Though I am a business student, my summer employment has mostly consisted of hands-on, outdoor work. In 2021, I worked as a general labourer and medic for the contracting company Rider Ventures in Coldstream, BC. In this position, I learned about fuel management and flood principles, as well as had the chance to apply my Occupational First Aid Level 3 certificate. We primarily worked with Indigenous communities at risk of floods and wildfire. I was able to experience first-hand the impact of climate change on these small and rural communities.
The summer following this, I worked for the BC Wildfire Service as an initial attack crew member. This role helped me learn about and manage wildfires more directly, through finding wildfires, either in an equipped truck or helicopter, and then putting them out using hose lays, fuel-frees, guard, or a combination of these. Witnessing the effects of wildfires first-hand drastically increased my awareness of global warming and my desire to take action against it.
My British Columbia Wildfire Service crew and I in the summer of 2023. From left to right, Dalton, Travis, Heidyn, me, Darian.