SWCC RAFTING
YOUTH ON WATER WOMEN ON WATER
2024 Rafting season
River Guardian Program
meet the guides
Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition’s flagship program is so much more than an outdoor recreational experience!
The Future is YOW!
Youth on Water and Women on Water offers 5 programs in 5 communities in the Skeena Watershed. Our YOW program runs for 4 days, and our WOW programs are offered as 2 day programs this year. YOW/WOW connect youth and women to the river, their communities, and each other in adventure packed experiential, challenging, and educational days on the river.
YOW and WOW have been successful for over a decade in our area, a true testament to the unwavering support from our communities and the deep commitment of locals to the ongoing stewardship and care for our rivers.
SWCC is dedicated to ensuring that YOW and WOW remain free to participants. This is made possible through the support of our funders at: Patagonia, MakeWay, and re:Wild.
2024 Rafting Schedule & waiver
Interested in applying? Click the SIGN UP HERE button linked below!
YOUTH ON WATER
YOW Terrace: July 8-11
YOW Gitwangak: July 15-18
YOW Smithers: July 22-25
YOW Witset: July 29 – Aug 1
YOW Hazelton: Aug 5-8
WOMEN ON WATER
WOW Terrace: July 12-13
WOW Gitwangak: July 19-20
WOW Witset: Aug 2-3
WOW Hazelton: Aug 9-10
Click the arrows on either side of the photos to look through the gallery.
EDUCATION. Participants are introduced to swift water rescue training and they get to practice their new skills on every raft trip. They youth learn river and rafting skills that not only teach the how to be sage in moving water, but also help the build their skills to gain employment in the rafting or swiftwater industry. Local experts, elders, or conservationists occasionally join the crew to teach youth about salmon, their habitat, and their importance to our ecosystem. Experienced guides and facilitators capitalize on the many learning opportunities out on the water!
CULTURE. The YOW program is developed in partnership with local communities and First Nations. Participants learn about the history and culture of this region and how we connect to the watershed and to each other.
LEADERSHIP. Our goal is that each participant makes new friends, connects with positive role models, learns new skills and becomes empowered as leaders! Can you imagine just how incredible it would feel to learn all the skills that would allow you to safely master a raft of your peers through a whitewater canyon?
CONNECTION. Learning, failing, succeeding, and reflecting together to build connection to land, culture, and each other. Healthy recreational opportunities help participants make lasting connections to the watershed. Some of the inspiring connections made through YOW have brought youth into other SWCC projects, such as CLAW (Conservation Leadership Action Workshops), and youth mentoring.
STEWARDSHIP. With the help of local fish biologists, YOW participants gain a rare glimpse into the life cycle of Skeena salmon and trout. They learn how to identify and sample fish and understand the role of salmon and wildlife in the watershed. SWCC also educates participants about ecosystem management, and how we all play a role in stewardship.
SAFETY. We believe that youth who understand river currents, hydraulics and navigation will be safer in and around the Skeena watershed. Participants learn how to read currents, recognize danger, choose the best line through rapids, and identify which skills are needed if you fall out of the raft in the rapids. Participants learn basic skills of self-rescue and how to rescue others. By the end of the program, each student comes away with real whitewater skills to apply on any river in the world and stay safe.
FUN! It’s exciting to learn and connect with tons of fun in one of North America’s most extraordinary regions while rocking on the river!
LOCAL GUIDES AND FUTURE LEADERS
SWCC Guides are certified in Swift Water Rescue and Wilderness Advanced First Aid. As facilitators and informal educators on the river, SWCC Guides offer meaningful and safe trips for every Youth and Women on Water participant. Our guides are previous YOW/WOW Participants and graduates of our YOW/WOW Guide training mentorship program. Our river guides reflect the diversity of communities in the Skeena Watershed, consisting of Gitxsan, Wet’suwet’en, Gitanyow, and Settler guides.
Here is some info on our exciting 2024 Junior Guide Academy opportunity!
SWCC Raft Guides
*Section is under construction – thank you for your patience as we update our website! This is a busy time for our crew.
Heather Potkins
Heather moved to the Bulkley Valley recently, settling in Smithers. With a degree in Environmental Science, and teaching experience, Heather is a perfect fit for our team. Heather will be supporting our YOW program and River Guardians in training with lessons and activities in watershed health, stream and tributary monitoring, and salmon habitat analysis this summer. We feel really lucky to have her on our crew.
Honrei Morgan
Honrei grew up in the community of Gitanyow. This is Honrei’s third season working with Youth on Water, and is currently a Senior Guide. Honrei is active on and off the water, playing soccer on weekends, helping in the smokehouse, and assisting with cultural heritage work on the lax y’ip. He’s also a pretty fun guy.
Shawntei Michell
Shawntei is a new member to our team. A past YOW participant and inflatable kayak support human, this is Shawntei’s first season on the oars with us. Shawntei is a member of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, of the Tsayu clan. She is a mom of two amazing humans, a food harvester and provider. Active in her community, fishing site, and smokehouse-we are excited to have her joining our team this year!
Travis Pete
Travis has been with YOW since he was 13 years old. Seriously! Starting as a participant, then training and leading safety kayaking, getting into the raft and being on the oars, and now is one of our Trip Leaders. Travis is a member of the Gitimd’en clan and works in the Yin Utlee program on his traditional territory when he is not guiding one of our boats.
Harper Johnston
Harper started her YOW career as a boat filler, whenever one of the programs didn’t have enough guests, Harper would get called to fill the seat! Harper recently graduated from the University of BC with an Environmental Geography degree and will be supporting our YOW program as a Trip Leader, and working with Heather to support watershed science activities this season. She is only here for the month of July this year as she moves onto other work in her career field in August.
Shauna Prevost
Shauna is our youngest team member and this season’s Jr. Guide. Shauna lives in the community of Sik-e-dakh, belongs to Wilp Gutginuxw, and is a recent graduate of Hazelton Secondary School. This season, Shauna will be splitting her time between working for SWCC on the water and working with Gitxsan Watershed Authority as an intern. Her experience on the territory and enthusiasm for the water is an incredible asset to our program. Welcome Shauna!
Nika Ayensgar
Nika is from Telkwa, a long time resident of the Bulkley Valley. She came out in a WOW program years ago and took it upon herself to extend her training in Swift water rescue and through volunteering for Women on Water as a safety kayaker. This is Nika’s second season as a guide for the WOW programs, she is steadily increasing her skill level and experience on the water and will be training as a trip leader this summer. Aside from being on the water, Nika is active in food security work and is a wild harvester.
Nova Hutchings
This is Nova’s second year working with SWCC as a Senior Guide and part time program manager. Nova is a Bear Clan member of the Ojibway Nation. Nova recently completed her Wilderness Advanced First Aid First Responder course and has already tested her skills on our Trip Leader after a Chaco Soccer on the beach incident.
Shania Rayne-Michell
Social Media and Communications lead
From Shania:
Hadï Shania-Rayne sozï’!!
Hello my name is Shania-Rayne!! I am Wet’suwet’en from Witset BC. My clan is Tsayu and my father clan is Gitdumden.
I thought since I introduced our guide team.. It was time to introduce myself! I am the SWCC rafting social media manager! Here are a few fun facts about myself.. I have a six year old son, I work at HBMR in the winter(rental shop assistant), I love being outdoors, I love learning new things, and I am terrified of birds.. Does that last one count as a fun fact?
(Photos by Leah, Marco, and myself)
Simon Stockner
Trip Leader
Raised by a master fisherman and an outstanding office-mom, Simon had a good head-start in life as a little alevin. As a fry he grew his love for the outdoors including the Kispiox Valley which he has called home his whole life. Through his teen years as a parr, he started spending more and more time on, in, and around rivers. At 14, he was lucky enough to spend a few days in the Sacred Headwaters of the Skeena, seeing off the Skeena Swim team in 2009. He then participated in the second and third ever Youth On Water programs when he was 15 and 16 years old and took up fly fishing. After graduating high school the young smolt journeyed away from his Skeena home to pursue music as a drummer/booking manager in his band at the time, The Racket, always keeping his river roots close at heart. As a young adult, he traveled far and wide, venturing from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and reaching as far as Southern Africa where he worked with youth. Now as a matured adult, Simon has returned home and is rooted as ever in the rivers that raised him. With over three years of river guiding experience, Simon is dedicated to his role in SWCC to mentor, empower, and learn from our local youth. Simon is in love with this job and the amazing life it imparts… a life on water.
Make a Donation Today
Can’t donate financially? There are many other things the program needs.
- Equipment repair & maintenance (rafts, wetsuits, spray jackets, etc.)
- Program organizing: helping set up gear, washing gear, putting gear away, inventory equipment, etc.
- Be a guest speaker – do you have an area of expertise that relates to our program? We host guests on the water who can talk about salmon, cultural history, conservation, biology, ecology, leadership, etc.
- Email us if you have any other ideas!
