Dec. 2023: Looking Back, Heading Forward
There have been a lot of shifts for Rivers to Ridges this past year. We wanted to share some of what’s gone on during 2023, and also what we’re focusing on for the year ahead.
Do you still offer programming for children and youth? Yes, and…
We are continuing to offer Summer Camps, Salmon in the Schools programs, and other on-the-ground programs.
We are also evolving and continuing to expand into educational leadership and design, community-based curriculum creation (like the Caribou in the School learning resources) and organizational training for teams within Yukon and beyond.
In addition to our on-the-ground programs, our 2024 vision includes:
- Providing tailored and ready-made training nationally and internationally
- Extending our curriculum development services.
- Crafting a digital platform to support educator networks.
- Contributing content to collaborative publications and journals.
Continued below...
SOUTHERN LAKES CARIBOU: COMMUNITY LEARNING RESOURCE
YUKON FORESTRY CURRICULUM
EARLY LEARNING KITS: YUKON EDUCATION
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BC PARKS EDUCATIONAL BOOKLETS
JERRY'S RANGERS PROGRAM DESIGN
SAUMON À L'ÉCOLE: GUIDE PÉDAGOGIQUE
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SALMON IN THE SCHOOLS GUIDEBOOK
SOUTHERN LAKES CARIBOU COMMUNITY BOOKLETS
EARLY LEARNING KITS: YUKON EDUCATION
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What Rivers to Ridges achieved in 2023
To wrap up the year, let’s take a look back at 2023 in a few key numbers:
- 170 — the number of children and youth who took part in Dlüra March Break and Summer 2023 Camps.
- 8 — the number of youth leaders who took part in the 1st year of the Heartwood Youth Leadership Program.
- 24 — the number of classrooms visited by Salmon in the Schools Programming.
- 7 — the number of Elders and Knowledge Holders involved in programming with children and youth.
- 2 - the number of youth who drove to Fort Nelson in May 2023 with Wren for the Liard River Basin Learning Plan Elders Gathering.
- 12 — the number of free Southern Lakes Caribou in the Schools lesson plans available online.
- 10 — the number of families who submitted entries to the 7th annual Crocus in Focus contest.
- 6851 — the number of program hours spent on the ground and in the classroom with children and youth
Our CEO, Wren Nicolardi, reflects on the new beginnings brought by 2023, and looks ahead to the future of land-based education leadership & design.
Here’s where we've been putting our energy over the last 12 months.
Emily Payne (Yarrow)
While every year has been different than the last, this past year involved Emily Payne, Co-founder and CFO of Rivers to Ridges, moving her family down to Salt Spring Island. This shift had been part of a larger transformative year for our organization.
While this transition was underway, Emily helped lead both the 2023 March and Summer camp seasons, saw the launch of the Heartwood Youth Leader Training Program, and co-led the Early Learning and Child Care webinar development project. She was successful in a pivotal application to the Investment Readiness Program, and has been leading the redesign of the Rivers to Ridges webspace.
Rivers to Ridges also participated in the LIFT Impact Partners mentorship program on revenue diversification and impact investment, and both Emily and Wren received their certification as Forest School Practitioners from the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada.
Wren Nicolardi (Rabbit)
Wren’s focus has been largely on stabilizing the organization through the shift, and finding time on the ground directly with children and youth as an on-call Recreation Support Worker with Kwanlin Dün First Nation. Additionally, Wren has been supporting the local SOGI lead via the ARC Foundation.
Wren has also continued to work closely with Copper Joe Jack and the Land and Peoples Relationship Model Working Group, as well as on projects involving the LPR Model such as the Liard River Basin Learning Plan Elders Gathering in Fort Nelson this past May. Additionally, the ongoing launch and delivery of the Caribou in the Schools program (with the support of the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Trust, the Carcross/Tagish First Nation and MakeWay) has been a big focus for Wren this year.
In January 2024, the Caribou in the Schools program will launch alongside the Dechinta Bush University’s Caribou Stories project, and Wren and Copper have also been asked to present on Community Curriculum Design & Indigenous Data Sovereignty at the S’TEṈISTOLW̱ Conference in August 2024. Wren will also continue contributing on the Arctic Inspiration Prize Advisory/Decision-Making Committee.
Kelly Scott (Songbird)
In addition to traveling across the territory delivering community-based Salmon in the Schools programming, Kelly Scott, our Program Manager, took the lead on designing a series of educational webinars for Early Learning and Child Care to compliment the experiential Salmon and Tracking Kits she put together for educators. She also took the co-lead on the March Camp season, and she’s got plans to bring the salmon program to Old Crow in 2024.
In February of 2023 Kelly shared a presentation at the Yukon River Symposium Conference held online with international participants. She was also invited to speak at the public session for the Yukon River Panel meetings that were held in Whitehorse in April of 2023. Another exciting opportunity came up to travel to villages in the Alaskan interior in July of 2023, where new partnerships were formed on the topic of salmon. This trip was supported by the Yukon Salmon Sub-Committee and the Yukon River Drainage and Fisheries Association.
In 2024, Kelly is looking forward to the potential for international growth in the design of the salmon program. She is hoping to attend a conference on the topic of Free Flow: how to keep the rivers clear for salmon migration.
Looking ahead: A vision for 2024
With the help of the Investment Readiness Program, we’ve been working with Inga Petri of Strategic Moves to identify our areas of expertise, and to craft a roadmap for what comes next. We’re working with TechYukon and Eclipse 360 to redesign our webspace, so stay tuned for the final product. Our application made it into Round 2 with the Coralus Venture selection process, and we’ll find out more in January 2024.
In an effort to affect systems-level educational change more broadly, we’ve been expanding our reach to other change-making networks. Collaboration and connection is underway with Learning Bird, UpstartEd, Outdoor Play Canada and the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada. Wren was fortunate to have attended the Indspire: National Conference on Indigenous Education in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal, QC) this November, and has also been keeping an eye on the intersection of AI and education through Animikii’s work on Indigenous Tech & Digital Data Sovereignty.
With the ongoing support of Yukon Energy, we had another beautiful year of Elders and Knowledge Holders in the forest with us during our March and Summer camp seasons, and we have the same vision for 2024.
Registration for Summer 2024 will open on Sat. Feb. 3, 2024 @ 9 am MST.
Here’s where we've been putting our energy over the last 12 months.
Emily Payne (Yarrow)
While every year has been different than the last, this past year involved Emily Payne, Co-founder and CFO of Rivers to Ridges, moving her family down to Salt Spring Island. This shift had been part of a larger transformative year for our organization.
While this transition was underway, Emily helped lead both the 2023 March and Summer camp seasons, saw the launch of the Heartwood Youth Leader Training Program, and co-led the Early Learning and Child Care webinar development project. She was successful in a pivotal application to the Investment Readiness Program, and has been leading the redesign of the Rivers to Ridges webspace.
Rivers to Ridges also participated in the LIFT Impact Partners mentorship program on revenue diversification and impact investment, and both Emily and Wren received their certification as Forest School Practitioners from the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada.
Wren Nicolardi (Rabbit)
Wren’s focus has been largely on stabilizing the organization through the shift, and finding time on the ground directly with children and youth as an on-call Recreation Support Worker with Kwanlin Dün First Nation. Additionally, Wren has been supporting the local SOGI lead via the ARC Foundation.
Wren has also continued to work closely with Copper Joe Jack and the Land and Peoples Relationship Model Working Group, as well as on projects involving the LPR Model such as the Liard River Basin Learning Plan Elders Gathering in Fort Nelson this past May. Additionally, the ongoing launch and delivery of the Caribou in the Schools program (with the support of the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Trust, the Carcross/Tagish First Nation and MakeWay) has been a big focus for Wren this year.
In January 2024, the Caribou in the Schools program will launch alongside the Dechinta Bush University’s Caribou Stories project, and Wren and Copper have also been asked to present on Community Curriculum Design & Indigenous Data Sovereignty at the S’TEṈISTOLW̱ Conference in August 2024. Wren will also continue contributing on the Arctic Inspiration Prize Advisory/Decision-Making Committee.
Kelly Scott (Songbird)
In addition to traveling across the territory delivering community-based Salmon in the Schools programming, Kelly Scott, our Program Manager, took the lead on designing a series of educational webinars for Early Learning and Child Care to compliment the experiential Salmon and Tracking Kits she put together for educators. She also took the co-lead on the March Camp season, and she’s got plans to bring the salmon program to Old Crow in 2024.
In February of 2023 Kelly shared a presentation at the Yukon River Symposium Conference held online with international participants. She was also invited to speak at the public session for the Yukon River Panel meetings that were held in Whitehorse in April of 2023. Another exciting opportunity came up to travel to villages in the Alaskan interior in July of 2023, where new partnerships were formed on the topic of salmon. This trip was supported by the Yukon Salmon Sub-Committee and the Yukon River Drainage and Fisheries Association.
In 2024, Kelly is looking forward to the potential for international growth in the design of the salmon program. She is hoping to attend a conference on the topic of Free Flow: how to keep the rivers clear for salmon migration.
Looking ahead: A vision for 2024
With the help of the Investment Readiness Program, we’ve been working with Inga Petri of Strategic Moves to identify our areas of expertise, and to craft a roadmap for what comes next. We’re working with TechYukon and Eclipse 360 to redesign our webspace, so stay tuned for the final product. Our application made it into Round 2 with the Coralus Venture selection process, and we’ll find out more in January 2024.
In an effort to affect systems-level educational change more broadly, we’ve been expanding our reach to other change-making networks. Collaboration and connection is underway with Learning Bird, UpstartEd, Outdoor Play Canada and the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada. Wren was fortunate to have attended the Indspire: National Conference on Indigenous Education in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal, QC) this November, and has also been keeping an eye on the intersection of AI and education through Animikii’s work on Indigenous Tech & Digital Data Sovereignty.
With the ongoing support of Yukon Energy, we had another beautiful year of Elders and Knowledge Holders in the forest with us during our March and Summer camp seasons, and we have the same vision for 2024.
Registration for Summer 2024 will open on Sat. Feb. 3, 2024 @ 9 am MST.
Some of our past clients & partners:
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