Youth and young adults have an important contribution to make to social, environmental, and economic well-being in communities across B.C. The Fraser Basin Council (FBC), a province-wide charitable non-profit organization, has a Youth Program to build capacity for youth aged 16-30 to engage in sustainability initiatives, deepen their understanding of complex issues, gain skills, and access opportunities to take on leadership roles to serve their communities. One of the ways FBC’s Youth Program provides these opportunities to youth is through the Co-Creating a Sustainable BC initiative.
FBC is currently inviting youth in the Cariboo-Chilcotin, North-Central B.C., Fraser Valley and Thompson regions to apply before July 12, to join one of the upcoming regional cohorts that will start their work in late August of 2020.
Co-Creating a Sustainable BC (CCSBC) started as a pilot in the Thompson and Sea to Sky regions that successfully wrapped up at the end of June 2020. Participating in the initiative gave youth participants the opportunity to deepen their understanding of leadership within the context of sustainability and climate change, to identify barriers to making meaningful and lasting changes in their communities, and to practice a collaborative approach to identifying potential solutions. By the end of the initiative, youth had developed their own projects to support sustainability in their communities, including an initiative to provide public access to organic waste infrastructure in the Thompson region, and a behaviour change campaign to encourage Sea-to-Sky communities to embrace composting practices. Youth participated at no cost, with travel and meal expenses reimbursed and ASL interpreters or other accessibility needs, such as childcare, accommodated.
FBC’s Youth Program is currently recruiting youth to participate in the 2020-2021 Co-Creating a Sustainable BC initiative. In its second year, the initiative will expand to four regions across B.C., including Cariboo-Chilcotin (Williams Lake and surrounding communities), North-Central BC (Prince George and surrounding communities), Thompson (Kamloops and surrounding communities), and Fraser Valley.
Due to COVID-19, the bi-weekly dialogue sessions that make up much of the initiative’s curriculum will take place online, until it is safe to meet in person.
Being a part of CCSBC will provide youth with the opportunity to boost connections, deepen their understanding of climate change impacts in their communities and explore the benefits of being actively engaged in civic dialogue while having fun. By connecting directly with community leaders and making informed decisions when developing projects, participants will contribute to their communities and will feel empowered to embrace leadership roles to help shape the future of sustainable B.C. communities.
If you or someone you know are among those youth who feel strongly about leading
the way on climate change, now is the time to sign up for the Fraser Basin Council’s Co-Creating a Sustainable BC initiative. More information can be found at https://fbcyouthprogram.ca/ccsbc/. The deadline to apply is Sunday, July 19, 2020.
This initiative is funded through Canada Service Corps, a program of the Government of Canada.
