Castlegar one of three communities chosen for CBT-funded youth projects
By Contributor
Photo courtesy CBT: Participants gets hands-on during an outdoor session at CURRENTS.
Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) has awarded $1,800 to three youth-led, community-based projects as an outcome of its first annual CURRENTS Youth Water Forum, which took place in Golden, Sept. 25 to 27.
“CBT recognizes the importance of actively engaging youth in water issues and one way we are doing this is through water forums such as CURRENTS, which also inspires youth to take what they have learned and apply it to a community project,” said Heather Mitchell, manager of water initiatives for the CBT. “The selected projects will provide a great experience for the youth, as well as have a positive impact on their community.”
The CURRENTS Youth Water Forum identified water issues and topics that were of interest to youth, and raised awareness about the importance of water amongst youth through hands-on, outdoor activities. Now, several youth are turning their new-found understanding and experience into
action by initiating water-focused projects in their own communities. The following three projects were selected for funding:
1) Inventory and GIS Mapping Project, $600 – Castlegar. The project aims to identify aquatic invasive plant populations in the Meldiana wetland and riparian area, create an invasive plant map and determine appropriate control methods.
2) Native Plant Species Restoration, $550 – Creston. The project aims to involve local groups and high schools in helping to plant appropriate native species along the Goat River to reduce erosion and encourage a healthy riparian area.
3) Invasive Plant Awareness and Plant Pull Campaign, $650 – Revelstoke. The project aims to increase the community’s understanding of invasive species, and illustrate how the continued spread of these species along waterways and riparian ecosystems can be detrimental to the native plant species, the birds, bugs and animals.
Tobias Gray, one of the youth participants at CURRENTS ,wrote about his experience at the forum in CBT’s latest edition of SCRATCH Magazine For more information on CBT’s youth initiatives visit www.cbt.org/youth.
CBT is committed to working with Basin residents to improve their understanding of and involvement in water issues. CURRENTS is one of several water stewardship projects funded and delivered by CBT. CBT is also working in areas related to water quality, water quantity, water governance and trans-boundary water issues. For more information on CBT’s water initiatives, visit www.cbt.org/water.
CBT delivers economic, social and environmental benefits to the residents of the Columbia Basin. To learn more about CBT programs and initiatives, visit www.cbt.org or call 1-800-505-8998.
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