We Are The River
Kick-ass conservation
For a Wild Skeena
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charitable work
Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition (SWCC)
Our mission statement: “To cultivate a sustainable future from a sustainable environment rooted in our culture and a thriving wild salmon ecosystem in the Skeena watershed.”
Our Ancestors are the land. We are our ancestors. What we do to the land we do to ourselves. Let us love and protect.
We invest in our communities, our people, our watershed, and our future
salmon, forests & rivers
As one of Canada’s largest wilderness areas, the upper Skeena contains spawning and rearing habitats and water quality that helps drive the entire ecosystem from the Skeena estuary to the headwaters. We continue to focus on being on the land with projects that support the long-term conservation of natural ecosystems.
peace & unity
The fight to ensure our actions reduce rather than fuel the climate crisis; the fight to end police brutality; the fight to underscore Indigenous sovereignty—these fights belong to all of us. And, amidst this time of great upheaval, there is hope.
youth on water
At the heart of the SWCC Youth on Water (YOW) program is our recognition of the immense value of the Skeena watershed and the Sacred Headwaters. The YOW program will provide an opportunity for local youth to experience the grandeur of the Skeena River and the Sacred Headwaters through direct, water level engagement.
A Community & Restoration Economy
Salmon are a keystone species. Thus, restoration of salmon habitat is critical to ensure we have a functioning ecosystem in the future. Restoration can be done in a way that yields multiple outcomes including supporting a robust economy, with social, ecosystem and cultural benefits.
Get connected with Youth On Water
Gwalx Yee’insxw
“We have received a full basket, and it is our responsibility to pass a full basket on…”
The teachings we have received from Hereditary Chiefs centered around the Gitxsan underlying philosophy of Gwalx Yee’insxw. We understand this as a deep and broad philosophy encompassing the traditional inheritance actively handed down from generation to generation through an active relationship between Gitxsan kinship and their lands and resources. Gwalx Yee’insxw has been described to us as the actions which respect future generations’ right to all that we have inherited – the water, mountains, all the life on the land, in the air, our history, our culture, our skills and knowledge to live in this place, our spirituality, the tangible and the intangible passing from one generation to the next, never extinguishing or diminishing in value.
Hot off the press…
Interview: Food Solutions During the Pandemic
In the fall of 2020, Shannon and Kesia participated in Salmon Nation's Festival of What Works, speaking about SWCC's experiences through our first...
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Our Top Priorities
Supporting a variety of initiatives and projects aimed at cultivating a sustainable future:
Land Management Planning, Forest Stewardship, Restoration Economy, Climate Mitigation, and Local Food Security.
Cultivating a sustainable future from a sustainable environment rooted in our culture and thriving wild salmon ecosystem.
Some of our partners, sponsors, teachers and inspirations
