Quw’utsun Cultural Connections on the Cowichan River

In 2023, BC Parks Foundation purchased 562 acres (225 hectares) of forest and wetland habitat in the Cowichan River watershed for permanent protection. The property safeguards one of the province’s most underrepresented ecosystems—the Very Dry Maritime subzone of the Coastal Western Hemlock biogeoclimatic region. Only two per cent of this ecosystem is currently protected in British Columbia.

The land holds a rich mosaic of habitats: wetlands shaped by beavers, forests with cedar, maple, and alder trees, and stream corridors flowing into the Cowichan River. It provides refuge for wildlife, from western toads to songbirds to elk.

Now, through a partnership with the Quw’utsun Cultural Connections Society, it has become a living classroom where youth learn about biodiversity and restoration while building relationships with the land.

Following our successful protection of the area, BC Parks Foundation entered into an agreement with the Quw’utsun Cultural Connections Society so that they can use the property (on a non-exclusive basis) for restoration and stewardship of xpey’ (western redcedar) ecosystems, along with land-based education, cultural learning, and on-the-land programs.

This partnership shows how conservation happens—through care, reciprocity, and relationships that last over time.

“It’s not easy to find spaces like this,” said Cheyenne Williams, a young Cowichan Tribes member and leader, working with Quw’utsun Cultural Connections Society. “So much of the land in this region is privatized and is managed for other uses like industrial forestry practices. This place is special. It’s a space where our people, especially youth, can connect with the land, learn, and build community.”

This past June, that opportunity came to life when the Society hosted its first culture camp on the property—a gathering that was years in the making.

Together with the Environmental Stewardship Program at Quw’utsun Secondary School, more than 30 students spent two days immersed in the forest, guided by Indigenous elders and young leaders. For many of the students, it was their first time camping.

When they arrived, the group began by clearing invasive Scotch broom to make space for their tents. Cheyenne gathered everyone in a circle to share principles of Indigenous land stewardship: “The broom is an introduced species, but it still has a story. When we remove it, we’re creating space for native plants to return. The land holds memory, and it remembers the care we give it. That’s what this work is about: building reciprocal relationships with the land.”

Elder Qwiyahwultu-hw Robert George then invited the students to organize themselves into family groups, an experiential learning activity that is rooted in understanding the village systems embedded in Quw’utsun culture.

Each chose a family name and three or four shared values—such as kindness, teamwork, and respect—that would model how each family would work together during the duration of the culture camp. 

“We talked a lot about nuts’a’maatshqwaluwun—one heart, one mind,” said Qwiyahwultu-hw, who has worked with youth in Cowichan for over 35 years. “It means being together as one family and looking out for each other. The youth really embraced that.”

Over the next 36 hours, the youth cooked meals together—breakfasts, lunches, and a shared pot of chili simmering over the fire. They roasted marshmallows, grilled hot dogs, and one student even brought elk meat and shared it with the group. 

One of the most impactful moments of the camp came when Qwiyahwultu-hw led the youth on solos—forty-five minutes of quiet time alone in the forest.

“Some of the kids were nervous at first,” he said. “For a lot of them, it was the first time sitting alone in the woods. They’d heard stories about danger or the unknown. But once they settled in, they realized how peaceful it was. They faced their fears and came back proud. They felt accomplished.”

As they sat amongst the trees, some youth listened to birdsong or the wind moving through cedar branches. Others simply breathed and noticed the stillness. 

Elder Silaat—Linda Modeste—shared teachings about how to take care of themselves and reach for opportunities. Elder Huyamisé—Della Rice—joined on the second day to share teachings about medicinal plants, including fir tips, horsetail, and a sword fern that was even used to ease one of the student's muscle pain.

“Della has this beautiful way of greeting the plants,” said Cheyenne. “She’ll start with a song, almost like she’s waking them up. It’s playful and full of respect. You can feel the land respond.”

By the end of camp, the students shared they wished they could have stayed longer. “They left tired but full,” Qwiyahwultu-hw said. “They worked together, cooked together, learned together. That sense of family—that’s what they’ll remember.”

The partnership is now entering its next phase: a cedar restoration project that blends traditional knowledge and land stewardship practices with mapping technology. Two newly hired Cultural Restoration Guardians are working with GIS and LiDAR data to map historic cedar ecosystems and predict the ideal conditions for xpey’ to thrive in the face of a changing climate.

They’ll soon begin ground-truthing these maps—walking the land to identify cultural features like culturally modified trees and ancient stumps, some still marked with springboard notches from logging decades ago.

The work will help inform family planting days planned for November, continuing an intergenerational story of renewal that connects past, present, and future.

This collaboration between BC Parks Foundation and the Quw’utsun Cultural Connections Society demonstrates an approach to conservation that cares for both the land and the relationships that sustain it. It’s community-guided conservation, memory, and the shared responsibility to care for the land in a good way.

As Qwiyahwultu-hw reflected, “When we teach youth to care for the land, the land cares for them in return. That’s how we move forward—one heart, one mind.”

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