The Supporting Emerging Aboriginal Stewards (SEAS) Community Initiative is a youth program led by First Nation community partners together with Nature United (formerly TNC Canada). First started in 2009, the SEAS Initiative has supported youth in four communities in the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia as well as the Lutsel K’e Dene community in the Northwest Territories.
SEAS programming works to spark and strengthen the connections between youth and the natural world around them. Programs integrate traditional and cultural knowledge with western science approaches. Programs are individually designed by local partner organizations to engage, develop, prepare and empower Indigenous youth to become the next generation of stewards in their communities and territories.
Pacific Wild supports the SEAS program in Bella Bella by:
- co-leading field trips for students at the Bella Bella Community School with the SEAS coordinator and researchers from other organizations working in the area;
- providing in-class presentations that introduce students to marine mammals and their acoustic environment;
- supporting the delivery of the Stream of Dreams program;
- developing learning materials on wildlife and ecology in the Great Bear Rainforest, based on Ian McAllister and Nicholas Read’s books, that meet the school’s curriculum objectives;
- participating in school and community events, including Salmon Fest, Oceans Day, and Earth Day;
- offering hands-on training and employment for youth.
Our SEAS programming is supported by the Pacific Salmon Foundation Community Salmon Program and by donations to Pacific Wild.