July Walking The Tsawalk: The Raincoast Education Society

By Charmead Schella Columnist The Raincoast Education Society (RES) has been turning heads and raising awareness of the world around them in unique and inspiring ways for more than a decade.

Formed in 2000 by a group of Ucluelet, Tofino, and Clayoquot Sound community members, the RES today is a recognized leader in innovative hands-on education and interpretive programs.

“We do a lot of work with children and youth,” says executive director Josie Osborne. “We believe that change starts with the youngest people on this planet – the people that will become tomorrow’s decision-makers, parents, scientists, electricians, chefs, and teachers. Making better decisions starts by building awareness – that is what we do.”

Osborne said that RES’ core mandate is children’s environmental education programming, including forests, wetlands, rivers and coasts. In the marine realm, this includes things like species at risk, marine plastic pollution and traditional foods.

By working with children and youth, the RES aspires to foster a life-long stewardship ethic. Osborne said this begins by allowing children to explore the world around them, then gradually building on this established awareness toward an understanding that a responsibility lies with each person to care for the world around them. The RES teaches this through the use of engaging games, hands-on activities, and camps.

“We also know that change can happen with adults, too,” Osborne adds. “So, we work with local residents, businesses, and governments to help lighten our collective footprint – both on land and in the ocean.” Currently, the RES is doing this through the Raincoast Sustainable Living Program and the Tofino Mudflats Wildlife Stewardship Program.

The recently initiated Raincoast Sustainable Living Program came about in response to a widely expressed need among local residents, businesses, and municipal governments for practical information about daily decisions to build more sustainable communities. The program, Osborne says, is one of the RES’ core activities and it has already featured a wide range of speakers and workshops about sustainability topics from composting and water re-use technologies to messaging for teachers and leaders in environmental education.

Through the Sustainable Living Program, RES has also a developed a suite of outreach materials about recycling, pesticide reduction, and species at risk.

Each summer, the RES hires two interns who are usually university students studying biology or environmental science. Interns work with the RES staff to deliver children’s school programs, develop and deliver summer programs for visitors (like interpretive walks), and help answer questions from visitors to the interpretive centre.

“A big focus of the internship program is on communication skills,” Osborne says. “Learning how to manage a group of 30 children or a group of 30 adults on an interpretive walk – talking to them, and inspiring them about local flora and fauna and cultural histories – leaves our interns with valuable skills they use for the rest of their lives.”

This year, RES’ summer interns are Ava Hansen, a Grade 12 student from Tofino (her parents are Adrienne Mason and Bob Hansen), and Estella Charleson, a Vancouver Island University student from Hesquiaht First Nation (her parents are Steve and Karen Charleson, who run Hooksum Outdoor School). Ava hopes to be a kayak guide one day, and Estella is completing her undergraduate work in First Nations Studies in preparation for law school.

“We strive to incorporate Nuu-chah-nulth knowledge and perspectives in all our programming, for example, we have a Nuu-chah-nulth speaker participate in our Raincoast Host course for frontline tourism staff so they can learn about Nuu-chah-nulth culture and help answer tourists’ questions about Nuu-chah-nulth culture and communities,” Osborne explains.

The RES believes the concept of sustainability – the long-term productivity of all ecosystems – is fundamental to healthy communities. The Nuu-chah-nulth concept of hishukish tsa'walk is referred to often in all of its programs.

The RES says that hishukish tsawalk also includes the concept that people are not a distinct entity to be considered separate from nature or from the environment that surrounds and supports us. So while trying to inspire people's curiosity about the natural world, the RES also introduces information about cultural histories and how people are supported by the natural world.

“We try to teach how everyday decisions we make can impact the environment - for good or for bad,” Osborne says. “We hope to inspire people to be engaged citizens in their communities, and to make decisions that build sustainable communities.”

For more information about the Raincoast Education Society and how you can get involved, please contact Osborne at: (250) 725-2560.