On July 26, 2021, North Island Community Forest Board member Megan Bose met up with representatives of Paper Excellence, BlueGreen Environmental Planning and Strategic Natural Resource Consultants to share knowledge with a group of summer students from the Quatsino First Nation (QFN) K’ak’ot’lats’i school.
The group met with the students at Marble River Provincial Park and talked about careers in forestry and the values that are protected every day through sustainable resource management in QFN’s traditional territory.
“It was a delight to share the excitement of nature and forestry with the QFN students. There is such value in connecting with local communities and this opportunity to come together to share knowledge and appreciation was incredibly rewarding” said Megan Bose, RFT. Megan is a Forester at Strategic Natural Resource Consultants and a member of the North Island Community Forest’s board of directors.
“It’s so rewarding sharing the things I’ve learned throughout my forestry career with children from local First Nation communities, and hearing what they have learned about the forest from their families and elders,” says Kim Lefebvre, RPF, Manager of Indigenous Fibre Partnerships at Paper Excellence. “My favourite part is seeing them get excited about connecting with nature, and realizing that there is a vibrant career opportunity in Forestry that exists for them in their own territory.” She shared with the students that Paper Excellence uses sustainably harvested trees from QFN territory for its pulp and paper mills, either as whole pulp logs or as woodchips that are processed at the ‘Namgis First Nation-owned Atli Chip plant in Beaver Cove.
“Opportunities to bring people together are so rewarding, now more than ever. Being able to help children learn about, and experience, the forest in a new way is so important in cultivating lifelong champions of our natural environment” said Jonathan Lok, RFT. Jonathan is a Managing Partner of Strategic Natural Resource Consultants, and co-founder of BlueGreen Environmental Planning Corp, a QFN-owned environmental consulting company which operates within QFN territory.
QFN’s K’ak’ot’lats’i school is located within QFN’s community near Coal Harbour, BC. The school blends traditional knowledge of QFN culture with the latest in curriculum development to give their students a broad educational experience.