Vision

Currently, the coasts of British Columbia face significant environmental challenges. These include overfishing, which has led to a third of marine fish populations being critically depleted or in a cautious zone, and bycatch, which caused over 28,000 salmon discarded in the 2022-2023 season. Additionally, destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling have resulted in significant habitat destruction, further exacerbating the decline of essential marine ecosystems and biodiversity​. On the other hand, Indigenous peoples have been building clam gardens for at least 3500 years. Research shows that these gardens are three times more productive than wild beaches in producing clams such as the butter clam and littleneck clams in addition to contributing to marine ecological systems and coastal communities.

In response, we aim to integrate and conserve Indigenous sustainable mariculture by engaging youth on an expedition in which they can learn directly from nature. With the support from Parks Canada and the WSÁNEC Leadership Council Society, local high school students have the opportunity to learn about Indigenous mariculture on Russell Island, a historical Indigenous clam garden with over 800 years of history. Moreover, we will raise awareness about the effects of climate change on marine ecosystem and preserving Indigenous culture by creating and publishing a documentary of the experience.

With the support of Parks Canada, W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council Society, and other organizations in the future, this project will carry on seasonally to cultivate a new generation of environmental stewards.

Action

In March 2024, during the spring break, we led a group of high school students to explore the ancient clam gardens on British Columbia’s coast. This journey had many highlights involving interviews and hands-on experience and learning. Some of them included:

Erich, the sea garden manager from Parks Canada guided the students through hands-on clam digging and conservation practices, which also explaining some impacts climate change has had to the local ecosystems.

Bob, a sea market owner with over 50 years of fishing experience, shared about the challenges facing the marine industry. Bob explained how the industry is diminishing due to a lack of interest from the younger generation and the disruption of natural laws by human activities. He revealed that relentless fishing has reduced the average size and amount of fish by 50% over his lifetime, as fish are often caught before they can grow and reproduce.

A W̱SÁNEĆ storyteller guided us to Russell Island, where the students explored an 800-year-old clam garden. This immersive experience provided deep insights into Indigenous environmental stewardship.

Reflection & Celebration

Although tiring, this experience was wonderful for everyone involved. All the students who went on this journey started creating further change in their schools with their own interests.

This initiative will become a continued program that runs during school breaks, and all the interviews and experiences will be included in a documentary to be published to be shared.

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