CBT

Fernie’s Giv’er Shirt Works has been styling Western Canadians with high quality screen-printed and embroidered apparel since they opened their doors in 2003. The garment decoration specialists put business logos, slogans, custom designs and unique artwork onto bulk orders of everything from t-shirts and hats to mugs and backpacks.

The PacificSport Columbia Basin Board and viaSport BC are pleased to announce the launch of a new PacificSport Centre in the Columbia Basin, with the support of the British Columbia Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. PacificSport Columbia Basin joins the Regional Sport Alliance, which is a collective of provincial-sport delivery organizations passionate about enriching lives and energizing communities through sport and activity.  

These days, so many aspects of life rely on technology: a senior sends a message to her grandchild, a man checks in with his doctor online, an unemployed worker prints off a form to apply for Employment Insurance. With a wide-reaching project, Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy (CBAL) is making tech more readily available to people in the region, along with the know-how to use it.

Forests, wetlands and riparian areas are among the habitats that will benefit from several projects that are focusing on ensuring healthy, diverse and functioning ecosystems in the Columbia Basin.

“The Trust heard from people living in the Basin that ecosystem enhancement is important to maintain and improve native biodiversity in the wide variety of ecosystems that make up the region,” said Johnny Strilaeff, President and Chief Executive Officer, Columbia Basin Trust. “The efforts seen in these projects reflect those values as they involve hands-on work at a large scale, across entire landscapes, to create lasting effects.”

Whether they’re enabling the public to use electric cars or promoting clean energy, eight projects are helping Columbia Basin communities become more climate-resilient, with support from Columbia Basin Trust.

“People, groups and communities throughout the region are committed to becoming more climate resilient, and we’re here to support their efforts,” said Katie Kendall, Senior Manager, Special Initiatives, Columbia Basin Trust. “These projects focus on actions in anticipation of, and in response to events, trends or opportunities related to climate change.”

When it comes to handling emergency situations—such as the wildfires, floods and heat waves experienced in 2021—it’s best to be prepared. That’s why Columbia Basin Trust is supporting 13 rural and First Nations communities in the Columbia Basin to set up locations where people can gather during emergencies and disasters.

It doesn’t get much more local than knowing the name of the person who grows your produce or raises your poultry or beef, and Fernie’s new food store is making that connection for customers.

Artists in all disciplines—as well as arts and culture organizations—are invited to apply for funding through the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance (CKCA), which delivers the Arts and Culture Program on behalf of Columbia Basin Trust.

The City of Fernie has been awarded $127,000 in funding through the Columbia Basin Trust Economic Recovery Initiative. The project, developed by Fernie Fire and Emergency Services will employ eight people for the length of the project and create “shaded fuel brakes” in the community. One on 4.2 hectares near St. Margaret’s Cemetery, and one on 1.6 hectares near Mount Fernie Provincial Park.

As days grow warmer, people in the Columbia Basin are looking forward to enjoying outdoor spaces—those in nature, and those in our communities. Looking ahead to times when restrictions ease, many communities are wondering how they can make the gathering places within their limits more welcoming and useable, or how they can add new ones altogether.

To realize their ideas, some communities have turned to Columbia Basin Trust’s Community Outdoor Revitalization Grants. Currently, this program is providing over $1.3 million to help 10 communities undertake such projects.