Photographer: Kaeli Chikowski, Kaeli C Photography
Monday, November 7, 2022
Post content from UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan and Fumika Noguchi, Engagement Project Assitant, Climate Emergency Response team
The Indigenous Strategic Initiatives Fund is a cross-campus initiative at the UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan campuses. The fund directly supports the advancement of the eight goals and 43 actions of the UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan (ISP).
Early this summer, 7 applicants were chosen to receive funding from ISI Fund’s Stream 3: Student-led projects. One of the students is Alexandra Thomas, an undergraduate student in Forest Resources Management minoring in Community and Aboriginal Forestry. Alex has Kwakwaka’wakw ancestry on her mother’s side and Coast Salish ancestry on her father’s side.
Her project, Homegrown Climate Justice: Building Climate Resilience Through Community, is supported by the mentorship of Climate Emergency Co-Senior Project Managers, Pablo Akira Beimler and Nadia Joe. When asked about the project, Alex notes:
“As summers in the Downtown Eastside get hotter, residents – many of whom are unhoused – spend a great deal of time outdoors with few trees and limited access to greenspace.
This funding allows us to help mitigate urban heat island effects and collaborate with external partners including the City of Vancouver and traditional Indigenous knowledge holders to bring our vision of community building through communal green spaces to life. It will mean community members can root themselves in Indigenous practices, culture and connection to the land, have more options of shade and cooler temperatures, and it’ll provide food and medicines to be harvested and returned to the community.”
This exciting and ambitious project has garnered national attention – Pablo was recently interviewed about it on Global News Morning on Global BC. Tune in to the short feature to hear about the importance of community gardens for culture, healing, and sharing of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge.
Alex was also interviewed by Indiginews in a feature story that shares more about her motivation behind the project.
For more information on Alex’s project, check out the full description from the UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan website.
Email climate.emergency@ubc.ca to connect with questions or offers of partnership.
