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Meet Councillor Raynolds

2010 Alumni Restore Stories

Syke Augustine and Erin Lawless recently facilitated their Restoring Stories workshop at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary in Saanich, BC. In October, six adults and six children spent the day discovering the power of nature and of telling stories. Skye and Erin designed the workshop to cultivate connections between young people and their elders and between people and place. After a nature walk, individuals told a story about a place that is important to them. Their recorded stories will be added to a digital community map to share with the wider community. Skye and Erin report: "We got some great stories... Some of the pairs recorded several stories each! Watching them so engaged in sharing stories and connecting about their stories was very rewarding."

Redfish Alum ImPLANTs Change

Isabel Slone, a 2011 Redfish participant and aspiring fashion editor, finds many aspects of the fashion industry problematic from environmental and feminist perspectives. For her community action project, Isabel wanted to encourage critical dialogue about these issues. To do so, she produced the first issue of her own fashion magazine entitled PLANT, now available at etsy.com.

Hear Redfish on EcoCentric

Listen to an interview with Nadine Raynolds, Director of the Redfish School of Change, and Shannon MacDonald, 2011 Redfish participant, on the Kootenay Co-op Radio show, EcoCentric. Click here and fast forward 26 minutes for the interview. Thanks for listening!

See the Redfish blog!

The 2011 field school began on May 2nd at Little Slocan Lodge in the West Kootenays.For five weeks, participants traveled into Valhalla Provincial Park, on the Harrison and Fraser Rivers in three voyageur canoes, and around Galiano Island.

Discover the Redfish School of Change blog at  http://redfishschoolofchange.blogspot.com/

Redfish Alumni Empower Vancouver Girls

Neelam Khare and Peggy Lam, alumni from the 2010 Redfish School of Change, recently hosted Girls In Real Life (G.I.R.L.), an intensive 7-day empowerment education program in Vancouver. During spring break, eleven participants from across the city met for a series of workshops on watersheds and ecosystems, food security and urban gardening, body image and the media's construction of beauty, homophobia and LGBTQ issues, sexual exploitation and self-esteem, oppression and their own identities.

Neelam and Peggy report that "the participants were able to reflect on their own experiences of discrimination, embrace their identities, bond together as a family, connect with change-makers and other role models in their communities, build their own peer-support group, and complete a project...on a social justice or environmental issue of their choice." The participants will also create a magazine to amplify the voices of youth and highlight positive role models in their communities. In the final phase of this empowering project, Neelam and Peggy will host community dialogues that bring G.I.R.L. participants into conversation with community members to talk about community action. Click here to learn more about the inspiring community action projects of Redfish participants.

Become a Facebook Fan

Check out the Redfish School of Change facebook page and become a fan by clicking on the "like" button.

See the Redfish Video

 

2010 News

The Essence of Redfish

A recent article in Essence, the online newsletter of the University of Victoria's Environmental Studies Student Association, features three 2010 students from the Redfish School of Change. To see the article, "Redfish Swimming in a Sea of Change," click here.

Redfish in The Ring

A recent article in the University of Victoria's community newsletter, The Ring, highlights 2010 students from the Redfish School of Change. To see the article, "Field school experience grooms environmental /community leaders," click here.

2010 Field School a Tremendous Success

The 2010 Redfish School of Change was a tremendous success—an outstanding experience for students and instructors! Students have developed action plans for environmental projects in their communities and on their campuses. They will apply their learning and implement their initiatives in the months ahead through their community action projects.

Follow the 2010 Class!

Visit the Redfish School of Change blog to hear from the sixteen students from across Canada who are now participating in the 2010 semester of the Redfish School of Change from May 12 to June 19, 2010.

In a unique fusion of academic and experiential learning, we are travelling from the mountains of the Slocan Valley to the coast of southern Vancouver Island. Over six intensive weeks, we will trek across southern British Columbia, visit innovative sites, and engage with experts in the field of environment and social justice.

2009 News

"Ho Seeks Justice in the Wild"

The Imprint, the student newspaper of the University of Waterloo, featured a story about Redfish alumnus Elaine Ho and her experience with Redfish School of Change. Click here to read the article.

The First Field School

The Redfish School of Change completed its first field school with tremendous success. Sixteen youth from across Canada participated in the program. The students' diverse backgrounds, ages, geographic locations and study disciplines made for an exceptional learning community. Living and learning together, participants visited people and places across southern British Columbia. They  toured ecological restoration sites, worked on organic farms, conducted ecological sampling in three bioregions, explored food security and sovereignty locally and globally, and engaged with almost 50 change agents in the field of environment and social justice. Students explored the wilderness of Valhalla Provincial Park, and witnessed the changing nature of the Fraser River as they paddled into Vancouver.

The Redfish School of Change was a profound experience for the students, instructors, and the guests who joined the journey along the way. Students learned critical knowledge and skills for creating positive change, and applied these throughout this community-oriented program. As one student commented:

"By participating in the Redfish School of Change program, I acquired the kind of experience that provides one with life-changing insights. This excursion into uncharted territory was a once in a lifetime opportunity that proved to be a source of inspiration for a better future. It is by interacting with young individuals who share the same burning passion to create change in the world, by making difficult decisions and overcoming challenges with them, that I developed and will continue to develop the particular skills necessary to dedicate my life to this worthy cause... It was a chance to meet others who share a similar ambition and feed the fire that burns inside me."

Integral to the program, each participant developed action plans for projects they will now pursue in their communities. Projects vary from hosting an arts-based event to protecting marine wildlife and creating "homefulness" in their community, to facilitating youth education workshops and changing food options available on campus. Students are supported through their action projects. They have decided on several post-program activities such as the blog, a group learning journal, monthly gatherings online and by phone, and a reunion in the summer of 2010.

The Redfish School of Change is preparing for our second semester in spring 2010 — building on the feedback and lessons learned from this wonderful inaugural year.

Media release  »  June 2, 2009

Vancouver, BC — Sixteen river-weary young people arrive in Vancouver this week after paddling the Fraser River from Hope to Jericho Beach as part of a ground-breaking new youth leadership program. These times of environmental and economic uncertainty call for exceptional leadership, and the Redfish School of Change has responded to the challenge with a unique field school that has participants "in the field for the future."

"The Redfish School of Change is designed for youth who have a passion for finding solutions to environmental and social challenges," says Nadine Raynolds, Director of the Redfish School of Change. "We have a group of amazing young leaders from across Canada who bring a diversity of backgrounds, study disciplines, interests and perspectives."

 

This intensive six-week field school, accredited through the University of Victoria's School of Environmental Studies, takes participants from the mountains of the Slocan Valley to the west coast of Vancouver Island. Along the way, students visit innovative sites and engage with experts in the field of environment and social justice. Having spent two weeks in the Kootenay region of British Columbia, they are now making their way to Vancouver and Victoria for the month of June.

Students are building skills, developing strategies, and making plans for projects to bring back to their communities. Their projects span from tackling urban sprawl and working with youth at risk, to writing a novel, protecting habitat, and starting their own innovative education programs. Look for the students' blog at redfishschoolofchange.blogspot.com. Also visit http://www.schoolofchange.ca.