Category Archives: Youth

Vancouver Island Indigenous Snowboard and Ski Team recruiting new athletes, mentors

By Nora O’Malley, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Vancouver Island, B.C. – Up Mount Washington, Indigenous youth can ride through the trees or sit and throw snowballs – it’s all about having fun and being free for members of the Vancouver Island Indigenous Snowboard and Ski Team.

The recreation-focused, 100 per cent volunteer driven snowboard and ski team is accepting applications from Vancouver Island-based Indigenous youth ages 12 to 17 until Nov. 12. Members receive a pass to Mount Washington Ski Resort for the 2024-2025 season, access to gear if they need, plus holistic training that promotes healthy living and long-term love for the sport.

Continue reading Vancouver Island Indigenous Snowboard and Ski Team recruiting new athletes, mentors

First Draft of the SRD Poverty Reduction Plan

The Strathcona Regional District is considering what could be an extremely innovative and societal changing plan. As CAO David Letich informed the Board, at their Wednesday June 26 meeting, the draft Poverty Reduction Plan is already more than 100 pages long. It was his intention to have the plam introduced through a presentation and then, hopefully, they will forward it to the Committee of the Whole for further discussion. 

Continue reading First Draft of the SRD Poverty Reduction Plan

For Teens Who Drink and Do Drugs, Here’s How to Reduce the Harm

Editor’s notes: “In Local Health Area 72 (Campbell River), which includes Cortes and Quadra Islands, 13.5 litres of absolute alcohol are sold per person. This is considerably higher than the Island Health average of 10.9 and the provincial average of 9.0. Given that one litre of absolute alcohol is equivalent to 58 standard drinks, residents of LHA 72 are consuming 783 alcoholic beverages annually, on average”from the the Cortes Island and Quadra Island profiles

“In Vancouver Island North, which includes Campbell River, Cortes and Quadra Islands, 52% of youth have tried alcohol, compared to 45% provincially. Similarly, 37% of Vancouver Island North youth have tried marijuana, compared to 26% provincially. Tobacco sees a similar trend, with 29% of Vancouver Island North youth trying tobacco, compared to 21% of youth provincially”from the Cortes Island and Quadra Island profiles

By Michelle Gamage, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

About 40 per cent of Canadian teenagers drank alcohol in the last year and one in five used cannabis, according to a bi-annual Health Canada survey that asks kids about substances. 

The 2021-22 Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey was filled out by 61,096 kids from Grade 7 to 12 — typically 12 to 17 — in all provinces except New Brunswick, which opted out. This is its 11th year collecting data on tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and drug use. 

Continue reading For Teens Who Drink and Do Drugs, Here’s How to Reduce the Harm

A Beacon of Hope: Questions from the Children’s Forest Alumni

One of the world’s leading forest ecologists was the feature speaker at the Cortes Children’s Forest virtual AGM on Saturday, January 28th. This is the last in a series of programs from that meeting, in which Dr Suzanne Simard’s answers questions from the Children’s Forest Alumni. 

Forrest Berman-Hatch emceed the session and this abridged broadcast of the audio opens with him asking, “ How do you see the value of the Children’s Forest taking into account all the different factors that are important to small communities like the ecological, the economic, as well as the cultural and scientific values?”

Continue reading A Beacon of Hope: Questions from the Children’s Forest Alumni

Internal Sociocray with Tamias (& teens) on Folk U

Learn more about sociocracy, a holistic governance system, and its uses externally and internally as Tamias joins host Manda Aufochs Gillespie and teens from the Cortes Island Academy Tools for TruthTelling podcasting course in this special Folk U Radio episode.

Sociocracy as a form of governance uses consent decision-making and a linked circle structure to distribute power through an organization while supporting efficiency and clarity.

Continue reading Internal Sociocray with Tamias (& teens) on Folk U