Annie Smith and Katy Lepine were members of the organizing committee for the David Suzuki Event on October 17, 2025 at the Florence Filberg Centre in Courtenay, BC. David Suzuki’s presentation was titled: Humanity at a Crossroads: Transformation or Extinction. It was a huge undertaking for the small group of volunteers with the North Island – Powell River Greens. Annie and Katy share their reflections and photos from the event.
Annie: This is my second year on the NIPR EDA executive. Originally, we had planned to have David Suzuki speak at a gala fundraiser in Campbell River last April. Then the federal election was called early and we shifted gears into campaign mode. But David Suzuki had committed to come and so we put his coming on hold until after the summer. Our focus shifted from the idea of a gala to hosting a public lecture. We didn’t know what to call the event – lecture? presentation? … eventually, possibly because of David Suzuki’s status as an international celebrity, it became the David Suzuki Event with a capital ‘E’.
In July I started looking for a venue in the Comox Valley that would be available on October 17. We were fortunate that the Florence Filberg Centre was available and would suit our purposes admirably. The City of Courtenay staff were superbly cooperative all the way along, helping us adjust to the changes that occurred after we booked the venue in July. For example, when Jessica Wegg and I visited the Conference Hall and discussed with Gary Franceschini, the Head Custodian, how we wanted to set it up, we were hoping we would have 200 people attend. That left lots of floor space and we decided not to use the stage at all, envisioning the audience seated in a wide semi-circle. Then, ten days before the event, our social media coordinator Katy let us know we had sold over 380 tickets! I was in shock and all my carefully thought-out plans for set-up went out the window! It turned out that the entire floor space would need to be occupied to capacity to hold 400 chairs – the maximum occupancy allowed. And we would be using the stage.
A second responsibility I took on was to reach out to Lee Everson to ask about protocol in inviting a Hereditary Chief to give a traditional welcome to David Suzuki and the audience. Lee said her husband Rob Everson, the Pentl’ach Hereditary Chief would be happy to do this and that the Kumugwe Dancers would do a welcome dance. I was thrilled to know that the event would begin in a good way. It turns out that David Suzuki had asked us to arrange for a traditional welcome to the K’omoks territory so we were on track.
The other members of the organizing team had different responsibilities. Linda Ash, CEO of the NIPR Board, organized the volunteers and the sale of David Suzuki’s books at the event. Jessica Wegg organized the book signing and was master of ceremonies. Mark de Brujin took care of hosting, ticket scanning, supporting David Suzuki at the book signing table, as well as ushering in late arriving guests. Carol McQuaig made sure the kitchen volunteers had what they needed and assisted with the book sales. A special thanks is due to Janet Hutchinson the coordinator of Evergreen Seniors for loaning us their stage lights, then running them for us and showing young Mac how to operate the house lights.
Katy: For my part of the event, I coordinated the poster design, set up ticketing and wrote and executed a social media plan for the one-month campaign leading up to the event. I work in communications in my day job and was thrilled by the opportunity to bring my experience and skills to support this important event. David Suzuki is my childhood hero. Growing up, I watched his TV show, The Nature of Things faithfully and hung onto every word the passionate scientist said about nature. I joined the planning committee with just enough time to write a social media plan, prepare artwork, copy and videos, and get started with implementing our tactics.
My first job was to set up ticketing. As I started setting up EventBrite, a popular platform for ticketing, I remembered who I was volunteering for: the Green Party. So why were we setting up ticketing with an American company? I quickly changed to SideDoorAccess which is a Canadian company with lower processing fees than EventBrite.
Another big task for me was handling social media for the promotional campaign leading up to the event. I had met Annie Smith when volunteering for the federal election campaign in April 2025 and I invited myself to her house and we got to work writing the key message for the event: “We are at a crossroads”. This type of work takes careful thought, and you need to understand your audience. The message needs to be short and easy to understand as you will then repeat it throughout the campaign. Following that Annie and I wrote a poll which I planned to use as a social media contest. I left Annie with the task of drafting the press release. There was much to do, but I was excited to be working with someone with experience in event planning and promotion.
Annie and I thought that a video of David Suzuki reading from his book, The Sacred Balance would be a strong way to garner attention for the event. So Annie selected some excerpts from the book, and we ran those by the publisher and Suzuki’s assistant for permission to use. David Suzuki’s assistant was incredibly supportive and managed to film a few minutes of Suzuki reading from his book using their iPhone despite David Suzuki’s busy schedule.
We decided the voice of a child could be a strong tactic to get people noticing the event, so we arranged for a young girl and their mother to meet us at Annie’s place and I recorded her reading from The Sacred Balance, as well as reading a quote that Annie had selected from Greta Thunberg that David Suzuki had quoted in the book. It was a powerful recording! I was getting excited to see where our hard work was taking us.
From there I worked on editing the videos so we had a series of short video promos to post over the 1-month campaign. I had to keep in mind that most people only watch the first 10 seconds of a video, so a 30 second video is considered very long in social media. I produced four clips of the young girl and four of David Suzuki. Everything we wrote and produced had to be reviewed by Suzuki’s assistant, including the social media plan and the press release. It was a good working relationship, and we were able to get everything ready to go in an incredibly fast time! It was two weeks from the start of writing the plan to having all the materials ready to post.
Lexi, a grade 11 student, volunteered to help with social media. I met her at her home and recorded a series of short videos with Lexi talking about the upcoming event and reminding people to buy tickets. We created three videos to use as a countdown series (“7 days left, 3 days left, 1 day left!”). Lexi was so positive and willing to help, I appreciated her energy and can-do attitude! While the videos were strong we were not able to use them as the event sold out a week before the day!
Annie: When I arrived at 3:30 pm, on the 17th, to set up, my jeep was loaded with a box of hand-painted murals and buckets of hydrangeas. I walked into the Filberg conference hall which had been transformed from a large empty space to almost wall-to-wall chairs. I searched out Ara Yakyasurian, the custodian on duty, and Janet, who was going to show me how to operate the lights. My objective was to turn the bare walls and stage into something that was inviting and inclusive.
As more volunteers arrived, many pieces began to fit into the picture I had imagined in my head. Curtains were hung on frames to make a smaller framing backdrop behind the speaker. Susan and Clara took charge of the flowers and arranged them on the stage, books were set up for sale by Linda and Carol, tables were set up with refreshments by the kitchen volunteers, Jane, Cathy, Claudette and Diane, banners and murals were taped (with painter’s tape) to the walls by Ernie and Jay. Bob Wells, Mayor of Courtenay, did sound checks with the handheld mics and lapel mic for David Suzuki; ticket scanners and greeters were prepped. David Suzuki arrived from Vancouver and immediately got to work pre-signing books before he was whisked away for a bit of food before the event began. From 6:00, when the doors opened, there was a steady flow of people entering and moving around the room.
Katy: I took up the charge to train the volunteer ticket scanners on the day of the event. We were so grateful to have Clayton, Ernie, Jay (one of our board members), and Karen volunteer to be ticket scanners. Thanks to the easy-to-use SideDoorAccess website, I trained myself the night before on how to scan a ticket using a smart phone. The day of the event, our volunteers arrived early and were excited for the night. After I trained Lexi, our grade 11 student volunteer, she was keen to help and she then trained the four volunteers on how to scan tickets with their phone.
I can’t say enough about Clayton, Ernie, Jay and Karen as ticket scanners. They were pleasant, professional as they stood at their posts in front of the double-door entrance to the hall. People started lining up outside well before 6pm and once the doors opened, those four volunteers scanned tickets and provided directions to people one-by-one until all 400 guests had been checked in! Karen volunteered to continue watching the door for latecomers and kept me up to date on ticket questions as they came in. We could not have asked for better volunteers. They were so engaged and ready to pitch in wherever they could!
Lexi also supported us as a runner: she watched the door, she brought ticket issues to my attention, she answered questions from the public. She also supported other areas during the event and although she had her own ticket, ended up watching the door for the entire event and handling the people waiting on standby. People walked up to us with cash in hand hoping to buy a ticket, but we were sold out and there were no empty seats in sight. I felt incredibly grateful and inspired to be working alongside such incredible people. We worked in unison, with a singular focus: putting on a successful event that we hoped would resonate with people.
Annie: And then suddenly it was 7:00 and Jessica Wegg was giving a 15-minute alert asking people to be seated. At 7:15 Jessica called welcomed the renowned Pentl’ach artist, Andy Everson, who stood in for his brother Rob, to welcome David Suzuki and all of us to K’omoks territory on behalf of the Pentl’ach peoples. Andy and his nephew Carver sang two songs honouring the territory, the land and water. And then it was time and David Suzuki was introduced by Jessica. With the simple grace of long experience as a public speaker, David took over the stage and the hall, mesmerizing 400 people of all ages for over an hour with stories and warnings, challenging our complacency as our planet is plunging further and further into chaos. Everyone was rapt with attention, even the children. When he finished there was an immediate wave of 400 people rising to their feet, cresting in a standing ovation.
Katy: After the event there was a lull as people shook off the spell woven by David Suzuki and found their way out of the hall. Some people were silent and others excitedly sharing moments that stood out for them. The following are some responses shared with us.
“The data that David Suzuki referred to throughout the evening spoke about science and spoke about how we’ve known about the challenges that we have, we know what the solutions are. The word that really stood out for me repeatedly, was the word ‘trapped’. Even though many of us know what to do there’s still a feeling of being trapped. And those that have the most power are almost more trapped based on the system that we’re in.”- Bob Wells, Mayor of Courtenay
“David Suzuki has to be one in a million! I can honestly say I’ve never heard a more informative, enjoyable or capable speaker. I enjoyed every minute and learned a lot. Thank you Dr. Suzuki for your many years of teaching in so many ways.”- Anonymous
“I felt honoured to finally meet David Suzuki and hear him speak. It was very moving and he was very practical and passionate in his observations and opinions.”- Anonymous
“Although the world has gone through several extinctions over the billions of years of its existence, we are given some hope that some of our species will survive the next one”- Anonymous
As a volunteer for this event I felt moved and inspired by the passionate people I worked with to make this a success. All of us seemed to be of the same mind, thinking there must be an answer, there must be something we can do to make change really happen and stop the destruction of our environment! We all feel it when we talk to our friends and neighbours, that sense of loss, of free falling and not knowing where we will land. Feeling worried for our children and grandchildren, wondering what will they have to deal with when I’m gone? I think one reason this event sold out so quickly is that people are seeking hope. David Suzuki gave us so much to think about, and he gave ideas for what we can DO!
Annie: Because David Suzuki had spoken for over an hour there wasn’t a lot of time for questions from the audience. The last question asked was a plea for direction, for what actions we can take where we live. David Suzuki’s response was to talk about the initiatives begun in Finland. The President of Finland has said that the environmental, economic, and social disasters that loom over their country are not going to be able to be dealt with by national or provincial governments. They will be too complex and too overwhelming. He has told the population that they need to build support networks with their close neighbours. Find out who needs help and who is able-bodied. Find out what resources are held within their neighbourhoods. Prepare emergency relief plans: where people can take refuge, find supplies, and support others. There was a moment of silence as the audience processed this. And then the event was over, though not, I think, in people’s minds.
Since that night I have been thinking about where we are at as communities and where I can put my energy. As a member of the Green Party, I believe in political responsibility and have chosen this party as the one I can support and that supports what I believe in. I can also help organize and write about community events that bring people together in common cause to learn, to work together to heal social rifts, prevent environmental destruction, and lift ourselves out of apathy into action.
Annie and Katy: In David Suzuki’s book, The Sacred Balance: Re-discovering Our Place in Nature, written more than twenty-five years ago, he spends the first 297 pages describing signs of looming environmental disaster, and then ends the book with the inspiring chapter, Restoring the Balance. The balance David Suzuki is referring to has multiple elements in relationship: scientific findings and Indigenous knowledges, contemporary technologies and the shared DNA of all living beings on our planet, fossil records left in the earth and spiritual teachings, humanity’s ability to forecast the future and simultaneously ignore our utter dependence on the air we breathe, the earth that produces our food, and the water that gives us life. He begins the section What Can We Do? by saying that we are asking the wrong questions. Instead of “How do we reduce the deficit?” or “How do we carve out a niche in the global economy?”, we should be asking, “What is an economy for?” and “How much is enough?”
Facing the imminent presentation of the federal government’s new budget, these questions are certainly in our minds.
David Suzuki offers eighteen ways we can restore balance to our relationship with the earth and our fellow beings. The suggestions we note here align with the questions that stand out for us from his October 17 presentation, Humanity at a Crossroads and the Q&A session:
• Protect the vigour and diversity of local communities … which provides individuals and families with a sense of place and belonging, fellowship and support, purpose and meaning…. shop locally, eat locally and seasonally, hire locally, work locally, play locally.
• Reconnect ourselves to everything on Earth, recreating a complete worldview by establishing or rediscovering rituals and ceremonies that celebrate those linkages and our communities.
• Adopt more holistic ways of seeing by learning about and supporting Indigenous history, knowledge, rights, reconciliation …In challenging and overcoming ingrained colonialist perspectives, we can share in the necessary wisdom and knowledge accumulated by people in place over millennia …
• Get involved. …
We want to finish this account of a life-changing event by sharing a quotation that David Suzuki uses at the beginning of Chapter 9, Restoring the Balance. This quote is from the late Anishnaabe author, Richard Wagamese.
All that we are is story. From the moment we are born to the
time we continue on our spirit journey, we are involved in
the creation of the story of our time here. It is what we arrive with.
It is all we leave behind. We are not the things we accumulate.
We are not the things we deem important. We are story.
All of us. What comes to matter then is the creation of the
best possible story we can while we’re here; you, me, us, together.
When we can do that and we take the time to share those stories
with each other, we get bigger inside, we see each other, we
recognize our kinship—we change the world, one story at a time …
As David Suzuki is now in his 90th year, most of us will likely not have another opportunity to hear him in person. We hope that the experience of attending his presentation won’t fade away but will linger in our hearts and minds and provide the yeast that will ferment into actions that lead to transformation.