Hope Through Action
Discover DOWN TO YOU podcast, a jargon-free, high-energy podcast that uncovers net zero solutions in communities across British Columbia, brought to you by the Fraser Basin Council’s Youth Program. Get immersed in stories of bold youths who are reducing their climate footprint and offering inspiring solutions for net-zero future. Together, we are empowering Canadians to take action towards a more sustainable future. We can all support and contribute to broader goals and policies that will set Canada towards its path to achieving net-zero.
Introducing Down to You
featured episode
Climate Information That's Accessible for All
Making space for conversation, listening and being heard to create foundation for action
How do we ensure everyone has necessary information to engage in a meaningful dialogue and take action on climate change? How do we act and converse with care? In this episode of Down to You, join us for a discussion on creating a foundation for action that’s accessible for all, starting with diversifying the ways we convey climate information to a variety of audiences. Hear from Chloe Nguyễn in Vancouver and Teegan Walshe in Qualicum Beach, who divulge the unique ways they practice environmental leadership, imagine stewardship and cultivate supportive community engagement systems.
Episode Guests
Climate Education Reform BC | Facebook
Located in Vancouver, Chloe Nguyễn has been the coordinator of Climate Education Reform BC since its inception in 2021. CER-BC is a grassroots, student-led organization with the mandate to implement an intersectional climate crisis education for all. A senior in high school, Nguyễn is a Loran Scholarship semi-finalist. Her parents arrived here as settlers from Vietnam for a better life and to provide Nguyễn a better education. Interested in climate education and ensuring that all young people are exposed to information about the climate crisis, Nguyễn attended a special program in her high school that focused on leadership and environmental stewardship. Talking to her fellow students outside of this program made her realize how big the gap is between what youth are learning in schools and what information should be accessible to them to inspire action on climate change. Going on camping trips and spending time in nature has nurtured her love for the natural world and motivated her to want to protect it.
https://www.youthclimateactivismaward.org/2023-winners/teegan-walshe
Teegan Walshe became involved with the fight for climate action in 2021, the year BC experienced a record-breaking heat dome. Located in Qualicum Beach, Walshe began striking in front of the town hall on Fridays as part of the Fridays for Futures global movement. Teegan has presented to council, collaborated with their local MPs and generally worked at holding bureaucracy accountable. The Fridays protests have brought her into contact with people with diverse views on the climate crisis and turned her into a thoughtful conversationalist and a true listener. Walshe focuses on forming connections and growing a broader movement.
ABOUT Canada's 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan
Inspiring Climate Action
We all want a liveable future—one where our communities, climate and ecosystems are healthy. But it’s hard to know how to contribute to this future or how our own individual actions can really make a difference.
Down to You podcast shares inspiring youth stories and replicable ideas of how individuals can reduce emissions—personally and in their communities. We’re traveling across B.C. to reveal narratives that underscore the transformative qualities of positive personal actions.
Discover the ways that young people and their families work towards climate solutions whether in a mountain village, coastal town or urban center with Brock Endean. This is a jargon-free, dynamic deep dive into ideas that are changing the world one step at a time, whether through waste and food systems, economic development, transportation, water protection and more.
Have your own inspiration and ideas? We want to hear from you about what you’re doing to support net zero solutions in your community or who’s inspiring your own actions.
About Us
Down to You podcast is the latest project of the Fraser Basin Council’s Youth Program. We believe in the power of transforming communities through positive actions. Our work revolves around supporting youth engagement in sustainability initiatives and building their capacity to take on leadership roles in their communities. We engage youth in communities across the province and we want to give our gratitude to the many Indigenous Nations of British Columbia for welcoming us on their unceded ancestral territories where we live and work.
We are thrilled to bring you net-zero stories by youth from across BC as part of the Down to You podcast, hosted by Hollis Nelson and Alex Penney.
Meet the hosts
Hollis Nelson
Shared territory of musqueam squamish and tsleil-waututh
A hawk of some kind. I’d love to experience their perspective from high in the sky and with such amazing eyesight! They also experience exceptional hearing, with strong beaks and sharp talons that make them amazing hunters and foragers. And finally, the females are bigger than the males!
Thoughtful, creative, dedicated
We all have stories embedded in our being. Be patient, remain curious, hold space, and let the story tell itself.
My journey towards storytelling began in my childhood. I was homeschooled as a child and a lot of my upbringing involved art and make-believe. My dad always encouraged my dreams and my imaginations. For many years my dad and I would make books to give to people for the holiday season.
Together we would write and illustrate these stories as gifts for our loved ones. It was in this collaborative spirit that my storytelling journey began.
I would like to leave my listener with inspiration and hope, with vision and possibility, and with a firm belief in the coming of a better world.
Alex Penney
Squamish/Musqueam/Tsleil Waututh
Tiger. There may be more creative answers, but I would just love to feel what it is like to be a tiger. Agility, awareness and grace in a world of speed, sound and scent. And napsin the sun.
Exploring, Inquiring, Enjoying
Listening is my philosophy. Everyone has something interesting to share.
My introduction to storytelling was through books, family stories, and music. I went on to study Philosophy, where I was drawn to aphorisms and fiction as forms that struck a chord with me. My life eventually led me to music and art, where I now create pieces based on narrative, sometimes in a roundabout way. I tend to tell stories through recording, collecting and collaging. I remix memories from my journey – from people I meet and places I go – to form a story and express an idea.
I would like to share perspectives with others and create more understanding among people and the planet. Sharing stories inspires insight into where we come from, where we are, and where we might be going.