Collaborative Stewardship Forum Open House –
February 21 & 22, 2025
After a 5-year hiatus, the Collaborative Stewardship Forum (CSF) hosted their second open house at the Stó:lō Resource Centre (SRC). The event was well attended, with over 100 people passing through our doors over February 21st and 22nd. Each day began with Chris Thomas welcoming attendees with a song and a prayer, leading to opening remarks from either Chief Bailey or Dr. Schaepe and then a panel discussion highlighting some of the work that the CSF does with our partner organizations.
Dr. Schaepe and his CSF Co-Chair, WLRS Strategic Director Josh Malt, spoke about the progress the CSF has made in the past five years, with an overview of how CSF operations have evolved and expanded to meet the needs of our communities. During the Friday session, Xwchíyò:m Lands & Capital Project Manager Roxanna Kooistra spoke about her work with the Hope Slough Restoration Project and the collaboration with the CSF, while Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance (LLFA) Executive Director Murray Ned spoke about the history of his organization and the important work that they do with support from the CSF, during our Saturday session.
Throughout the event, all three levels of the SRC were open for the public to explore, with every hallway lined with table displays and games meant to educate visitors on the various projects and work the CSF supports in their communities. Each guest received a welcome bag that included our open house brochure, which featured a bingo game that they could redeem for a prize. To qualify for the door prizes, visitors had to collect at least nine stickers from display table hosts. We had over 30 entries for the door prizes, which means that at least a third of our guests made a point to visit almost all our displays!
We received amazing feedback from attendees, with many saying how much fun they had and how much they learned about the work that we do. When asked what he thought about the event, Chief Mark Point said, “This is awesome! We should do it every year.”
We would like to thank everyone who was involved with the open house and everyone who made time to visit, learn, and share with us. There are plans to host another open house next year, so if you would like to be involved, please contact us at [email protected].
To view the entire bulletin, please download the PDF below.
