Days engages youth by teaching about cultural knowledge and western science on the land with Indigenous Elders and western educators. By learning on the land, youth are educated about local knowledge specifically tailored their communities leaving them with practical information that they can connect with their everyday lives. By incorporating both ways of knowing, the Field Days bring more perspective to youth education and their future while enhancing education by learning outdoors.
During the field day, a local Elder shares their knowledge of traditional and cultural uses of the land with youth through hands-on, experience-based outdoor learning. It also introduces concepts of western science in a fun and engaging way to foster ongoing interest and future learning.
Skeetchestn Youth Elder Field Day
August 31, 2023Connecting With the Land Curriculum
Outdoor Learning Through the Seasons is a seasonal curriculum featuring outdoor learning with the incorporation of cultural knowledge and western science to help connect youth with the land. Curriculum content was developed in collaboration with Simpcw educators and environmental science educators to create a resource based around the Secwépemc seasonal round.
The new resources is available for educators and youth leaders across the watershed to use and adapt for their communities.
Who's involved?
TNCC is collaborating with Simpcw and Skeetchestn First Nation to connect Indigenous Knowledge and western science in a way that will engage and educate youth on the land they live on. Thanks to the funders who are supporting this project.
