November 20 2009 » News Clippings » Terrace Standard
Ali Howard Shares Historical Swim With Students
ALI HOWARD, centre, with students at Clarence Michiel Elementary School yesterday after her presentation on her Spirit of the Skeena Swim.
By Molly McNulty
ALI HOWARD is in the midst of a whirlwind six-week tour spreading the message of the Spirit of the Skeena Swim by finishing up three days of presentations in Terrace today.
Howard, along with photographer and member of the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition Brian Huntington, arrived in Terrace on Wednesday Nov. 18 and throughout their three days in town visited Skeena Junior Secondary, Cassie Hall Elementary, Caledonia Secondary, Clarence Michiel Elementary, E.T. Kenney Primary, Kiti K’shan Primary, Parkside, Uplands Elementary, Thornill Primary, Thornhill Junior and Thornhill Elementary.
Yesterday afternoon Howard and Huntington payed a visit to the students at Clarence Michiel, showing a slideshow and video clips of her 610 km journey down the Skeena River from the Sacred Headwaters to the Pacific Ocean.
Howard brought along her trusty gear including her bright red helmet, life jacket and her boogie-style board which protected her from the river’s bottom in shallow areas.
Howard explains that this tour is important in order to continue the conversation about the Skeena watershed and having her physically swim the length of the river really helps put the whole scope of the watershed and the salmon who call it home into perspective for the youth.
Howard and Huntington explain that it helps every community along the watershed to see how connected they are by the river and by the salmon, as at each school when they ask the students if their family fishes, or if they have salmon in their freezer almost every student raises their hand.
“It’s an easy way to demonstrate a simple idea…do you get salmon,” says Howard.
Throughout her journey Howard says the voice of the communities along the watershed were heard: a unanimous desire for a healthy sustainable future for the river.
Next up Howard and her crew will travel down south to Victoria and Vancouver, meeting with government, hosting workshops with organizations about community building and talking with foundations about promoting and supporting the coalition’s work for the future.
