Summer Solstice in the Skeena
June 2025
Volume 10 of the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition’s newsletter is here! At a glance: PRGT Updates, SWCC Rafting, The Lax’yip Firekeepers, Peace and Unity Summit, Bioremediation, Skeena Energy Solutions, and Community Events
PRGT Updates
On June 5, 2025, we heard the BC Environmental Assessment Office had ruled that the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline is “substantially started” and can proceed with construction on the remainder of the project.
Jesse Stoeppler, Co-Executive Director at SWCC said, “the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline is a massive project that will have immeasurable negative impacts on our land, air, water, and peoples. The B.C. government has made the choice to side with American billionaires financing this project and force this project through without free, prior, and informed consent from Indigenous Nations along the right-of-way and downstream of the route. I can’t fathom why a project that socializes the cost and privatizes the profit is being rammed through after it was near extinct.”
We’ll be sharing updates in our newsletter and on social media as we have them.
For more immediate reading, here are some media releases from the Lax’yip Firekeepers, Environmental Defence, and Ecojustice.
SWCC RAFTING 🛶
SWCC rafting is busy getting ready for the 2026 season. Our guide team completed their Swift Water Rescue Technician and Wilderness First Aid Training in May and June.
We are excited to welcome two new Junior Guides to our team! Trigvie Daniels and Keyento Gagnon will be learning alongside us on the river all summer.
Applications are open for YOW and WOW. We are offering a three day YOW program focused on guide skills training for youth, and a one day WOW program focused on wellness and connection. Our programs are offered in Terrace, Gitwangak, Smithers, Witset, and Hazelton.
Apply for WOW here: Women on Water
Apply for YOW here: Youth on Water
THE LAX’YIP FIREKEEPERS 🔥
The Lax’yip Firekeepers have been busy over the last few months. We’ve seen them speaking out against the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline, speaking up at a conference on Reclaiming Justice for Indigenous Youth (shared below), and sharing with youth at the Anspayaxw elementary school.
You can check out the work they’re doing on their website, Facebook, or Instagram.
PEACE AND UNITY SUMMIT 2025 🌿
The annual Peace and Unity Summit is just around the corner on August 6-9, 2025. We will be gathering on the traditional and ancestral lands of the Gitxsan people, near Hazelton B.C.
You can stay tuned for updates via our Facebook and Instagram pages.
If you have any questions at all, please contact the Peace and Unity organizing team at: peaceandunitywetsuweten@gmail.com
BIOREMEDIATION 🍄🟫
SWCC has been selected as a finalist for the Conservation X Labs Fire Grand Challenge. We are testing the process of Coldfire in the community of Sik-e-dakh alongside our technical partner, Coalitions and Collaboratives.
Learn more about Coldfire from this cool video, shared below, made by our very own Shawntei Michell. Coldfire: Allying with Fungi
In the fall of 2024, we partnered with Royal Roads University to test soil for heavy metals in communities that had been impacted by home or structure fires. After these types of fires, heavy metals can accumulate in the ash and soil in and around the structure, creating health hazards for humans and wildlife and impacting environmental health through groundwater runoff, soil, and air pollution.
We received the results back and will now be applying bioremediation tools and knowledge to each soil testing site in order to address the most concerning areas of heavy metal contamination. Stay tuned for our fall newsletter to learn about how we implemented the tools and knowledge we’ve been learning over the past year to support communities and local volunteer fire departments to reduce the negative impacts that structure fires can leave behind.
SKEENA ENERGY SOLUTIONS 💡
SES June 2025: We are excited to announce the upcoming launch of the Empowered Energy Solutions Website as part of Phase 2 of the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Clean Energy in Rural and Remote Communities Grant (CERRC). This platform will provide Upper Skeena residents and local governments with tools and insights to strengthen regional energy security. The website is set for a soft launch in mid-July and will be fully online by September 2025.
Featuring 13 chapters, it covers topics such as:
regional energy challenges;
energy conservation;
renewable alternatives;
funding opportunities; and
retrofitting guidance.
The site will remain a living resource, continuously updated with new information.
Follow us on social media or stay tuned for our next newsletter to get the website link!
➤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 will 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 Upper Skeena. The program offers one full-time and one seasonal position, and we will be putting out applications for the full-time position mid-July. We are collaborating with UNBC and UVic to enhance the program’s impact, with the goal of expanding this model to other communities.
Join us in shaping a sustainable and energy-resilient future for the Upper Skeena Region that our local culture and salmon can thrive with!
➤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 the New Relationship Trust Clean Energy Initiative program. We found out on May 29th that we were successful in 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 2nd Empowered Energy Solutions Forum – April 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 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 a 3 speakers’ series on important topics including renewable energy, and climate change and adaptation.
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 the Sik-E-Dakh community has done within the energy and food security realm.
COMMUNITY EVENTS 🔔
Wilp Aasosxw is looking for donations to build a fence along the perimeter! The dogs need some extra help staying off the road as summer comes. Let’s keep these pups safe and meet our goal of $10,000 for all materials and equipment to get the job done right. You can donate via EMT (e-transfer) here: landbackcc@gmail.com
Follow along for current dogs up for adoption and all other things related to Teresa’s Dog Sanctuary here.
From the Hazelton Farmers’ Market Facebook page:
From the Wila Dildilsdi'm Facebook page:
