Words by Oliver Rind and Marie-Pierre Paradis-Claes

Empowering Diversity in Victoria, British Columbia

Access to outdoor recreation nurtures deeper connections between nature and people, regardless of their access level. This belief is firmly held by Fjällräven, which aims to raise awareness about conservation, protect the environment, and inspire outdoor engagement, through their Arctic Fox Initiative. In 2021, they began supporting Power To Be, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing access to nature for youth, families, and adults facing cognitive, physical, financial, or social barriers. 

I’m in Victoria, B.C. to meet Ashton, who lives with Tourette’s, and Kyla, who is Deaf and uses a cochlear implant. Alongside a diverse group of young adults, we’ll connect with nature by taking part in canoeing, gardening, camping, and bird banding. I’m in awe of the Gulf Islands as my plane descends. Snow-capped mountains frame the Salish Sea and British Columbia’s coastline. The air is so fresh that I draw a long breath and take in the saline notes. There’s an electric sense of excitement as I venture out to meet new people and enjoy the outdoors. 

Copses of firs, arbutus trees, and bigleaf maples flank the road towards Prospect Lake. Just ahead is Power To Be’s campus. It’s early dawn. I’m here to tour the place before the group arrives. A paved roundabout with accessible parking allows for easy disembarkment. The entrance is adorned by trembling aspens, whispering a reminder that I’ve left the city behind. 

Inside, a screen displays an energy dashboard. I’m told the facilities are powered by a ground-source heat exchanger designed to store excess heat during summer to help heat the buildings throughout winter. Various energy meters track the building’s consumption to better understand its carbon footprint. Every bathroom features tall, vertical accessibility buttons; the kitchen counters are lowered for wheelchair accessibility; and everything is on a single ground floor with easy, navigable corridors. From the outset, it’s clear that this facility commits itself to upholding the highest standards for both accessibility and the environment. 

Power To Be spans 78 acres of land—including campgrounds, trails, and forests. Outside the facility, a plaza is encircled by three totem poles carved by master woodworkers to honour the Indigenous lands and communities that share this natural landscape and bind the ethos and vision of Power To Be. 

Recently, the non-profit introduced an alumni program that allows people to stay involved. For this weekend, they’ve created a curriculum intending to have people from past and present programs meet each other and do something they’ve never done before together. Ashton and Kyla were part of the first cohort of the Landscape and Restoration Employment Program and will encounter both familiar and unfamiliar faces. For some, it will be their first time sleeping away from home with a group. For others, it will be their first time landscaping. 

Carinna Kenigsberg, Power To Be’s Director of Programs and Impact, tells me: “All they have to do is show up: Power To Be, and nature will do the rest for them. It’s important to remind ourselves that the folks coming there are living in a world of ‘nos’ and ‘ you can’t’, ‘you shouldn’t,’ and ‘don’ts,’ and so, when they come here, they learn that nature is inclusive and Power To Be is too.” 

It’s more than just a philosophy; it’s a firm commitment that’s reflected in tangible actions—whether through the design and construction of their facilities, their workshops and training programs, or through grant initiatives such as Fjällräven’s Arctic Fox Initiative. In 2021, Fjällräven awarded Power To Be their Arctic Fox Initiative grant – for organizations that protect the environment or inspire people to spend time in nature. Fjällräven has also supported Power To Be’s Power To Summit event, encouraging people to challenge themselves outdoors and raise funds in support of inclusive and accessible nature programs.

Among these activities is canoeing, which begins my adventure with Power To Be. For those who don’t know each other, sitting close together becomes the perfect way to break the ice, connect, share a laugh, and bond. Kyla paddles in front of me. She’s admiring with reverence the surrounding space. I'm used to canoe-camping, where I try to get from point A to point B quickly and efficiently. Looking at Kyla, my tension eases. She doesn’t know it, but she’s teaching me something invaluable. 

I ask Ashton, who’s beside me, what he loves most about being on the water. Swimming and being near a body of water, he explains, has a calming effect for him. It allows him to forget about the outside world, enabling him to be fully present in the moment. Ashton has faced challenges, but being here lets him be himself. Ashton’s an easy-going guy, up for any type of adventure. He’s a good friend to others. On the canoe, he points to an eagle’s nest perched atop a tall pine tree in the distance. He tells me raptors are his favourite kind of bird and how he’d love to see one up close someday. 

After canoeing, we head to the backwoods to pitch our tents. I help Kyla pitch hers. Kyla has been part of other Power To Be programs for years. She’s a fierce advocate for herself, often reminding me and others the correct way to address her is “Deaf” or “hard of hearing” instead of “hearing impaired.” She loves rock climbing and kayaking, but this is her first camping experience with Power To Be, and only her second camping experience ever. She’ll have to remove her cochlear implant when she sleeps to prevent it from being damaged. Kallie Laycock, Environmental Stewardship and Education Lead, will sleep in a tent next to hers in case of emergencies. We take the time to chat and Kyla teaches me a few ASL signs for fun. 

With our camps set, we begin our last activity of the day by visiting the new on-site garden. Kyla and I stroll around the garden beds, reading the plant labels and discovering the different varieties, such as blueberries, watermelon, and kiwi. I look at a pineapple sage, whose pointed leaves smell—would you believe—of pineapple, with hints of musky sage when rubbed or brushed. 

With the group, we plant three types of lavender: Spanish, English, and French. Kyla is rather adept at botany. She identifies each one, describing the unique characteristics distinguishing them. She isn’t alone in her knowledge, as other members of the group display a love of plants, sharing their gardening experiences with me. Kyla has always had a passion for flowers and greenhouses, and she’s often expressing her interest in farm-to-table agriculture. 

When the plans for the new site were being developed, Power To Be planned well for the front garden to become a welcoming space for visitors. They invited an Indigenous knowledge keeper to educate about the native plants that grow in the area, and the landscaping crew incorporated this knowledge into their blueprints to respect the preservation of the local flora. Kyla was especially invested in planting yarrow and other local native species. She did a lot of work in the front beds, helping to remove weeds and enhance the growth of native species such as ferns and salal shrubs.

Exhausted by the day’s activities, it’s time for a well-earned meal. It’s the summer solstice. Although the sun sets, a prolonged twilight lingers before nightfall arrives. We sit by the campfire, sharing stories and s’mores for hours. Several great-horned owls hoot around us, preluding tomorrow’s next excursion—the one I've been eagerly awaiting.

Sunday arrives, marking an exciting day—birding day. I know, right? But I’m not alone. It's almost a scientific phenomenon that when we hit our thirties, inexplicably, we just start liking birds. Next thing we know, we’re making an eBird account that’ll slowly become more important than other social media. 

But, I’m surprised to learn upon arriving that we’re not birding, but observing bird banding conducted by experienced members of the Rocky Point Bird Observatory (RPBO), who conduct research on the 78-acre terrain of Power To Be. RPBO seeks to inform and influence bird conservation on southern Vancouver Island and beyond through monitoring, research, and education. They established a MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) station at Power To Be’s Prospect Lake site in 2021 to research songbird populations. 

The other day, Ashton had pointed out the eagle’s nest, and I’d also noticed that his phone’s background was a photo of a hawk. It opens a conversation between us—a mutual love for ornithology. Ashton finds banding fascinating, though he confides to me he’s nervous about handling small birds while telling me the exact weight of hummingbirds. 

When we arrive, a volunteer tells us we’ve just missed a Rufous Hummingbird. I’m gutted, as it happens to be my favourite bird. However, they’ve caught a Wilson’s Warbler nearby. RPBO has fifteen nets spread across Power To Be’s acreage, allowing them to capture a variety of species in the area. Every fifteen minutes, a volunteer walks around the nets to check for caught birds or remove any leaf litter from the nets, since birds are clever enough to avoid them out of suspicion. 

It’s an exposition on how these passionate volunteers contribute to valuable data collection. But the catch is only a prelude to the more exciting release. They hand each of us birds to hold in our hands before setting them loose. It’s a heartening moment for all of us to interact with nature so intimately. I’m given the Swainson’s Thrush, which lingers a moment longer in my hands before taking off—a moment I won’t soon forget. I could have stayed out there all day, but it’s time to head for the closing circle. 

The closing circle at Power To Be is a way to give thanks and support for everyone in the community. Each participant takes the time to pass the microphone when speaking to each other so that Kyla feels included in the conversation. 

A significant part of Power To Be’s work through partnerships and collaborations like the ones with Fjällräven, advocates and demonstrates the importance of treating everyone with dignity and respect, including the land and nature. This philosophy fosters true harmony and upholds the inherent right of all beings to coexist. 

Power To Be’s own model focuses on achieving local, regional, and national change, helping the parks and tourism sectors, and other recreational spaces to think more broadly about inclusion and accessibility. This is underscored in how they begin their welcomes, create collaborations among participants, and empower strengths by recognizing how individuals support each other, fostering confidence to help others in return. But it’s through continued collaboration with outside organizations, which ensures that when they refer someone from one of their programs to a park, local trail, or another location in Canada, they can trust that the place will be accessible. This creates trust in the system. 

I hope this will create a sphere of influence that’ll echo across all outdoor-based locations to become more inclusive for all—all ages, abilities, backgrounds, and lifestyles. Proactive efforts for inclusion should be apparent from the first interaction with an outdoor space. Whether it’s through an informative phone call, a website, a warm welcome, or narratives we share in the media; every touchpoint should reflect a commitment to inclusivity. We must celebrate people for their strengths, abilities, and passions, casting aside lenses of limitations. 

True accessibility and inclusivity happen when we see the outdoors as a shared space for everyone and everything. It goes beyond merely accommodating different abilities; it’s about preserving a space that feels like an organic part of the natural world. By engaging fully with the sensory richness of nature—listening to birdsong, gliding across a water’s surface, breathing the fragrance of wildflowers—we root ourselves to the world around us. We embrace wildlife, honour Indigenous peoples, and nurture local communities. We become more empathetic, and a more vibrant community, where individuals like Kyla, Ashton, and many others can be uplifted, and in turn, uplift those around them to truly embody the essence of what it means to belong. 

If you believe everyone belongs in nature, donate here: powertobe.ca/donate/