Youth Voices Help Shape the Future of the Xwulqw’selu Watershed

In Fall 2024, as a tag-on to our ongoing work in support of the Xwulqw’selu (Koksilah) Watershed planning process (a holistic planning process co-led by Cowichan Tribes and the Province of BC), Compass organized a youth engagement session with a Grade 5 class at a local Waldorf school. 

Drawing on our Decision Playbook, and working collaboratively with the teacher, Compass designed activities for the students to practice decision-making skills. In one hands-on activity, students were asked to choose between four very different puppies, each with unique personalities and needs. They did this first individually and then in small groups and noted the difficulties and advantages of working with others who see things differently. Through discussion and reflection, students explored how values shape our decisions, the role of trade-offs in real world decisions, and the complexities and value of making decisions collectively through collaborative processes. They then applied these principles and insights to the Xwulqw’selu context and reflected on why this planning process, and the way it is being organized, matter.  

The session also invited students to explore what a healthy watershed and healthy community mean to them. Through discussion, drawing, and group activities, students shared their understandings of the challenges and opportunities for the watershed and worked in groups to develop future visions of a thriving watershed.  

Their voices and their art have since been shared with advisory tables and decision-makers, offering a reminder of who will live with the outcomes of the process, and what the work should be aiming for.