Learning Stewardship on the Shoreline

Future Peoples fellowship on Haida Gwaii brings elder and youth participants together to share traditional knowledge and foster the next generation of environmental stewards.

Zachary Mosse spent time last summer crouched along the shoreline on the northern tip of Haida Gwaii, pulling spruce root from the ground and splitting it into thin strands for weaving. Around him, experienced harvesters demonstrated the technique while sharing stories about the origins of the craft and its cultural significance.

The gathering was one of several weekend events organized throughout 2025 by participants in Swiilawiid Sustainability Society’s Youth Climate Action Fellowship. Called Future Peoples, the youth advisory and cultural advocacy collective is supported by funding from the Real Estate Foundation of BC.

“I think the idea behind it was almost like a grounding exercise,” explains Mosse. “It tied what we were learning about climate and stewardship to something real because all of these traditional harvests rely on our ecosystem being healthy and not disturbed by extraction.”

“When you get people with the same vision in a room talking about what Haida Gwaii could be, it makes you want to do more for the next generation.”

Zachary Mosse

Youth & Programs Engagement Lead, Swiiawiid Sustainability Society

The weekend retreats, which will continue in 2026, combine formal discussions with intergenerational group activities out on the land, all with the intent to connect youth with their environment and reinforce Haida culture, values, and traditional food systems.

The outcome of these events has far exceeded Mosse’s expectations.

“When you get people with the same vision in a room talking about what Haida Gwaii could be, it makes you want to do more for the next generation,” says Mosse, who started as a fellowship participant and is now Swiilawiid Sustainability Society’s Youth and Programs Engagement Lead.

“I don’t know exactly what it was about that gathering,” he continues, referring to his time on the shoreline, “but there was an internal shift in what I felt was my responsibility.”

Future Peoples is now moving into its next phase as the group begins to take on a more public role in communities across Haida Gwaii in the coming months. Next, the group plans to help maintain some of the island’s community gardens as a way for youth to remain connected to the land and learn about stewardship while generating awareness for the weekend retreats.

For Mosse, the goal is to ensure more young people have the chance to take part in the same kind of experiences that shaped his own path.

“It all just makes you want to do more,” he says.