As part of the Yukon Indigenous Community Climate Change Champions (YIC4) project, a youth toolkit was developed to outline steps for conducting a community-based assessment of climate change opportunities and priorities in First Nations communities. This toolkit was developed in collaboration with youth participants at the YIC4 training in November 2017 and subsequently informed youth-led climate change community assessments in four communities in Yukon and Northern BC.
The YIC4 training, welcomed Indigenous youth from 15 communities across Yukon and beyond (NWT, Nunatsiavut and Northern BC) and focused on building a foundation of Indigenous and western scientific knowledge around the issue of climate change; it involved speakers from across Canada, Elders and local leaders who brought their stories and lent their expertise from a global to local perspective. The training was developed and delivered in participatory ways, harnessing existing knowledge and youth experiences to build capacity from a strength-based approach.
The toolkit is written from the perspective of the YIC4 youth champions and is meant to share lessons learned in hopes of informing future community-based assessment work related to climate change and its effects on First Nations’ communities. It walks through the process of planning a climate change assessment and outlines things to consider from a First Nations community-based perspective. Fillable, online worksheets are included and more are available for download from AICBR’s website. Some excerpts from the toolkit are depicted below.
Learn more about the training and what came out of the four community assessments in our project newsletters: