Volume 11 of SWCC’s newsletter is here! At a glance: SWCC Rafting: 17 years of Y.O.W., Bioremediation: Coldfire Project, PRGT Updates: Growing Public Opposition & Concerns from Local Community Members, Lax’yip Firekeepers: Land-based learning, Peace & Unity Summit, & Skeena Energy Solutions: 2026 Forum.
SWCC RAFTING 🛶
SWCC Rafting celebrated its 17th Youth on Water season this year. From July to August, we rafted with amazing youth in Terrace, Gitwangak, Witset, Smithers, and Hazelton. This year, for the first time ever, we also hosted our Women on Water program in all five communities. We focused on building deeper relationships with our guests, fostering wellness, connection to the river, and training the next generation of river guides and leaders.
This was also the first year that SWCC Rafting was under new leadership. Shawntei Michell, a former Youth and Women on Water participant, and young matriarch from Witset took over the direction and planning for the 2025 season. Shawntei brought with her optimism,empowerment, laughter, and a connection to the land and salmon that was fostered in her by her grandmothers.
With the support and partnership of Youth Climate Corps BC we hired two junior river guides. Keyento Gagnon (Witset) and Trigvie Daniels (Gitwangak) received their Swift Water Rescue Technician certification and spent the entire summer learning every aspect of the program. They each set goals to be able to independently guide a raft from Anspayaxw to K’san, which they did for our Peace and Unity floats!
BIOREMEDIATION 🍄🟫
This summer, our bioremediation work focused on coldfire field testing in Sikedakh. SWCC is a finalist in the Conservation X Labs Fire Grand Challenge, working alongside our technical partner, Coalitions and Collaboratives. Coldfire is the process of training and using mycelium to consume waste wood. Waste wood is often piled and allowed to dry, before it is burned, releasing carbon into the atmosphere and damaging soil ecosystems beneath the piles. With coldfire, wood is chipped and piled, immediately capturing moisture in the piles and reducing the risk of fire. Fungi is then introduced, and the rate of decomposition increases as the fungi not only inoculate the pile but also encourage other native fungi to grow in and around the pile, while storing carbon in the soil in a stable state.
In early April, CoCo, SWCC, and Sikedakh members began gathering, chipping, and piling waste wood biomass below the food forest in Sikedakh. Fungi known to grow on and break down specific types of wood within the piles, was cultivated and trained to decompose Sikedakh waste wood at an accelerated rate. Over the course of the summer, Sikedakh and SWCC worked together to create the field testing site, and with the help of Smithereens Mushrooms and Forest Floor Remedies, over 80 five pound bags of mushroom spawn will be used to inoculate the piles.
Throughout the Fire Grand Challenge, we have been learning about scaling our innovation, building a business model, identifying and building market value, creating partnerships, and addressing challenges in innovation within the wildfire landscape.
‣ PRGT Updates
You may have heard the Ksi Lisims LNG terminal has been approved to move forward by both the provincial and federal governments. The decision was recently released, disregarding growing public opposition and concerns from local community members.
As mentioned in an Ecojustice press release, "The proposed project would convert fracked gas from northeastern B.C. into liquefied natural gas (LNG) to export overseas. It would be B.C.’s second largest LNG facility, located at the head of the Nass River, about 80 kilometres north of Prince Rupert. It would be supplied by the highly-contested Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline, a 900-km fracked gas pipeline that would cross more than 1,300 waterways and dozens of First Nations’ territories.
Co-executive Director, Gwii Lok’im Gibuu, Jesse Stoeppler, says, “Provincial electives failed to uphold the constitution in the approval process of Ksi Lisims and in the implementation of Bill 14 and 15. Government continues to play into the books of U.S. billionaires for yet another fossil gas project, supposedly in the name of “national interest.” Mark Carney’s PONI* looks more like a Trojan horse.”
*PONI: “Projects of national interest”
Judgement on Judicial Review of whether the BC Energy Regulator acted lawfully in granting a construction start to PRGT.
On August 21, 2025, we learned the BC Supreme Court dismissed our case that called into question whether or not the BC Energy Regulator acted lawfully when they granted a construction start to the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline project. The judge never answered our question and instead, stated that we; SWCC, Kispiox Valley Community Association and the Kispiox Band, did not have public standing to bring the case forward as we were not Nisga’a.
Co-executive Director at SWCC, Shannon McPhail, said, “This pipeline doesn’t just go right through our communities, it goes through countless salmon streams and rivers including the many tribs to the Kispiox, Skeena, Babine and Suskwa while the BC Energy Regulator continues to change–and seemingly ignore–their own permit conditions to ensure this pipeline is built come hell or high water. We asked the courts to rule on whether or not the BC Energy Regular could legally ignore their own permit conditions and BC legislation – that question remains unanswered. This should be a wake-up call for all British Columbians that our energy regulator is not looking after the public interest.”
Watch a summary from Matt Hulse at EcoJustice here.
But wait - what about Skeena salmon, steelhead and other fish and their habitat that will be drastically impacted by PRGT and Ksi Lisims?
DFO ‘Legacy of Neglect’ Leaves North Coast Salmon to Flounder - DFO has cut salmon stream monitoring on BC’s North and Central Coast, leaving critical runs uncounted at the height of spawning season.
We will continue to fight for salmon and their habitat even if our Provincial and Federal governments won’t.
Learn more here: https://skeenawatershed.com/lng-pipelines/
Read more: http://bit.ly/3VBsTVs
And find out more: https://www.unnaturalgas.org/health
THE LAX’YIP FIREKEEPERS 🔥
The Lax’yip Firekeepers have been busy speaking at events, hosting community art nights, monitoring the land, helping revitalize cultural burning and nurturing relationships.
The SWCCxFirekeepers collaboration resulted in learning how to do vegetation surveys with the Junior Field Guides and Firekeepers at the Kispiox river crossing with the permission and involvement of Art Wilson, 'Wii Muk'wilixw. They learned about the reciprocal relationships between land and the history of Gitxsan peoples, and how to ID plants.
“The land really is the answer to all of our problems, the sooner we realize that the quicker we can begin healing it. -Drew Harris”
You can catch up on all of the Lax’yip Firekeepers happenings through Instagram.
PEACE AND UNITY SUMMIT 2025 🌿
This year’s Summit was held at the Kispiox Valley Rodeo Grounds / Kispiox Valley Community Hall from August 6-9. We gathered for land and water based activities, food, connection, panel discussions, and more.
We are immensely grateful for the attendees, volunteers, youth mentorship participants, dancers, drummers, chefs, vendors, and everyone who came out!
The organizing team is in the process of accumulating huge amounts of content (video, photo, written, panel discussions, and so on) to put together a series of wrap up footage. Please stay tuned for more on our Facebook, Instagram, and website.
In the meantime, here are some pictures you can peek at to catch a glimpse of the 2025 Peace and Unity Summit!
SKEENA ENERGY SOLUTIONS 💡
We are excited to announce that the Empowered Energy Solutions Website is now online! This website showcases all of our Skeena Energy Solutions projects and learnings from the last 4 years. This platform will provide Upper Skeena residents and local governments with tools and insights to strengthen regional energy security.
The website features 13 chapters, and covers topics such as regional energy challenges, energy conservation, renewable energy alternatives, funding opportunities, and retrofitting guidance. The site will remain a living resource, continuously updated with new information.
Learn more here: https://www.upperskeenaenergysolutions.ca
➤Upper Skeena Energy Decision Making Matrix
To further support informed energy choices, we have developed the Upper Skeena Energy Decision Making Matrix. This tool helps residents assess home heating and renewable energy options, with Chapter 13: Roadmap to Retrofits guiding homeowners toward greater energy efficiency. Future updates will include insights on sustainable building materials. The Matrix can be accessed on the Empowered Energy Solutions website.
➤Skeena Energy Solutions Mentorship Program
We are launching a Community Energy Mentorship Program this Fall to cultivate future energy leaders in the Upper Skeena. We are collaborating with UNBC and UVic to enhance the program’s impact, with the goal of expanding this model to other communities.
➤Hagwilget First Nation Emergency Power Project
Building on our Upper Skeena energy initiatives, we are currently working with Hagwilget Village Council on a large battery storage and solar infrastructure project. In March of this year the team put in a grant proposal into New Relationship Trust Clean Energy Initiative program, and we just found out May 29th we were successful with securing the funding for this awesome project! This grid-tied system will enhance energy security, reduce costs, and serve as an emergency muster point.
The goal is to have this project completed and the solar and battery infrastructure installed before this winter and be generating and storing power instantly!!
The 2nd Empowered Energy Solutions Forum – April 2- 4th 2026
As many of you know, in April of 2024, SWCC and Sik E Dakh co-hosted the first Upper Skeena Empowered Energy Solutions Forum. This forum was focused on sharing the information from our work within the Upper Skeena Regional Energy Plan creation. This work included looking at renewable energy opportunities, residential deep energy retrofitting, and the building trades. The forum showcased companies and vocational schools to showcase and highlight what is currently going on in the above topics.
In the first forum we had a Climate Adaptation Speakers panel which was a huge success and this coming forum we plan to have 3 speakers’ series on important topics including Renewable Energy, and Climate Change and Adaptation. In this forum we are planning to have breakout sessions in smaller very focused groups. The topics will include, Farmers and ranchers pitching in on helping fight Climate Change, Waste Management: Closing the Loop in Rural Communities, and other important local issues.
The forum was well received and attended by the community, and we have decided to hold a second forum which will be 2 years exactly after the first one. The goal again is to share with you the work we have done within Skeena Energy Solutions and the awesome work communities in the Upper Skeena have done within the energy and food security realm in the last two years.
Follow us on social media or stay tuned for our next newsletter to get the website link!
COMMUNITY EVENTS
🐾 Wilp Aasosxw is in full-swing preparation for the winter! If you’re looking to support Teresa Brown and the puppies at the dog sanctuary, you can donate (landbackcc@gmail.com), sign up as a volunteer (message Teresa on the Wilp Aasosxw Facebook page and list what skills you can contribute or if you’re interested in being a driver), or provide supplies (eg. firewood, tools, lumber, tin, pallets, groceries, dog food, etc.) Over the last few months, we’ve seen the Oakley Memorial Fence be built, the tiny house be delivered, dogs get spayed and neutered, and the Firekeepers gather for discussion and work parties. Wilp Aasosxw is a busy place and always looking for more help! Follow along for current dogs up for adoption and all other things related to Teresa’s Dog Sanctuary here, and follow Wilp Aasosxw on Facebook here. 🐾
✧Suzuki Sessions: We’re thrilled to invite you to a new series of online gatherings featuring David Suzuki and inspiring guests. (Such as Firekeepers Grace Vickers and Drew Harris, and SWCC’s own Jesse Stoeppler). Together, they’ll dive into the most pressing issues of our time – from climate to environmental justice – and explore real opportunities for collective action. Register By Clicking Here.✧