POLS 320 Students Present to City Council

Photo by Jason Morris @JPols

Students from UNBC POLS 320 class presented the results of their class project at Monday's city council meeting. POLS 320 is a political science class at UNBC which focuses on teaching students how to conduct university level research in an applied fashion.  Over the years the class has done various projects, this year they focused on voter apathy amongst youth 18-35. They concluded that youth are voting and are "politically engaged."

The results  showed that over 80% of respondents participated in the most recent federal election. It also showed that most youth are not in favour of lowering the voting age but looking to more digital ways of voting for the future. This spurred city councillors to talk about the possible return of the debate of electronic voting

However the results do show a bit of a bias according to the students that presented stating that most of the surveys came from UNBC and not enough came from the community.  Garth Frizzell was impressed by the students and happy to see students are engaged in the political process, he asked if their was ways to improve those numbers even more. One of the students stated that more engagement with young people will continue to encourage those numbers to improve.

By Grant Bachand @grantbachand

BC First Nations takes species-at-risk recovery into new territory

It took 2 years of preparation but the Upper Nicola Band, the Burrowing Owl conservation society, local species-at-risk biologists, and the federal interdepartmental Recovery Fund are excited to implement the reintroduction of Burrowing Owls back into Nicola territory! Owls are deeply woven into the culture of the Upper Nicola and Interior Salish peoples. They are considered the guardian spirits for hunters and warriors and are spirit carriers and guides to other worlds

Chief Harvey McLeod, from Upper Nicola had some inspiring words on the subject, stating:

 "the culture that has always given us strength and supported us is based on coexistence with the land that has always sustained us. We must give it support in turn. It means we have the responsibility to be stewards of the world around us, and to reclaim, where we can what we have lost, and to rebuild what we are losing."

In preparation for the release of the first set of owls, upper Nicola field techs and cultural advisors helped to survey the band's eight reserves and identify suitable habitat. Community members helped with the construction of nestboxes and creating artificial burrows. These burrows will be home to the first three breeding pairs of Owls, which were hatched and raised by volunteers of the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of BC.

The goal of both the Upper Nicola Band and the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society is to reserve the continuing decline of the Burrowing owl populations within Canada. This can be accomplished from the efforts this project aims to establish by maintaining a self-perpetual, well-distributed population of owls in British Colombia. Upper Nicola Band species at risk program is also committed to building capacity, increase knowledge of culturally and ecologically important wildlife and encourage community-based, hands on conservation.

This is exciting news as this will be the first ever release of Burrowing Owls on land that is controlled by First Nations. We look forward to hearing how these animals do after their release. To learn more about the topic you can check out the Upper Nicola website or the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of BC.

Upper Nicola: www.uppernicola.com Burrowing Owl Conservation Society: www.burrowingowlbc.org

Patrick Lane and Dr. Leroy Little Bear to receive honorary degrees

The University of Northern British Columbia is issuing honorary degrees to Patrick Lane and Dr Leroy Little Bear. Patrick Lane is a well-known writer who has received the Governors General Award for Poetry, the B.C Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence, the B.C National Award for Canadian Non-Fictionm the 2012 Queen's Diamond Jubilee Award, Doctor of Letters, Honoris Causa from UBC-Okanagan, and the Order of Canada. He is a strong supporter of BC emerging writers.

Dr. Leroy Little Bear is a lawyer who was born and raised on the Blood Indian Reserve in Southern Alberta. The unfair education he received has motivated him to help improve education for aboriginal youth. He has served on various committees, commissions, tasks forces to do with Criminal justice and its relation to First Nations. The Supreme Court of Canada has even cited Little Bear's "A Concept of Native Title".

The two will be receiving their honorary degrees at UNBC convocation on May 27.