February 26, 2025
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Join this Islands Trust webinar to find out more about the current state of forest health and the interconnections between healthy watersheds, native biodiversity, and fire resilience in the Howe Sound, and northern region of the Trust Area.

Discover actionable steps for building resilience in communities, including more information about the traditional practice of controlled fires that help reduce fuel for wildfires, and wetland restoration to create a more fire-resilient future. The distinguished panel of experts will discuss the current state of forest health, fire risk, and actionable steps for building resilience in communities.

Presenters:

1. Joe Gilchrist – Salish Fire Keepers Society
   Joe lives in Skeetchestn, near Kamloops BC, a part of the Secwepmc Nation (Shuswap). Joe has lived with fire since an early age, as they did not have electricity or running water in his youth. They used fire all year round to cook, heat and boil water, and to heat the house during winter. They learned safety around fire, how to use fire as a tool, how to maintain a fire and how to use fire outdoors. Joe began fighting forest fires at the age of 15 and started with the Type 1 all Indigenous 20-person sustained action Unit Crew the Merritt Firedevils in 1991. In 1992, he became the Unit Crew Leader in charge of the entire crew and travelled all over BC and Canada fighting forest fires. In 1996 he got on full time with BC Wildfire Service after completing a 16-week in-house government training program called Indigenous Fire Prevention, which was held in the Old residential school in Mission BC. Currently he works bringing Indigenous Cultural Burning, Traditional land stewardship to the forefront as a Traditional Fire Keeper.
2. Conor Corbett – Registered Professional Forester, Frontera Forest Solutions
   Conor has 15 years of experience in wildfire and forestry. Conor worked for six years as a type 1 initial attack wildland firefighter, crew leader, and strike team leader, participating in the fire response for several large interface wildfires including the Fort McMurray wildfire of 2016. In 2017, Conor completed a Masters of Forestry at the University of British Columbia where he studied community wildfire preparedness. After completing his Masters, Conor began consulting for wildfire preparedness with communities, First Nations, industry, and land developers. Conor’s consulting focuses on helping build communities and structures in the wildland urban interface that are resilient to wildfire. A particular interest of Conor’s is translating complex wildfire science principles into accessible and approachable language for the layperson. Conor also assists industrial operators with wildfire preparedness and risk mitigation, including daily weather and fire danger forecasting. Recently, Conor has been interested in the impacts of weather phenomenon like El Nino and La Nina on wildfire risk, particularly as it pertains to climate change.

Register to attend here.