Krista Turcasso

Today Fernie awoke to cloudy skies. It’s May, and imagining a smoky summer is rather depressing. I have already been feeling deflated after last week’s decision by the RDEK to allow the rezoning of a beautiful piece of land between Fernie and the ski hill. Environmental stress is compounding, which I think is inevitable if we are staying in tune and doing our part to advocate for the future of our children and this planet. 

Equality has always been extremely important to me, but never as much as now, raising two young girls in an ever-changing world means I am quite literally faced with the challenges constantly. And just when we think we have taken many steps forward, extreme events happen, like a global pandemic, that take us many steps back. 

Recently, my eldest daughter started calling me bossy. The first few times, I didn’t address it. But when I heard my younger daughter call the eldest bossy, I stopped what I was doing. I sat down on the floor with them (they were getting dressed to go skiing), and I asked what they think bossy means, and what does Mom do that makes them feel like I am being bossy. Not surprisingly, asking them to do things, reminding them of the plan etc. equates to ‘bossy’ in their six and eight-year old minds. 

Two years ago, during my first year on the board with the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT), we received a presentation on Climate Change Impacts and Implications. It was shocking and devastating and I 
left questioning my choice to have had children. What kind of mess are they going to be left with? I felt hopeless.