Summer Updates
June 2026
Volume 14 includes updates from the Coalition challenging the B.C. government’s decision regarding the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline, SWCC’s rafting programs, highlights from Skeena Energy Solutions & their internship program, fun things SWCC’s bioremediation crew has been up to, and more.
SWCC RAFTING 🛶
We’ve had an exciting and busy few weeks with the launch of both our Youth on Water (YOW) and Women on Water (WOW) programs.
On April 27, we officially launched our YOW Youth on Water Program. Since launch, we’ve been receiving steady interest and applications from youth eager to get involved on the water this season.
On May 5, we released a sneak peek video for our WOW (Women on Water Program), giving participants an early look at what’s planned for this year. The response and engagement from the community was very encouraging.
On May 12, we officially launched our WOW Women on Water Program. Since then, applications for both programs have continued to come in daily. Our team has been actively reviewing submissions, organizing meetings, and connecting with applicants in person and online.
This year, the Women on Water program will operate a little differently. To help ensure the best experience for everyone involved, we are scheduling more formal meetings with applicants before final acceptance into the program. These meetings allow us to discuss expectations, program details, and participant goals more thoroughly.
We’re excited about the strong interest in both programs and look forward to another successful season on the water.
LNG & SWCC
In April, Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, alongside Kispiox Valley Community Centre Association and local resident Kathy Larson, were in the B.C. Supreme Court to face off against the B.C. government. The coalition is challenging the province’s decision to deem the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) fracked gas pipeline ‘substantially started’ — allowing the mega-project to proceed based on a 2014 environmental assessment. Read more here.
Health Impacts:
SWCC and the Lax’yip Firekeepers helped host 5 community events in Squamish, Vancouver, Hagwilget, Kitimat, and Terrace this spring to raise awareness around the health impacts of the LNG industry.
Organizations involved included: Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment (CANE), Lax’yip Firekeepers and MySea2Sky. These groups brought credible and up-to-date information from doctors, nurses, researchers, and frontline community members on the realities of these projects. Stay tuned for the video recordings and info sheets to share.
BIOREMEDIATION 🍄🟫
Myco-course:
SWCC came together with the community of Sik-e-dakh and Alexis from Sporalis to understand how mushrooms can help to reduce or remove toxins from the environment and protect healthy landscapes.
Together we built two different types of myco-filters using blue oyster and turkey tail mushrooms. Click Here to see Sporalis’s Facebook post about it!
Blue Oyster and Turkey Tail are able to take toxins from fuel, oil, or diesel spills and “digest” them to remove the impact of the harmful toxins and prevent them from moving further into the soil or water.
Biochar Workshop:
We collaborated with Kristen Pundyk and Karyna Howell from UBC SoilResLabs and Sik-e-dakh Farm School to host a Biochar Workshop.
Biochar is made up of nearly any organic material burnt in a low oxygen high heat environment to promote certain properties like maintaining the structure of the material and to give it a negative polarity. Basically, biochar can be used to support soil health or remediation!
In the workshop, we learned how to make a kiln from a metal oil or fuel drum, how to clean it out, how to make a good batch of biochar, and how to troubleshoot any problems that came up along the way.
SKEENA ENERGY SOLUTIONS 💡
Department Highlights
Over the past few months, our department has increased its capacity with the addition of Scott Blabey and Grace Vickers. Their skills and experience will significantly strengthen our ability to advance projects, build relationships, and increase our overall impact across the region.
Post-Spring 2026 Empowered Energy Solutions Forum Summary
This year’s Empowered Energy Solutions Forum brought together an inspiring mix of community members, Indigenous leaders, youth, industry representatives, government agencies, educators, and clean energy professionals from across the region for a powerful day of learning, collaboration, and action. Through discussions on renewable energy, climate resilience, food security, workforce development, energy efficiency, and Indigenous-led solutions, participants explored practical pathways toward a stronger and more sustainable future for Northern British Columbia.
The forum highlighted the tremendous opportunities that exist when communities work together, strengthened valuable regional relationships, and sparked conversations about potential new partnerships that will continue long after the event. Perhaps most encouraging was the enthusiasm and engagement shown by local youth, whose ideas and leadership will help shape the next generation of energy and climate solutions.
As we move forward, Skeena Energy Solutions remains committed to building on this momentum by supporting community-driven projects, strengthening regional capacity, fostering new collaborations, and helping create resilient and prosperous communities throughout the Upper Skeena and Northwest region.
If you’re looking to watch any of the panels, see the pictures, or stay in the loop with what we’ve got on the go, here are some links that might be useful:
Upper Skeena Energy Champion Mentorship
We are now in the seventh month of Ari’s Upper Skeena Energy Champion Mentorship. The program is moving into a new phase, with a comprehensive examination of bioenergy as a potential opportunity within the Upper Skeena region.
The capstone project for this mentorship is the development of a mentorship manual that will serve as a learning resource for future Energy Champions. The mentorship program is scheduled to conclude this coming November.
Updating the Regional Energy Plan
The Upper Skeena Regional Energy Plan was designed as a living document that can be updated as new information becomes available.
We have now reached a point where both the Regional Energy Plan and the Skeena Energy Solutions website require updates. Scott, who recently joined our department, is taking a lead role in gathering new data and updating the supporting literature and resources.
These updates are expected to be completed by October.
Skeena Energy Solutions Summer Internship Program
This internship introduces our participant, Grace Vickers, to regional community energy planning, climate resilience, and energy sovereignty work while supporting youth engagement and relationship-building across the Upper Skeena and North Coast regions.
The internship combines:
Community energy literacy
Indigenous climate leadership
Regional outreach
Youth engagement
Project coordination
Energy forum development
Field-based learning
A major focus of this internship will be supporting relationship-building and outreach efforts for the upcoming Upper Skeena Regional Youth Energy Forum.
Upper Skeena Regional Youth Energy Forum
Building on the momentum of the Empowered Energy Solutions Forum held this past April, Skeena Energy Solutions is now turning its attention to youth engagement through the upcoming Upper Skeena Regional Youth Energy Forum.
Bringing together young leaders from communities across the Northwest Coast and Upper Skeena, the forum will provide opportunities to explore careers in the green economy, strengthen regional connections, and empower the next generation to help shape a resilient and sustainable future for their communities.
The forum will also serve as a continuation of the conversations and relationships established during the spring forum, ensuring that youth voices remain at the centre of regional energy, climate, and community development discussions moving forward.
We will be collaborating with Iron and Earth for this initiative.
Community and Land
The Lax’yip Firekeepers
Earlier this year The Lax’yip Firekeepers completed their Wildfire Training and participated in a number of controlled and cultural burns in collaboration with various Huwilp, BC Wildfire Services, and Gitanyow Lax’yip Guardians with the aim to restore forest gardens, prevent potential wildfires, and reclaim the art and tradition of putting good fire on the land. Find out more here!
Grace Vickers and Drew Harris spoke at the Salmon Nation Summit hosted in Prince Rupert this May on a Youth Panel. The two day event gathered Indigenous leaders, researchers, and knowledge keepers to celebrate the protection of Lelu Island, but to also discuss the current threats our salmon face. Read more here.
On their way to the Salmon Nation Summit the Lax’yip Firekeepers honored an invite for a Forest Garden & Greenhouse tour in Kitselas to learn more about the Kitselas Forest Garden Revitalization Project. The Kitselas Health Food Systems Program is working on revitalizing ancestral forest garden practices in Gitaus, and has built a new greenhouse. Learn more by following the Kitselas Growing Food and Wellness Facebook page.
Wilp Aasosxw Dog Sanctuary
Wilp Aassosxw is a busy place and always looking for more help. If you’re looking to support Teresa Brown and the puppies at the dog sanctuary, you can donate via emt to wilpaasosxw@gmail.com, sign up as a volunteer (message Teresa on the Wilp Aasosxw Facebook page (please list what skills you can contribute or if you’re interested in being a driver), or provide supplies: wood shavings for the pups, firewood, groceries, dog food, etc.
Rooted Reflections: A Botanist’s Journal
By Allie Golt
As spring deepens into early summer, our native landscapes come alive with a succession of blooms. Throughout May and June, wildflowers emerge across forests, grasslands, wetlands, and river valleys, bringing vibrant colour and fragrance to the land. Flowering plants provide essential nectar and pollen for pollinators, support wildlife, and contribute to the ecological processes that sustain healthy ecosystems. These plants are more than seasonal beauty; they are part of living ecosystems and cultural relationships that have been stewarded for generations. Their blossoms mark the continuation of natural cycles, connecting land, water, wildlife, and people through a shared season of growth and renewal.
Amid the abundance of blossoms that brighten our landscapes during this time, it is easy to overlook the quieter beauty of smaller native plants. While showy wildflowers often capture our attention, low-growing species such as kinnikinnick (bearberry) contribute their own subtle charm to the season. Nestled along forest floors, rocky slopes, and open woodlands, kinnikinnick produces delicate pink-and-white bell-shaped flowers that are easily missed among the more prominent blooms. Yet these modest flowers play an important ecological role, supporting pollinators and wildlife while helping to stabilize soils. Taking time to notice plants like kinnikinnick offers a reminder that some of the most remarkable elements of the landscape are found not in grand displays, but in the quiet details that often go unseen.
Kinnikinnick (Bearberry) - sgan t’imi’yt - Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
