A quick organizational update from Victoria

I’m writing this from a hotel in Victoria, where I’m watching the federal election results roll in alongside a few colleagues and 17 youth from CPAWS-BC’s Young Leaders in Conservation Program. We spent the day in meetings with a number of Ministers, with whom the youth spoke beautifully about their personal connections to nature, and why they’re asking the government to protect it.

Watching these brilliant, passionate young people advocate for lands and waters has been a reminder of why I took the Executive Director position at CPAWS-BC permanently at the end of last year: because I believe so deeply in the work CPAWS does to protect nature, and the people doing it.

As an organisation, CPAWS-BC has been through an exceptional amount of change over the last five years. Through it all, we’ve remained effective and impactful, continuing to advocate for the permanent protection of nature and Indigenous-led stewardship in order to safeguard biodiversity, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and support the well-being of people and communities.

And of course, CPAWS-BC continues to change, shift and adapt.

In April, we permanently adopted a 4-day, 32-hour work week after a year-long pilot project. I’m really proud of the work we’ve done as an organisation to make this possible, from the staff members who have found new ways of working together, to the Board who supported this transition, and the funders and donors who continued to believe in our work. The impacts on staff well-being have been significant and enduring: over the last year, our team has consistently reported feeling less stress about work and significantly improved personal physical, mental and emotional well-being and balance. This is deeply important to me because I know that strong, successful organisations are built on dedicated, well-supported staff.

Even more changes are coming this spring and summer. We were delighted to welcome Aleesha Switzer as the new Campaign Manager, Land &Freshwater Program, in March. She’ll be stepping into the Director role in June as a fill for Conservation Director (Land & Freshwater Program) Tori Ball, who is going on leave until fall of 2026. Later in June, Natalie Groulx will join CPAWS-BC from the National office, as a fill for Conservation Director (Ocean Program) Kate MacMillan, who will be on leave until early 2027.

Kate and Tori have played instrumental roles within CPAWS-BC for years, and we’ll miss them both during their time away. Still, I’m excited to begin working more closely with Aleesha and Natalie, to see how they build and shape their teams and the campaigns they lead, how they rise to the challenges we know are coming, and the new opportunities they find for CPAWS-BC. And I have the utmost confidence in our team’s ability to continue driving the protection of lands and waters across this province.

I know there’s a lot at stake right now. I know that, in their desire to strengthen and grow the economy, governments will be focussed on unlocking resources and getting them to market. But I also know that safeguarding nature supports healthy people, healthy communities and a healthy economy. BC is blessed with a diversity of life, with vibrant coasts and towering peaks, with rolling grasslands and expansive forests. Protecting these places gives us an opportunity now to create a safer future for generations to come in the face of climate change, trade wars, and whatever else the coming years will bring.

So as we await the outcome of this federal election, I can’t think of a better place to be than surrounded by these bright, determined young people who so deeply believe in creating a better future, and who have stepped up now to begin shaping it. Let them remind you, as they do me, why this work is so important.