02 · Land-based youth education
Indigenous Food Systems & Community-Based Land Stewardship
UBC Centre for Community Engaged Learning, Chapman & Innovation Grant, in partnership with the Environmental Youth Alliance
Project Lead & Grant Recipient · $10,000 · 2023
A two-month, land-based education program improving access to hands-on learning about Indigenous food systems and community-based land stewardship for equity-deserving youth in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
about the project
I pursued and secured a $10,000 UBC Chapman & Innovation Grant to design and lead a land-based education program in partnership with the Environmental Youth Alliance (EYA), delivered through EYA's Youth Habitat Crew, a land-based employment program for youth facing barriers. The program set out to bridge gaps in access to hands-on learning about Indigenous food systems and land stewardship, strengthen youth participants' connection to the land, and foster a sense of belonging and community.
end-to-end responsibility
The Chapman & Innovation Grant funds UBC students to design and deliver community-partnered projects, with applications reviewed by a CCEL panel and recipients responsible for securing a host organization and meeting reporting requirements. My role spanned the full arc: securing the grant, consulting with EYA staff and community partners, designing workshop themes, coordinating Indigenous knowledge keepers and community organizations to deliver sessions, managing logistics and accessibility, and authoring a final project report later used by CCEL to inform future community-engaged learning initiatives.
outputs & impact
The program ran over two months and delivered seven workshops and a field trip for the six youth in EYA's Youth Habitat Crew (young people facing intersecting barriers, of whom 50% identified as Indigenous, 33% as Black, and 100% as People of Colour). Sessions, co-led with Indigenous knowledge keepers including Matthew Williams and Elder Henry Williams of the Squamish Nation, the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty, and partners Hives for Humanity and Alvéole, covered Indigenous plant knowledge, food systems and sovereignty, plant medicine, pollinator stewardship, and food equity. In post-program evaluation, all six participants reported increased knowledge of Indigenous food systems and land stewardship and described the series as a positive experience they hoped to see continue. One participant who co-facilitated a session reflected: "the experiential aspects fostered a sense of collaboration and community among the youth, making the learning process much more engaging and rewarding."