Recruiting NOW!
Co-Creating a Sustainable BC will provide you with the opportunity to collaborate with other youth, learn from leaders in your community, and develop a group project that addresses sustainability in your community.
You will:
- Create meaningful relationships with like-minded youth from across BC
- Network with people doing innovative work
- Gain skills to implement youth-led climate solutions for your community
- Go on an outdoor adventure and connect to the land*
- Incubate your ideas during an in-person event in Vancouver*
- HAVE FUN!!
*all expenses paid!
Who is Eligible?
The Fraser Basin Council and Co-Creating a Sustainable BC are committed to providing equal opportunities to all youth, including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour), LGBTQ2S+ youth, new Canadians, youth with disabilities, and youth of different religious backgrounds.
We are currently recruiting young people (16-30 years old) from the following regions:
- Cowichan Valley (Duncan and surrounding communities)
- Fraser Valley (Langley to Agassiz)
- North-Central BC (Prince George and surrounding communities)
- Thompson (Kamloops and surrounding communities)
- Cariboo-Chilcotin (Williams Lake and surrounding communities)*
*We are only recruiting Indigenous youth living in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region this year for a pilot cohort focused on reconciliation and climate change.
Thanks to funding from Employment and Social Development Canada through the Canada Service Corps program, you will be able to participate in this initiative at no cost.
Your travel and meal expenses from participating in workshops and events are covered, and we offer ASL interpretation, childcare support, and technology support if needed. If you foresee any accessibility barriers or challenges, please contact us at youth@fraserbasin.bc.ca and let us know how we can make the initiative accessible for you.
What’s the Commitment?
Starting September 18th 2021 until March 31st 2022, you can expect to allocate ~15h / month to participate in:
- Weekly evening sessions (online): 1.5 hours
- Alternating weekend meetings (in-person): 3 hours
- September 25, 2021 (online): Kick-off event with all cohorts (5 hours)
- October 2021 (TBD) (all expenses paid, in-person): Adventure trip in your region (4 hours)
- November 20, 2021 (in-person): Full day event in Vancouver (costs are covered)
- Late March 2022 (TBD) (online): Wrap-up event with all cohorts (3 hours)
You will meet with your cohort and youth from other regions of BC online every week on a weeknight evening. During these sessions, you will hold engaging discussions around climate change and hear from an interesting lineup of guest speakers who are doing innovative work across the province.
You will also be meeting every other weekend in-person with your cohort and facilitator. You will build bonds and connections with peers in your region, and go on fun field trips to learn more about the sustainability and climate initiatives that are happening on-the-ground in your community.
In October, be prepared to go on an outdoor adventure with your cohort in your region where you will learn about climate change in your community and get the opportunity to connect with the land.
On November 20th, we will be bringing all 5 cohorts together in Vancouver for a full day of fun and activities designed to help you get started on your youth-led community projects!
There will also be two longer online events at the beginning and the end to get together with the other cohorts to build bonds and share stories.
We are seeking youth who would be able to commit to a majority of these meetings throughout the initiative. In return, you will have access to a variety of leaders in the sustainability / climate change field, networking opportunities, and a community of motivated youth with similar interests. Additionally, you will receive a certificate of completion. We can also work to see if the initiative can support providing you credit for school or other certifications.
Apply now! Spots are limited in every region and applications are being reviewed until spots are filled. Early applications are appreciated!
Take a look at our previous cohort pages
and check out what’s in store for you!
If you are interested in learning more about the Co-Creating a Sustainable BC Initiative please email us at youth@fraserbasin.bc.ca or follow us on social media and our eNews to stay up-to-date.
TESTIMONIALS
FAQ
We are accepting youth aged 16-30 from all walks of life! This includes high school students, university students, those working full-time or part-time, those who are unemployed, and so on. In the past, we’ve had participants spanning from being in school to being new parents. Youth bring a diversity of lived and cultural experiences that enhance the experience in our initiative overall. If you are 16-30 years old, you’re already qualified to join!
This initiative provides a meaningful opportunity to interact with like-minded people in times of physical distancing. Youth are being affected by the loss of jobs and the lack of meaningful opportunities to start their careers. This is a perfect time to build your skills, develop new or existing passions, and take steps to bridge your education and work. Finally, this initiative provides you with an opportunity to continue to be actively involved in shaping your community and gain hands-on experience in implementing projects that contribute to addressing climate change, which is still an ongoing threat.
During our meetings, we will cover topics such as collaboration, climate change in BC, sustainability pillars, how to initiative and drive change, leadership styles, and more. You will dive into these topics with your regional cohort of passionate youth, and learn about how they apply to your local community. You may be asked to complete tasks between dialogue sessions to improve your learning experience, knowledge on regional issues, and connections within the community.
Using your knowledge, you’ll collaborate with your team to brainstorm and prototype a solution to a local climate change challenge. Participation will initially be more structured but become more flexible over time, depending on projects and working styles within cohorts/teams.
Although our core team of staff does most of the content and logistics planning for the initiative, we get advice from a Youth Advisory Committee and alumni on how to make the initiative more enjoyable for and relevant to youth participants. You and your teammates will be taking the lead role during the Project Phase in project conceptualization and implementation.
Co-creating a Sustainable BC is designed for a range of levels of expertise in the areas of sustainability and climate change. It is a beginner-friendly initiative but also appropriate for those with more experience and knowledge. We will challenge youth by providing resources and presenting optional but recommended tasks. Facilitators and guest speakers will help make learning around sustainability and climate change more accessible for everyone. More importantly, youth participants will teach and learn from each other!
In the past two years, we have covered a wide-ranging list of topics, and brought in diverse speakers who work on sustainability and climate change issues in different regions of the province and on different scales. Past presenters have spoken about topics such as waste, food security, electric vehicles, seed saving, carbon capture and storage, and community climate planning, to name a few. Past special guests include mayors and councillors, First Nation chiefs, business owners, community advocates and more.
Within your youth cohorts, you will receive guidance, resources, and some funding to help jump start a group project, but you will be expected to drive most of the planning and implementation process yourselves. We encourage youth to develop projects through a design thinking process and gap analysis based on what they heard and what is missing in the community/region. Don’t worry, we’ll walk you through these steps when the time comes! We also have an alumni network to ensure new cohorts can learn from and stay connected with CCSBC alumni.
We have funding available to hire ASL interpreters/transcribers for youth who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Approved childcare expenses can be reimbursed if it is needed by participants while they participate in this initiative. If travel is needed for CCSBC related in-person meetings/events, all travel, meal, and accommodation expenses are covered by the Fraser Basin Council Youth Program.
Please contact us at youth@fraserbasin.bc.ca if you have any particular accessibility needs. We are always happy to work with you to try to accommodate them.
Nothing – Co-Creating a Sustainable BC is entirely free, thanks to our generous funder! Any costs incurred from attending in-person meetings/events are covered by the Fraser Basin Council.
Yes, participants will receive a “Certificate of Completion” at the end of the initiative. The certificate and a long list of soft and hard skills you’ll gain throughout the initiative will be a great addition to your resumé. We are also happy to provide a volunteer letter of reference upon request.
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