Courtenay Campbell | Recipient of the 2024-2025 Bursary
The Fraser Basin Council, the FBC Youth Program team and the Bursary Selection Committee warmly congratulate Courtenay Campbell, recipient of the inaugural (2024-2025) Chief Roy Mussell Bursary for Indigenous Youth in BC.
About Courtenay:
Courtenay Campbell is a proud member of Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc and is in her fourth year as an Honours Natural Resource Sciences student at Thompson Rivers University. Her passion lies in combining Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with scientific methods to address pressing environmental challenges, particularly in fire ecology, forestry, archaeology and medicinal plants. With a strong connection to the land and also having a passion for lifelong learning, she strives to create a healthier, more sustainable future, while promoting reconciliation.
About Her Work:
Courtenay’s Honours research is focused on the regeneration of culturally significant understory plants after multiple wildfires in the Ulkatcho First Nations territory. By integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge with scientific methods, she aims to contribute innovative, collaborative solutions that emphasize Indigenous perspectives in sustainability and biodiversity conservation.
Prior to Courtenay collecting data for this project, she participated in a community meeting with members from Ulkatcho to discuss with them the research projects underway on the land and to gather more information on cultural plants of interest. At this point in time, vegetation data has been collected from 5 different fires in the Ulkatcho territory, and Courtenay is focusing on the recovery of Soopolallie, Wild Blueberry, Kinnikinnick, Wintergreens, Bunchberry and Yarrow. Her next step in this journey is to analyze the data and run statistical analysis on these 6 plants so see how they have responded to wildfires over time.
Chief Roy Mussel Bursary
Established in 2024, the Chief Roy Mussell Bursary supports young Indigenous leaders in British Columbia (aged 17-30) in pursuing their education and reaching their goals in advancing sustainability and/or advancing reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous folks in the province. This Bursary Fund of $1000 helps its chosen leader through their work, community service and/or community engagement projects.
The Chief Roy Mussell Bursary was created to honour the legacy of Chief Roy Mussell, Fraser Basin Council’s founding Vice-Chair.
The Bursary is open to Indigenous (First Nation, Inuit, Metis) applicants in BC between 17-30 years old, enrolled in a studies program that supports their pursuit of advancing sustainability and/or reconciliation, and in need of financial assistance. See here for all details!
Watch for the next call for applications in Fall 2025!