A $25,000 cash influx builds on the pursuit of inclusivity and creativity endeavours of the Gorge Waterway Action Society.

The group, dedicated to ongoing health and environment improvements on the Gorge with a focus on its crown jewel Esquimalt Gorge Park, earned the funding through Wawanesa Climate Champions: Local Grants.

Gorge Waterway Action Society will use the grant to host a series of events featuring local LGBTQ2S+ artists, musicians, and climate leaders to promote knowledge-sharing and belonging.

B次元官网网址淚t allows this programming to happen, otherwise it wouldnB次元官网网址檛,B次元官网网址� executive director Brad Procter told the Victoria B次元官网网址.

It was the next logical step for the society, which has been doing climate and interpretive work for a while now, slowly combining the concept of restoration with art, music and community B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址渓eaning intoB次元官网网址� concepts making access to nature and climate work specifically with equity-deserving groups.

B次元官网网址淭his summer Clover (Taylor) and our climate coordinator Shania (LaFreniere) came up with this concept to take this next step, which weB次元官网网址檙e able to do with this funding.B次元官网网址�

The LGBTQ2S+ community is often still left out of conversations about climate change, Taylor said.

B次元官网网址淲e wanted to emphasize and uplift their contributions.B次元官网网址�

The first in the series will be art-based, including different artists to lead community art initiatives and queer musicians alongside queer climate leaders and educators.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檒l all be different experts in different parts of environmental work,B次元官网网址� Taylor said. The communal learning will also celebrate community and building relationships.

The second will focus on youth stewardship, B次元官网网址渋nviting queer youth and allies from local high schools to do different workshops and seminars led by queer leaders,B次元官网网址� Taylor said. Providing examples of queer success in the environmental field, with leaders speaking on their work and pathways to that work, aims to help address systemic barriers.

The final two events blend the two previous events with hands-on ecological restoration in Esquimalt Gorge Park.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 taking the knowledge from the two more seminar-workshop-based events and putting it into real action on the ground,B次元官网网址� Taylor said.

The project will hold workshops and training sessions to equip community members with practical skills for climate adaptation and mitigation, such as ecological restoration. Among the initiatives planned is the hands-on rehabilitation work of Esquimalt Gorge Park, which will result in upwards of 600 native plants being placed throughout the vulnerable coastal habitat.

Gorge Waterway Action Society is among three B.C. environmental groups earning grants from the Wawanesa Climate Champions. The other two recipients are the Langley Environmental Partners Society and the Vancouver-based Environmental Youth Alliance.

Both groups have similar goals and projects to the Gorge plans, focusing on planting native species, improving waterways and offering hands-on ecological restoration work.

B次元官网网址淭he Gorge Waterway Action Society was selected for the Wawanesa Climate Champions: Local Grants as their initiative aligns with all three pillars B次元官网网址� Environmental Guardians, Community Protectors, and Youth Stewards B次元官网网址� of our program and focuses on the people on the frontlines building a more climate resilient community,B次元官网网址� said Michel Rosset, a media relations manager with Wawanesa. B次元官网网址淭heir application also stood out for its commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive climate movement through the creation of safe spaces for LGBTQ2S+ people to share and learn about the impacts of a changing climate.B次元官网网址�

Visit  to learn more about the Gorge Waterway Action Society.