Columbia Basin Trust

“Food is a fundamental part of our human experience,” says Cyra Yunkws, which is why this Village of Warfield Councillor and Chair of the Warfield Food Advisory Committee is helping to increase food production and sharing in her village. And she’s not the only one. With food vital to existence, Columbia Basin residents have expressed that this food should also be wholesome, nutritious and—ideally—locally grown.

Katherine Russell’s bright, whimsical glass art can be found in galleries across Western Canada—and the internet. Her art features glass pieces turned like honey on a spoon at temperatures up to 1,100°C.

Funding has been announced for rural communities and areas in the Columbia Basin—encompassing 5,429 homes—to create access to high-speed Internet. This new multi-year, $82-million project is being funded by the federal and provincial governments, the regional districts of Central Kootenay, Columbia Shuswap, Kootenay Boundary, East Kootenay and Columbia Basin Trust.

With solid performance of its investments, Columbia Basin Trust was able to deliver $82.2 million in direct benefits to the Basin. Results are now available in its 2022/23 Annual Service Plan Report.

The alluring aromas of fresh bread, doughnuts and artisanal pastries have been wafting through the town of Invermere since Quality Bakery opened in 1956. Over the decades, the bakery has changed hands a couple of times, and been redubbed the Invermere Bakery. Most recently, in 2021 it became the property of its now-current owner, Theo Walta—a dream fulfilled with help from the Trust.

With the help of The Community Foundation of the Kootenay Rockies (CFKR) and the Columbia Basin Trust, the Fernie Mountain Market will be able to run the Power of Produce (PoP) Club this year! After a few years of hiatus, it is with great pleasure that Wildsight Elk Valley is working with the Fernie Mountain Market to make this program a reality. 

From buying portable water tanks and equipment trailers, to providing specialized training and gear to their wildfire-fighting crews, 12 small communities and First Nations are taking action to reduce the threat of wildfires. These projects are being done with support from Columbia Basin Trust.

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.  

Communities are reducing operating costs and gaining efficiencies while working toward their climate resiliency goals. Seventeen projects are underway to make Basin communities more sustainable, with the support of Columbia Basin Trust.

You can hear them well over a kilometre in the distance, their baritone horns serenading the wetlands. The croak of the populated male American bullfrog signals the alarming density of frogs migrating to the Yaqan Nuʔkiy (Lower Kootenay Band) lands and along the Lower Kootenay River, south of Creston.