Shíshálh Nation Elders, council and members were honoured with the 2016 John Hind-Smith Environmental Achievement Award, presented by the Sunshine Coast Conservation Association (SCCA) at a ceremony on March 12 at the shíshálh Nation Community Hall.

Chief Calvin Craigan accepted the award on behalf of the shíshálh Nation. The award is in recognition of the shíshálh’s critical actions to preserve, restore and protect their land, ocean and waterways – as well as their successful efforts in restoring the Sechelt Creek salmon run.

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“I want to begin by saying how humbly proud I am to be here to today and be recognized for the efforts of the shíshálh people,” Craigan said. “I stand here before you where many chiefs have stood before me. Thinking about being recognized for the efforts of the shíshálh people, I was a little bit bewildered [to be recognized] for an action that my people undertook that was so natural to them. If all the former chiefs were here today, they would be astounded that they would be recognized for something that came naturally to them.”

About 160 members from the greater Sunshine Coast community attended the ceremony and subsequent banquet, which included the unveiling of a commemorative bench – donated by West Coast Log Homes – and a traditional blanketing of Craigan and resource director Sid Quinn.

“We’ve taken a lot of steps,” Quinn said. “We’ve created a strategic land use plan with conservation areas that is going to allow our children a chance to make choices in the future, and to protect this important habitat.”

Jason Hertz, director of the SCCA, said this was the first year the John Hind-Smith award has been given to a group and not an individual.

“Drawing from how [John Hind-smith] lived his life, and how he fought to preserve the natural world around us, the SCCA developed a criteria for the award which now bears his name,” Hertz said. “First, a long and enduring service to the protection of biodiversity within the greater Sunshine Coast region. Second, a high level of personal integrity and a commitment to scientific accuracy. Third, the ability to inspire others to appreciate and protect biodiversity. Fourth, success in the protection of biodiversity, and fifth, the ability to act with grace and respect.”

For more information on the John Hind-Smith Award and the Sunshine Coast Conservation Association, visit www.thescca.ca. To find out more about the shíshálh Nation, visit their website www.shishalh.com.