Cheakamus Centre

Cheakamus Centre and the Cheakamus Foundation work together to protect, restore, and teach about the land and waters in our care. Our 165 hectare campus in Squamish is a formally designated ecological preserve. Choosing preserve status was a commitment to protect this valley for the long term and to hold our operations and education to the standards required of a preserve. Every program, trail, building, and community use is guided by conservation first, learning second, and recreation third.

Our environmental impact begins with hands-on stewardship. Students, educators, volunteers, and partners take part in salmon hatchery work, stream monitoring, riparian planting, invasive species removal, and forest health activities across the property. These are not one-off events. They are planned, seasonal cycles that connect people to place and give them practical skills they can bring back to their neighbourhoods and schools.

Indigenous knowledge is central to how we care for this place. In relationship with Skwxwú7mesh members and knowledge keepers, our Indigenous Cultural Programs and longhouse experiences weave teachings about reciprocity, respect, and responsibility into daily learning. This strengthens cultural understanding while grounding environmental action in local values and history.

We invest in climate smart infrastructure and operations. The LEED® Platinum BlueShore Environmental Learning Centre models low carbon, mass timber design and serves as a hub for community gatherings focused on nature and sustainability. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a third party green building standard that evaluates performance in areas like energy and water efficiency, materials and waste, indoor environmental quality, and site ecology. Platinum is the highest certification level and signals top performance across those categories. Across the site we focus on efficient kitchens and buildings, careful waste management, and habitat sensitive access. In our school programs, food systems learning is a priority: food waste is tracked in shared, visible ways so students and staff can see the impact and feel accountable; menus are planned with seasonality in mind; and appropriate food scraps are recycled back into feed for our animals, closing the loop and reinforcing the food cycle lesson.

We also build capacity in the region by partnering on skills programs that connect environmental goals with practical trades and careers. The Kílila Project advanced green building training and retrofit know how on our campus, linking local trades, students, and partners with visiting learners. These programs help develop the workforce that will retrofit and operate the sustainable buildings our communities need.

We should receive the Environmental Impact Award because our work protects real habitat today and grows the next generation of caretakers for tomorrow. We made the decision to become an ecological preserve, we act on that decision through restoration and careful operations, and we share the knowledge widely so others can do the same. Cheakamus Centre and the Cheakamus Foundation are demonstrating how a community can learn, heal, and thrive alongside a healthy environment.