Youth Stewardship Summit In Seal River Watershed Cancelled Due To Covid

We are disheartened to announce that a youth stewardship summit in the Seal River Watershed must be cancelled due to the risk of COVID-19. 

“It’s extremely disappointing, especially given how much progress has been made on the Seal River initiative since the first summit was held in Tadoule Lake last September,” said Ron Thiessen, executive director of the Manitoba Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

“We were very much looking forward to it,” Thiessen said.

“Unfortunately, the risk associated with bringing youth from five remote northern communities together with bringing organizers and experts from the south is simply too high.”

CPAWS Manitoba fully intends to offer the Stewardship Summit to Seal River Alliance members next fall, provided that funding for the Canadian Wilderness Stewardship Program is renewed and that a reliable vaccine is in wide distribution. 

CPAWS Manitoba is currently exploring how to offer a modified version of the wilderness program in southern Manitoba this year where the risk to communities can be reduced to an acceptable level.  

The 2019 Tadoule Lake Stewardship Summit brought together youth from Sayisi Dene First Nation, O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation, Northlands Denesuline First Nation and Arviat.