How did you spend the recent National Day for Truth and Reconciliation? Perhaps you learned something new about your local Indigenous community or attended an event that fostered connection. Or perhaps you, like many, desire to engage in reconciliation but don’t know how? A Rocha invites you to partner with us as we engage with Indigenous communities to care practically for both land and people.

Since 2003, A Rocha BC’s Conservation Science team has been working increasingly with the Semiahmoo First Nation, toward the restoration of Steloquen (Boundary Bay) and its fisheries. Semiahmoo First Nation (SFN) reserve lands are located at the estuary of the salmon-bearing Tatalu (Little Campbell River) which flows into Steloquen, while A Rocha’s BC Centre is 13 km upriver, within the traditional and unceded territories of many Coast Salish Peoples, including the SFN, Kwantlen, Stó:lō and W̱SÁNEĆ.

Poor water quality in the Tatalu and in Steloquen is a significant threat to freshwater and marine ecosystem health. Pollution has prevented the Semiahmah people from safely and legally harvesting traditional food sources (such as clams) in the bay since 1962. By supporting A Rocha, you are participating in restorative relationships with the Semiahmah alongside restoring river habitat, threatened species and ocean health.

https://arocha.ca/portfolio-items/restoration-and-reconciliation/