Halifax, NS – Six Indigenous youth from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island will be traveling to Cambodia, Guyana and Kenya in October for a four-month international internship.

Camryn Sock and Maisyn Sock from Eskasoni, Owen Gould and Roman Levi from Waycobah, Dakota Francis from Pictou Landing, and Cassidy McKellop from Lennox Island were selected from candidates across Canada to participate program called International Internships for Indigenous Youth Program (IIIY). A total of 20 indigenous youth from across Canada will be working and living overseas through the program.

Dakota Francis will be working on Research and Communications in Cambodia with the Thai Volunteer Service.

Camryn Sock will be working on Career Guidance in Guyana with the Volunteer Youth Corps Inc.

Cassidy McKellop, Owen Gould, Roman Levi, and Maisyn Sock will be working on Preserving Traditional/Elders’ Knowledge, the Community Water Wells Project, and Wildlife Conservation with Run for Life and the Rift Valley Resource Centre.

“I wanted to go to Kenya to explore the world more and have new and fun experiences during my gap year between high school and university. Also I don’t know what I want to study yet so exploring and experiencing new things might help me find what I would want to study in university or college”, said Cassidy McKellop.

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As part of the International Internships for Indigenous Youth Program (IIIY), hosted by the Atlantic Council for International Cooperation (ACIC) and the Northern Council for Global Cooperation (NCGC), this position is among 20 internships in five countries this year: Costa Rica, Guyana, Nepal, Cambodia, and Kenya. Over the next five years, ACIC and NCGC will support 100 indigenous youth interns by providing opportunities to gain transferable skills, learn about key development issues in their own communities and abroad, explore education and career pathways in the field of international development. This program will also strive to build confidence and experience in public engagement, and build networks in the international development sector and their own communities that will allow them to put their skills and passion to work for positive change.

This program is made possible through federal funding from Global Affairs Canada and generous private sponsorship from Klondike Travel, Air North and Canadian North. Find more information about the program here www.acic-caci.org/acic-internships.

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For more information and interviews with youth, please contact:

Janelle Frail
Communications and Membership Officer, ACIC
902-431-2311
E-mail: communications@acic-caci.org
Website: www.acic-caci.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AtlanticCouncilforInternationalCooperation
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ACIC

Backgrounder:

The Atlantic Council for International Cooperation (ACIC) is a coalition of individuals, organizations, and institutions working in the Atlantic region, which are committed to achieving global sustainability in a peaceful and healthy environment, with social justice, human dignity, and participation for all. ACIC supports its members in international cooperation and education through collective leadership, networking, information, training and coordination, and represents their interests when dealing with government and others.

ACIC also takes a leadership role in engaging Atlantic Canadians around issues relating to international development, global sustainability, and social justice. Through our public engagement work, ACIC strives to give Atlantic Canadians the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to become active global citizens.

ACIC is a rich and vibrant coalition; our varied members – over 70 in the Atlantic Provinces – are united by our strong commitment to building a better world. Please check the members page for more details on ACIC’s membership.

The Northern Council for Global Cooperation (NCGC) is a network of individuals, organizations and institutions based in Canada’s three Northern Territories: Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. NCGC works to include our whole community through educational programming, community networking, supporting projects that align with our mission and vision, and dismantling knowledge and skill barriers through a commitment to social justice. NCGC is committed to achieving sustainable global development that is just, inclusive, and respectful of the environment and all cultures.

You may see our summer students and a couple of colleagues in your Community for MCG days or working in the field during this time so please say hello if you see them.

There are currently five berths or leases at the FORCE site that companies have bid on to test their technology for this emerging aspect of the energy sector. FORCE received environmental assessment approval for the site, including the five berths, in 2009. The berth holders must submit their designs and plans to the provincial government for approval. Each berth holder must include environmental effects monitoring plans for their activities. These are called ‘near-field’ monitoring plans. Near field monitoring plans include how fish or other speices interact with the turbines as well as operations that happen within close proximity to the turbines themselves. The companies who create the turbines come up with the monitoring plans specific to their technology. Some of the designs are floating, others are anchored to the seafloor, and others are in the middle of the water column on rotating arms. NS Department of Environment is responsible for environmental review and approval of the FORCE environmental monitoring plan and tidal development projects. Fisheries and Oceans Canada reviews some aspects of these projects. NS Department of the Environment has not yet issued approval for the FORCE or Cape Sharp Tidal environmental effects monitoring plans. Companies often contract consultants to conduct the monitoring once it has been approved.

There is an Environmental Monitoring Advisory Committee (EMAC) that provides information to FORCE. EMAC is an independent, arms-length, volunteer, technical advisory committee. The mission of EMAC is to provide independent expert scientific and traditional ecological knowledge advice to FORCE. It is made up of representatives from Academia, Fishers, Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia, Government, and other stakeholders. The focus is on Environmental Effects Monitoring programs not basic scientific research about tidal development. Membership on this committee does not constitute support for tidal projects. It is a means to provide important information and stay informed on upcoming activities. In March of 2013 the Mi’kmaw Conservation Group (MCG) volunteered to be a representative to the EMAC meetings. Since that time MCG staff members have attended the bi-annual meetings of EMAC. Because of concerns raised by MCG, a lobster subcommittee has been established to monitor lobster in the Bay of Fundy.

Currently Cape Sharp Tidal is going to be the first company to deploy a turbine. They were expected to begin the process in early June of 2016. After a number of concerns were raised by stakeholders, they have paused for further dialogue. Deployment will most likely occur mid to late summer 2016.

If Mi’kmaw Community members have input, feedback or concerns on tidal development in the Bay of Fundy please contact MCG at 902-895-6385 or email KNelson@mikmawconservation.ca and MCG staff can raise the concerns at EMAC meetings.

Who can go to camp?
We are looking for Youth ages 11 -13 to participate in a 3 day and 2 night Camp! We are also looking for chaperones who are over the age of 21 and would be willing to have an RCMP background check completed.

When & Where is camp?
April 15th – 17th 2016 (3 days, 2 nights) at the Tim’s camp in Tatamagouche Nova Scotia.

What’s included?
Ground transportation to and from camp
Meals and snacks
Program equipment
Foundation program staff.
Accommodations are provided in unique dorm-style bunkhouses which include smaller bedrooms with full bedding and private showers and washrooms.

What kind of activities will there be?
There will be lots of outdoor, science and cultural activities! Once we have a list of all the participants, a schedule will be sent home with the final details.
All youth participants and chaperones must submit their registration forms to their community organizer by March 3rd, 2016.

Questions?
Contact Alannah or Kate
at 902-895-6385 or
AHunt@mikmawconservation.ca
KNelson@mikmawconservation.ca

Stay tuned for the final results of this year’s smolt run!

MCG Research and Education Assistant, Alyx MacDonald, is currently working with FFHR on their monitoring efforts. Alyx will be spending the next several weeks at the Big Salmon River Smolt wheel. Stay tuned for more news from the wheel.

There are over 1000 potential water crossings in the Stewiacke Watershed and this summer we were able to visit over 150 of them, giving 75 full assessments. In addition, we were able to visit another 85 potential migration barriers near our MCG member Communities, completing full assessments on 60 of them.
A full assessment involves the collection of stream measurements, culvert measurements, as well as several elevations from specific points along the stream and culvert, which allows us to calculate key characteristics such as outflow drop and slope of the culvert. The combination of these factors, along with debris build up, is the primary features that can result in a barrier to fish migration.

After the assessment, each culvert was rated as a full barrier, a partial barrier or a non-barrier to the migration of Atlantic salmon. We have performed debris removal remediation for five (5) culverts in order to improve fish passage. A list of complete barriers has been compiled, and will be shared with the proper departments of government for suggested remediation, as well as the Clean Annapolis River Project.

As another fun way to share our data, MCG created a  Fish Barrier web-tool.  In this web application, the user selects an assessed culvert (or enters the parameters they collected for a culvert of their own) to see if our friend Plamu can get through the culvert. You can check it out by clicking on this link:  Go, Plamu. GO!

If you are interested in our findings, you can check out the report here: MCG Report: Barriers to Atlantic Salmon Migration

Questions about culverts? Contact Adam Sherry.

Literature Review Summary

We thought we would take a minute and reflect on all the great work and cool MCG projects from our 2014/15 year.

Thank you to all of the Community members, volunteers and funding partners who make it all possible.

Wela’lin

Canadian Roots Exchange’s (CRE) national youth forum is a youth to youth interactive forum whereby participants take part in sessions that explore how to bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in Canada. They are anticipating approximately 300 youth taking part from across the country. The target age for this forum is youth between the ages of 15 and 29 years.

In order to ensure that youth have access from every province and territory, CRE has 30 sponsored youth spaces (15-25 years old) for those residing outside of Winnipeg. At least 1 youth will be sponsored from every province and territory and efforts will be made to ensure that we have urban and rural participation. For a sponsored rate of $400, CRE will include registration fee, flight (or ground transport), accommodations (4 nights) and food. To apply for a sponsored space, please submit a 500 to 1000 word submission or a 2 to 5 minute video on how you currently or how you plan to bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth in your community.

Please include your full legal name, date of birth, community where you currently reside, address, email, phone number. Note that selected youth may have their submissions featured by CRE to promote the national youth forum.

The deadline to apply for a sponsored space is January 29, 2015. All applicants received will be reviewed and decisions will be made by February 6, 2015. Send submissions to conference@canadianroots.ca with subject line: Youth Contest.

Check out their website for more information Canadian Roots Exchange .

Check out this video to learn more about Canadian Roots Exchange!

Minas Energy would like to find two Mi’kmaq post-secondary students with an interest in renewable energy, sustainability, engineering or the marine trades who would like to attend the international  conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE). They will provide  a room in Halifax, and mentoring at the conference.

November 4th, 5th and 6th
Accommodations in downtown Halifax provided.
3 Day Conference.
No Registration Fees.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT
Kris MacLellan, 902-229-0580
kris.maclellan@minasenergy.com

You can click here for more information about the conference.

ICOE Minas Energy Student Invitation

You can watch the video here:  Atlantic salmon put back in the Petitcodiac River

Or you can read about it here: Endangered Atlantic salmon released