BC Greenway and Trails Symposium

From April 15-17 Trails BC will host BC Greenway and Trails Symposium. Each day will be centered around different themes, speakers will be exploring different topics related to these themes:

 

 

 

 

 

April 15

  • Decolonization, race, diversity and trails
  • Indigenous perspectives on Trails

April 16

  • Trail, active transportation, and the climate.
  • Trail developments and projects in B.C. (case studies)
  • Trail and active transportation policies

April 17

  • Building relationships and partnerships
  • Advocacy
 
Speakers
The list below looks at some of the speakers that will be giving presentations at the symposium.
More speakers will be announced closer to the event, follow us on social media to stay updated:
April 15

Khavin Debbs was born and raised in Sacramento, CA.  It was there that he cultivated his love for being outside and experiencing nature. He also co-founded a consulting business called Ujima Collective in order to not only talk to organizations about anti racism, but to also give BIPOC professionals the opportunity and resources to become consultants.  Khavin is also an artist and photographer, and enjoys soccer, basketball, music, mycology, rock climbing, and hanging with his cat Kakashi in his spare time.

Amiththan Sebarajah is a writer, outdoor enthusiast and diversity and inclusion advocate, he holds a Masters in English from York University, and currently sits on the advisory board for two Not-For Profit organizations in the Outdoor Recreation Space. You can usually find him hiking thousands of miles on unceded indigenous land, and occasionally writing love letters to the players in this industry. As a transplant to North America and a survivor of civil war my advocacy and activism are rooted in the ways in which land as a socio-political construct and lived reality underpin belonging.

Candace Campo and Richard Till from Talaysay Tours

Mike Riediger from the Kootenay Adaptive Sports Association (KASA) will be showing KASA’s documentary titled, “What If”.

April 16
 

Patricia (Trish) Dehnel is a Registered Professional Planner passionate about healthy and connected community.  She has 25 years of experience working with elected officials, professionals and students of BC Local Governments on stakeholder engagement, community outreach, active transportation, building energy efficiency, community energy planning, land use planning, program management, and policy development.  Patricia currently serves on the Planning Institute of BC’s Board of Directors and is co-chair of the Climate Action Sub-Committee.  She lives in Nelson, BC.

Richard Cannings, a renowned natural historian, was elected in 2015 as Member of Parliament for South Okanagan—West Kootenay. Richard has worked tirelessly to protect B.C.’s great outdoors. He served for over a decade on the B.C. Environmental Appeal Board and for eight years as co-chair on the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Author of a dozen award-winning books on the natural history of British Columbia, Richard was named B.C.’s Biologist of the Year by the Association of Professional Biologists in 1996. In 2008, he was named an Honorary Fellow at Okanagan College.
Additional speakers:

Elder Ruth Adams from Tsawwassen First Nation

MP Elizabeth May Saanich-Gulf Islands,
Tara Howse and Damyn Libby from Trails BC
 
Kathy Sinclair,  Councillor from the City of Kamloops,
Janice Liebe from the Trail of the Okanagans
Tony Harris from Cycle 16

Bonn Thornbury (they / them) is a self-described queer feral cat who is most at home outside. Whether outside in nature or outside boundaries and boxes, they’re almost always following new horizons. Bonnie’s hiking resume spans peaks on 4 continents and includes ~5000km on Canada’s “Great Trail” from Vancouver, BC, to the Kawarthas in Ontario. Currently, Bonn is waiting out the pandemic with work at a women’s shelter and at the University of Ottawa, where they are vocal about equity, diversity, and inclusion with a focus on all things gender.

Curtis Rattray is a member of the Crow clan and Nalokoteen (end of the ridge nation) of the Tahltan Nation and his Tahltan name is ‘Nenh glun adz’. His mother is Tahltan and his father is Scottish-Canadian. An experienced backcountry leader, hiker and camper and has twenty (20) plus years’ experience on Tahltan territory. Curtis currently owns and operates his own business called Edziza Trails and provides guide aboriginal adventure tours, Wholistic Indigenous Leadership Development and capacity building services.

Marley Blonsky from Life on Two Wheels.

The Symposium is an integral part of Trails BC Greenways for All initiative which has received grants from the Real Estate Foundation of BC and the Vancouver Foundation.