RAVEN and WE-CAN (West Coast Climate Action Network) presented another great webinar in our Indigenous Perspectives on Climate Action series looking at community solutions. An enthusiastic crowd of 500+ registrants heard from Pansy Wright-Simms, of Gitxsan Nation, who spoke alongside her mother, about the magnitude of extreme climate events and the impact they have had on the Gitxsan community’s access to food. Learning from the ancestors who have always cared for the land, the Gitxsan Nation continues to practice traditional ways of food preservation and hunting and are doing what they can to ensure future generations have the same access to food resources.

Heiltsuk councillor Leona Humchitt joined the chorus with a look at the Heiltsuk Heat Pump Project that provides power from clean energy for their community and has also made heat an accessible resource for folks who could previously not afford to heat their homes. By rooting the project in values passed down from ancestors on sustainability, Leona and the Heiltsuk people are urging us to stand together globally for climate action. 

Watch the recording to learn more.

From stopping fossil fuel projects on their lands to climate-proofing housing in their communities, Indigenous peoples are leading the way on climate action. But to change everything, we need everyone. RAVEN is proud to partner with West Coast Climate Action Network, and we encourage everyone to please consider joining WE-CAN. Check out their website: you’ll get resources, event invites and calls to action here.

Here is a wealth of resources on the Heiltsuk and Gitxsan climate initiatives, as well as heat pumps and rebates:

Here is the Heiltsuk Climate Action Plan’s website: https://heiltsukclimateaction.ca

And the link to the work on Gitxsan territory that Pansy Wright-Simms spoke about: https://www.madiilii.com

Here is the Heiltsuk heat pump video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snD_ZG1D0eY

The CleanBC Remote Community Energy Strategy is a multi-stakeholder initiative to achieve the CleanBC goal of reducing diesel consumption for generating electricity in remote communities by 80 per cent by 2030. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/electricity-alternative-energy/community-energy-solutions/remote-community-energy-strategy-rces

BC Hydro rebates for fuel switching from gas to a heat pump: https://www.bchydro.com/powersmart/residential/rebates-programs/home-renovation/renovating-heating-system/fuel-switching.html

FortisBC rebates: https://www.fortisbc.com/rebates/home/air-source-heat-pump-rebate

CleanBC rebates: https://betterhomesbc.ca

Under the lead of Gitxsan Energy Inc., an Indigenous-owned business of the Gitxsan Nation, the funding will support the adoption of forest-based biomass heating for the Upper Skeena Recreational Centre. Under the project, forest-based biomass will replace propane as the heating fuel, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 255 tonnes a year in the recreation complex. The project will also create two full-time biomass harvesting jobs and 12 temporary construction jobs in the local Gitxsan community.  https://www.canada.ca/en/natural-resources-canada/news/2018/10/canada-invests-in-bioheat-conversion-technology-for-indigenous-peoples.html

What is a heat pump, and how does it work? https://www.bchydro.com/powersmart/residential/building-and-renovating/considering-heat-pump-info-tips.html