Sustainable Communities Initiative · Social Sustainability Relationship Development Enhanced...

Sustainable Communities Initiative2014 Annual Report: A Story in Progress

Social Sustainability ● Relationship Development ● Enhanced Engagement ● Collaborative Practice


SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE | 1

Table of Contents

Introduction.............................................................................................................................................. 2

About SCI and the Foundational Pillars .................................................................................................. 4

Social Sustainability ................................................................................................................................ 9

Relationships ......................................................................................................................................... 14

Engagement .......................................................................................................................................... 16

Collaborative Practice ........................................................................................................................... 18

Conclusion............................................................................................................................................. 20

Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 21



Introduction What you’ll find in the report

Welcome to Sustainable Communities Initiative’s (SCI) first annual report. This inaugural report strives to measure social progress for our initiative in 2014. We hope you enjoy it and we invite you to follow SCI’s progress as we meet our Vision:

Safe, healthy, sustainable communities where people want to live, work, play and raise their children. Where youth are active members of their community, and can move forward with confidence to their chosen path in life.

The report outlines some of the successes, growth highlights and challenges that made 2014 a milestone year for transition, including:

Making strides in collaboration through financial openness and transparency Increasing responsibility and accountability to planning and budgeting for the long-

term sustainability phase of SCI Maintaining stability through personnel transitions Growing capacity to increase locally-delivered community programming

The report provides examples and indicators of how we have progressed towards our vision, goals and overall sustainability through storytelling. Financial and resource investment in the SCI vision can be found as an appendix.

It is important to note that social change is a long-term, iterative process. The impacts and effects are challenging to measure and are often revealed incrementally or in unconventional ways. Shifts in attitudes, or learning and practicing a new skill or behaviour may seem insignificant to some, yet profound to others.

2014 In Brief: Perseverance through Change

After nearly six years, SCI has clocked a lot of miles on the “social sustainability highway.” In 2014, there was a substantial leap from focusing on implementation of programming within the communities to looking ahead, and taking steps towards, long-term sustainability. SCI also experienced deeper engagement from all partners to support the planning and implementation of programming, within the communities and across sectors.



While programs were gaining momentum within the communities, 2014 also saw its share of transition that tested the fortitude and focus of its partners. Shifts in partnership and the eventual exit of two funding companies by mid-year made for a challenging period with adjustments to budgets and staff. This, however, prompted positive, proactive conversations and plans to kick start long-term sustainability efforts. This included a move by the funding company partners toward a multi-year commitment and an opportunity to focus special efforts on budgeting and the creation of a three-year plan.



About SCI What is SCI?

The Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) is a collaboration between oil sands companies, two communities in northern Alberta and partner organizations (see list below). SCI began in 2009 as an exploration into how communities and companies could work together to create shared benefit and value around social sustainability challenges in the oil sands region of northern Alberta. Through early discussions, Janvier and Fort Chipewyan (SCI partner communities), alongside industry partners, established a common vision for co-creating safe, healthy, sustainable communities where people can work, live, play and raise their children.

SCI focuses on the social dimension of sustainable development, with an emphasis on working with communities and youth in particular. The intent is to foster supportive environments and opportunities for youth to engage in community life so that they can move forward with confidence in their chosen life path.

Our 2014 Partners include: Lake Athabasca Youth Council (Fort Chipewyan), Sekweha (Janvier), ConocoPhillips Canada, Living Sky School Division, CNOOC Nexen Energy, Northland School Division, RCMP, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Statoil Canada, Suncor Energy Inc, Total E&P Canada, and Yukon Department of Education.



Lake Athabasca Youth Council (LAYC)

Established as a non-profit organization in 2012, LAYC’s mission is to have community working together to provide support for youth-led activities. LAYC is run by a volunteer board, with representatives from organizations within the community (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation, Metis Local, Nunee Health Board, RCMP, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Athabasca Delta Community School), as well as Elders, adults and youth of the community at large. LAYC also has a full-time coordinator and hires summer students each year.

VISION: A healthy, safe, sustainable community, helping youth to gain the knowledge, confidence and skills they need to be successful in life and make positive contributions to their community.

2014 Goals

Build connections between board members, youth, communities, partners and friends. Grow youth skills to increase involvement and establish a leadership role in LAYC

planning.

LAYC by the Numbers

2014 Activities and Programming: 20 Youth age range: 5 to 22 years old Total number of youth reached through LAYC programming: ~335 Total volunteers: ~120



Sekweha

In Dene, Sekweha means for the youth. Established as a non-profit organization in 2010, a volunteer community board oversees the vision and mission of Sekweha. The Sekweha youth team includes a coordinator, youth workers and volunteers. Daily programming is run at the Youth Centre, after school and on weekends. Sekweha works with other community partners and looks for opportunities to enrich programs and services to better meet the needs of children and youth.

VISION: A healthy, safe and sustainable community, helping youth to gain the knowledge, confidence and skills they need to be successful in life and to make positive contributions to their community. Youth are our future Leaders!

2014 Goals

Sekweha will co-host a youth-facilitated gathering for all youth to come together and share how they have implemented their learning and successes.

Youth Care Leaders (YCL) will encourage youth to express their needs and wants, and will mentor and guide them on how to achieve those goals.

Sekweha by the Numbers

Youth Centre programming: 7 days/week, 5 to 8 hours/day Youth Centre attendance: 16 youth/day on average, up to 40 Age range: 8 to 21 years old Total youth impacted: ~100



Experiential Learning Initiative

VISION: The Experiential Learning Initiative (ELI) facilitates opportunities for community members, teachers, youth and stakeholders to engage in learning that champions the vision of “walking in two worlds.”

This vision recognizes the importance of integrating Aboriginal culture, language, values and traditions into the educational experience within the current living and learning environment. The program develops strategies that improve community engagement, youth participation and engagement in learning performance and overall well-being. Within Fort Chipewyan and Janvier, ELI programming is developed and executed in collaboration with schools, community organizations, the SCI working group and other partner organizations. Activities include land-based experiences and weaving Alberta learner outcomes into lesson plans. Opportunities to share and learn from partners are emphasized to support emerging best practices in communities creating their own standards for land-based learning.

2014 Goals

Communities create their own standards for land-based learning. Develop mentorship partners that support community experiences, so youth can

embrace “walking in two worlds.” Create processes and structures to support community youth-led experiences with

community partners.



Our Approach to 2014 Annual Report

To develop the SCI Annual Report, SCI team members and partner representative used our four pillars of progress as a reflection tool. The progress pillars described below are represented in all programming and are integrated throughout stories within this report.

Social Sustainability: includes measuring how leadership and other skills are developed, resources leveraged, and cultural learning fostered.

Relationship Development: measures the effort and outcomes of intentional focus on moving beyond transactional relationships to building and sustaining trust within communities.

Enhanced Engagement: relates to people, organizations and institutions that actively participate and work together in new ways and in areas of mutual interest for social sustainability.

Collaborative Practice: assesses success in developing and implementing innovative tools and processes for collaborative skill development and working together.

The following sections contain stories that reflect the progress of SCI towards the outcomes of each of the four pillars described above.

SCI Pillars of Progress

Social Sustainability

Relationship Development

Enhanced Engagement

Collaborative Practice



Stories of Social Sustainability Seasonal Learning Wheels: A Tool for Sharing Traditional Knowledge

In planning for the future of Experiential Learning Initiative, community members and partners developed a tool called the Seasonal Learning Wheel to show the traditional activities that happen in each season for a certain place. In June 2014 a group of Athabasca Delta Community School (ADCS) teachers, ELI and LAYC team and community members took a float plane to Elder Charlie Voyageur’s trapline. Elder Charlie is one of the original influencers and supporters of Experiential Learning in Fort Chipewyan. Their goal was to capture Traditional Knowledge and blend it into today’s teaching methods to create a land-based, co-teaching environment. The end result of the trip was a plan outlining the goals and actions of how experiential learning would be carried out in Fort Chipewyan over the next three years. An unexpected and instrumental outcome of this planning session was the creation of a Seasonal Learning Wheel. The Seasonal Learning Wheel is a community-created foundational tool that helps link curriculum to experiential learning, cultural and outdoor education, and creates awareness to those who are new to an area. It also creates the knowledge infrastructure that can be used to foster co-teaching opportunities as educators work together with community members and youth to develop learning plans that are based on “walking in two worlds.” The Seasonal Learning Wheel is an accessible tool for anyone to use and can be adapted for different communities in ways that honour community voice and unique sets of traditional knowledge and activities.

After the planning session in Fort Chipewyan, Sekweha borrowed the idea and structure of the Seasonal Learning Wheel and used it at their annual Youth Team retreat in July. Youth Workers took the lead, developing a number of Janvier Seasonal

Leading up to June, ELI had been gaining momentum in Fort Chipewyan through ‘on-the-land’ activities like the March spring camp that involved the Principal of ADCS, two land-users and three high school students. ELI leverages resources in the community to make such events possible. For example, the original trail to Voyageur’s trap line was created with the support of the Canadian Rangers Patrol Unit (this required 10 rangers in addition to 2 ELI team members!).



Learning Wheels, which included traditional and modern activities like programming and sports that they organize at the Sekweha Youth Centre. The Seasonal Learning Wheels were essential for planning youth programming; in the spring, Sekweha took youth fish snaring, and in the summer, they put on two camps at Winefred Lake. The Seasonal Learning Wheel also supported Father Perin School activities, with community members working together with educators to create and implement a weekly Experiential Learning schedule. The Seasonal Learning Wheel is essential for each community to make their own standards and guidelines for land-based learning, which was one of their 2014 goals.



Youth-Led Learning Opportunities with LAYC: Advancing Sustainable Leadership

In 2014, Lake Athabasca Youth Council (LAYC) fulfilled their goal of growing youth skills to have greater involvement and take a leadership role in LAYC planning. Youth organized and fundraised for their activities, while LAYC grew more structures and processes on the Board to support them to do so.

Within the community, events like Shayna’s Song Red Dress Event and Unity charity programming built confidence in youth and improved community understanding and support of LAYC. Shayna’s Song was a fundraiser and fashion show, complete with a silent auction and healthy canteen, in honour of a young girl from Fort Chipewyan who passed away from heart problems in 2008. Youth took the lead in organizing and promoting the event, including booking the hall, planning decorations and activities, and selling red hearts around town. At the fashion show, youth emceed the event, modeled, and worked the door, canteen and silent auction. Leadership shown by youth was a new experience for many of the adults who attended. This helped the community understand LAYC’s youth-led approach. The event raised over $6,000! The proceeds were shared equally between the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the LAYC for future programming.

LAYC also supports the growth of youth skills and confidence outside of the community through trip opportunities—Hockey Trip (Edmonton, Alberta), Swim Trip (Fort McMurray, Alberta), Gwitch’in Gathering (Old Crow, Yukon)—as well as attending meetings and presentations. Youth are responsible for planning the itinerary of the trip and researching the activities that they are interested in attending. To attend, youth must submit an application that asks to outline the details of the trip (write, draw or record) and why they want to participate.

Travel experiences are important cultural learning opportunities because they expand youths’ perspectives and understandings about urban and community ways of life. “Being outside of the community, youth have ‘A-Ha’ moments. They see universities, colleges and different jobs, and they create a personal vision for themselves so that they want to graduate. I want to make sure that on future trips, youth keep seeing new and different things,” said Tania Dashcavich, LAYC Board Director. In summary, “It’s all about facing your fears,” said Dawson Mercredi, LAYC Board Youth Representative.

Youth advocated to bring Unity charity to Fort Chipewyan through LAYC, learning to express themselves through various art forms and building leadership skills; youth are working on a mural at Athabasca Delta Community School.



Skill Building Opportunities through Sekweha: Capacity Growth for Community-Driven Social Sustainability

In planning for the 2014 year, Sekweha identified the priority of transferring greater ownership of operations and programming to the community. One of the ways they did this was by investing in meaningful skill-building and training opportunities for staff, volunteers, youth and the community of Janvier. The training opportunities are listed in the chart below along with participation numbers. Participants included Youth Team and Sekweha Coordinator, community volunteers, Father Perin staff and youth.

In addition to these activities, Sekweha and SCI members collaborated to develop presentations and speak at five conferences over the year. Presenting allows youth to advance their strategic communication skills, build confidence and gather a collective sense of pride.

Sekweha increased their training opportunities from 11 in 2013 to 14 in 2014.

1419

310

2424

120

412

255

1013

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Internet Radio trainingCPR Certification (Health Centre)

Warrior Fitness CertificationProposal writing workshop

Wilderness First Aid (LAYC/ELI/Cando)First Aid (LAYC/ELI/Cando)

Youth Suicide Prevention Training (AHS)ATV Safety Training (RCMP)

Play Naturally ConferenceBear Safety Training

Summer Student Employment ProgramNorthland Site Assessment Workshop

Unity WorkshopTribes Training (Northland)

Total Participants

Trai

ning

Opp

ortu

niti

es

Participation in Sekweha Training



Many of these opportunities were shared with partners. The Northland School Division Site Assessment workshop, for example, was shared with the principal of Father Perin, ELI coordinator, Sekweha coordinator and Northland Partnership Consultant. All those who attended learned how to complete the necessary site safety assessment for field trips and land-based learning opportunities. Many of Sekweha’s skill-building opportunities in 2014 focused on safety, which grows the capacity of Sekweha to be a safe and secure environment for youth and for program delivery. Training like the Warrior Fitness Certification has also supported Youth Team members and volunteers to expand their fitness programming in the school gym and Sekweha gym, attracting more youth from different age ranges. Overall, skill development opportunities remain important to both individual development and organizational growth of Sekweha, enabling people to acquire skills to make social sustainability happen within their community.

Sekweha, LAYC and Cando share Wilderness First Aid certification in Janvier; youth engage in daily programming like beading.



Stories of Relationship Development In Our Backyards: Commitment to Long-Term Relationships

Despite the natural transition of partners and individuals in 2014, SCI strengthened and deepened its relationships while reaffirming the commitment among remaining partners.

Over the course of 2014, two industry funding partners chose to exit SCI. Although this was challenging, it encouraged companies and communities to have an honest conversation about how they could sustain their relationship. It prompted community members to ask if they could become closer with the SCI Steering Committee through events like the ELI Gathering, going for dinner before a meeting and rotating meetings to different offices.

A monthly meeting, for example, was held at the Municipal (RMWB) office in Janvier and another at the Statoil office in Calgary. “Touring the top floor of that Statoil office, it felt like, ‘I’m in an oil company looking out and I’m making a difference.’ Oil companies are always coming into our backyard, but we had never felt worthy of being in theirs,” says Tina Fraser, LAYC Coordinator. Similarly, company representatives noticed an increased opportunity to connect with community members. “Because industry is not coming from a place of politics or regulatory requirements, rather from a place ‘to help kids,’ it is a much more cooperative, welcoming and trusting environment. The community is more open to working with us, and they see us more as a member of the team,” says Tammy Hirsch-Sigfusson and Lori Durocher, Statoil Representatives.

Representatives of SCI’s Steering Committee, community members and service partners gathered to create a vision and plan for the long-term sustainability phase of SCI. This was a huge step towards strengthening relationships to ensure future success.



Serving and Joining the Community: Growing and Sustaining Trust

Active partners within the community are an important part of fostering supportive environments and opportunities for youth to engage in their future. Even through transitions of individual members, the RCMP demonstrated their commitment within the communities; both LAYC and Sekweha successfully transitioned RCMP members on their boards. This has helped to strengthen the relationship between the youth and the RCMP by having an active RCMP rep as a chaperone on LAYC’s Hockey Trip in 2014 and allowing youth to tour the RCMP’s K Division Headquarters. Similarly, Sekweha transitioned a new RCMP representative onto their Board, enabling the coordination of ATV Safety Training and a trip to Vancouver with the Scared Straight Tour, a program that teaches youth about the dangers of addiction.

Individual and informal relationship development is essential to increasing mutual understanding and improving interaction between organizations, which in turn has grown SCI’s capacity to strategically work together in areas of common interest.

“Having a safe community is a key part to having healthy growth

in a community. The RCMP are in the business of promoting safe

homes and safe communities as an important pillar of the prosperity of the region. The Sekweha Board

has allowed us to take it a step further through communication; it has allowed me personally and my

colleagues at Wood Buffalo not only to serve the community of Janvier as part of the Sekweha

board, but to be part of this community, to be one,”

CHAN DARA,

RCMP Officer and Sekweha Board Member



Stories of Engagement First Annual ELI Gathering: Broadening Opportunities for Participation and Engagement

Over sixty people from across Canada gathered at Winefred Lake August 20-22, 2014 to attend and participate in the Experiential Learning Gathering. The ELI Gathering engaged each SCI partner organization in a different way, and every partner was represented at the Gathering. Both LAYC’s and Sekweha’s summer student employment programs helped to set up, operate and take down the ELI Gathering, showcasing youth leadership. The Gathering was an opportunity to learn about and participate in experiential learning opportunities and to identify ways to expand experiential learning practices within the education system. It demonstrated at a practical, hands-on level the realization of the vision of “walking in two worlds” through the collaborative integration of traditional skills, knowledge, language, values and culture within the current living and learning environment.

The Gathering enhanced engagement in Experiential Learning programming and laid the groundwork for deeper engagement and relationships in the fall. The Gathering coincided with Northland School Division’s Orientation week, so Northland sent 10 educators to the Gathering for a day. They engaged in a variety of sessions organized and led by partners, and gained a better understanding of both communities where they would be teaching. This engagement supported momentum and planning for Experiential Learning activities in Father Perin and Athabasca Delta Community School as soon as school started in the fall. “I feel I got to know the community at the ELI Gathering before the school year started,” says Priscilla Gagnon, Principal Father Perin School.

“[The ELI Gathering] set the tone for engagement, innovation and creating understanding of place,

of the people and of bicultural teaching. Teachers were surprised

by the diversity in the crowd—it wasn’t just educators, this helped

to set the tone around engagement too. These teachers now support the work of LAYC and ELI and are

willing to help in setting up the next Gathering.”

KERRI CERETZKE,

Principal Athabasca Delta Community School



Alex dances at the ELI Gathering Opening Ceremony. The three day event included sessions on Old Crow (Yukon) bi-cultural co-teaching models, Land Based Learning in Saskatchewan (Living Sky School Division), Ancestral Technology Project, an Ecology Scavenger hunt, a workshop on traditional foods and axe-making, a Hand Game tournament, a youth-led internet radio station, and many more activities.

Hand games were hugely popular at the Gathering, with a tournament forming over the three days. Hand games continued in the fall at ADCS as intramurals, targeting low attendance days.



Stories of Collaborative Practice Sharing our Story: Changing Attitudes and Increasing Awareness

In addition to developing ways of working together, SCI shares practices through presentation opportunities so that others can benefit from SCI learning and approach. SCI shares its story with a broader audience to increase awareness and understanding of how we work together and explain why there are benefits for social sustainability outcomes. All of SCI’s 2014 presentation opportunities were enabled through partner organizations. Some examples include:

Land-Based Learning Community Meeting with Living Sky School Division: Presented shared stories, strategies and tools to increase capacity to move forward with land-based learning. Reciprocally, Living Sky shared their work on tracking and inquiry-based perspectives with SCI.

Police-Community Partnership Symposium: This presentation in Ottawa focused on the importance of partnership and police being involved with the youth. “We were the only group that brought a youth with us, and we spoke from the community voice,” said Beverley Barca, Northland Partnership Consultant.

Leading the North Conference: Presented at RMWB-coordinated Leading the North conference in Fort McMurray. Community voice was strong and a variety of partnerships were explored as a result of this presentation.

SCI representatives after their presentation at the Police and Community Partnership Symposium



Evolving a Shared Accountability: Co-creating Vision for Sustainability

Learning to make joint decisions and have transparent discussions on budget has been a key transition towards a sustainable future. In the first quarter of 2014, the SCI Working Group (made up of representatives from each of the partner organizations and communities) realigned the vision and goals for the year. Collective decisions were made to adjust the budget to focus on top priorities: the programming of Sekweha, LAYC and Experiential Learning Initiative. As a result, the Cultural Connections through Technology (CCTT) focus area was collapsed and integrated into the Experiential Learning Initiative with a focus on technology use to record and share cultural and other learning experiences. As SCI collectively grew capacity and understanding around budgets and financial decision-making, a conversation emerged about how the initiative would be sustainable in the long term.

Capacity growth in 2014 around financial accountability and knowledge culminated in the creation of three-year plans, which were co-created with communities and partners. The three-year plans used a bottom-up approach that considers all the actions and resources required to achieve the vision. SCI’s industry funding is meant as a starting point that will gradually decline to an operational level over three years. The program areas will be actively looking to diversify funding sources and seeking out other resources to achieve the vision, while continuing to strengthen the direct relationship and engagement between communities and partners.

Sekweha Youth Team, board members and industry supports rest and reflect after developing their three-year plan



Conclusion Looking Forward

For SCI, 2014 was a milestone year:

SCI made strides in collaboration through growth in funding capacity and transparency.

There was an increase in budgeting accountability for the long-term sustainability phase of SCI.

SCI maintained stability and strengthened existing relationships through personnel transitions.

The first annual ELI Gathering set the tone for engagement, opening doors to new relationships and garnering support for existing programs within the communities. Experiences like the Gathering led to openness and cohesion for the creation of three-year plans and a vision for sustainability.

The three-year plans will continue to support the growth of community programming for youth leadership and social sustainability. It is SCI’s intention that this annual report provides perspective on the positive impact SCI continues to have on the youth of Fort Chipewyan and Janvier.

The next annual report will incorporate improvements based on reader feedback to work towards finding the best way to communicate both the heart and the head of SCI. Please share feedback to: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Appendix 2014 Financials and Resource Investment

Funding for SCI comes primarily from the industry partners; however, budgets in 2014 were supplemented through grants and fundraising as well as contributions from supporters within each community. The chart below shows the funding sources for 2014.

A key focus for future years will be to continue to grow capacity to diversify funding resources and expand partnerships.

In addition to financial contributions, in-kind contributions were invaluable to our work in 2014 (monetary value was not tracked this year). Examples of these contributions include:

Volunteers for camps and trips; Use of facilities for meetings, office space and events; Training provided; Presentation opportunities; Connections and support on grant funding; Knowledge sharing on program development and implementation; and, Support in creating soft and hard infrastructure.

Thank you to our supporters, contributors, collaborators and partners!



$2,369,211.30

$336,216.91

2014 Investment in the SCI Vision

Funds from SCI Industry Partnership Funds from Grants and Fundraising

sciconnect.ca

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