Four Indigenous youth spent their summer restoring a rare Garry Oak Meadow in Oak Bay, removing invasive plants and learning about their culture and traditional lands along the way. Their two-month employment program at Anderson Hill Park wrapped up Friday with a final work party focused on planting native trees and shrubs. The program, known as the Auntie Program, pairs paid environmental restoration work with cultural teachings and mentorship from Indigenous Knowledge Keepers. For Songhees Knowledge Keeper Florence Dick, that connection to culture and land is at the heart of the program. “I think someone should come in and support them, talk to them about the land, talk to them about where they are,” Dick said. Dick helped establish the Auntie role five years ago after seeing a need for Indigenous youth to have someone supporting them while they worked. The role has changed from year to year, depending on what the youth are interested in and what teachings can be shared. This year, Dick taught the youth about local fish, including different species and fishing seasons. Her sister also showed them how to prepare fish, build a traditional smoke kit and make fried bread. Previous participants have learned about Indigenous language, territorial welcomes, tourism, storytelling, carving and beadwork. The teachings happened alongside the environmental work. The youth spent Friday mornings clearing invasive blackberry, periwinkle and grasses from the meadow, helping create space for native species to return. The program is a partnership involving the Gorge Waterway Action Society, the Vancouver Island Trail Association, Oak Bay Parks, the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, biologists and community volunteers. For the youth, the work provided hands-on environmental experience as well as skills they can take into future jobs. Vancouver Island Trail Association president Liz Bicknell said she watched their confidence change over the summer. “When I first met them, they were so shy,” Bicknell said. “Now, when we meet, it’s high fives, and you can see their confidence growing.” Bicknell said one of the youth has developed an interest in biology and is considering pursuing it as a career. About 18 Indigenous youth have taken part in the program over the past five years. Dick said the program also gives young people an opportunity to learn the realities of employment in a supportive environment. If someone misses work, the focus is not necessarily on punishment, she said. Instead, they are encouraged to come back, reset and keep going. The approach can help young people develop the confidence and structure they need to succeed in their first jobs. For Dick, the impact goes beyond employment. She became emotional while talking about what it means for Indigenous youth to have opportunities to spend time on their traditional territories and learn from people in their own communities. She wants to see that opportunity grow. Dick hopes the program can eventually expand across B.C., where First Nations communities are also dealing with invasive species and environmental challenges on their traditional lands. Her vision is for Indigenous communities to have the resources to hire their own youth to restore and care for those territories. “I really want to work this into the province,” Dick said. “This could have been a true reconciliation commitment to all the nations.” Bicknell hopes the work at Anderson Hill can be a starting point for similar partnerships with other nations and communities along the Vancouver Island Trail. She described the project as a small example of what reconciliation can look like when people come together around something tangible. “This is reconciliation in action,” Bicknell said. Friday’s planting marked the end of the youth’s summer work at Anderson Hill. The native trees and shrubs they put into the ground will take years to grow, but for those involved in the program, the change they saw in the young people happened much faster.
