Program Update
May 21, 2020
For the last two years, we have facilitated a Youth Program on-site at Nimmo Bay. The program has been designed to provide opportunities for both youth from the Broughton Archipelago region (North Vancouver Island) and paying participants from across North America. The paid tuitions covered the cost of running the program and also provided scholarships for more than half of the participants. The scholarships were prioritized to youth who had the closest proximity to Nimmo Bay and only ended up extending as far as Port Hardy. Supporting our local community’s youth through access to tourism, employment, and self-discovery of skills is part of Nimmo Bay’s core values.
With the current limitations on travel and corporate support backing out due to COVID-19, we do not have access to what was initially fundraised for the program this season. With the remaining funds, we have decided to build a new opportunity for 2020 in an effort to keep these important conversations going and to support youth through an online initiative.
We have purchased 12 Chromebooks and 4 Tablets, as well as some headphones, to disperse to various communities throughout the region so that youth can access our new online learning platform. The devices will be offered to community organizations within our local area and youth accessibility of the hardware will be identified by each receiving office.
At the core of this program, we aim to deliver guidance and support to youth, aged 16 to 20, who are interested in exploring employment within the tourism and hospitality industry and who are curious to learn more about the wide range of career paths and education programs available to them. We will be offering training and support from Nimmo Bay’s team tailored to the current times. This will include learning opportunities in resume building, education and career advancement, tourism and hospitality industry lessons, as well as yoga classes, meditation, and access to a clinical counsellor (all from different individuals who are experts in their field).
We are currently building the curriculum and roster of professionals who, once established, will collaborate with other youth program leaders to share ideas and shape the project. The final product will be a diverse online support tool, extending beyond Nimmo Bay’s team, that opens communication and offers learning and important growth opportunities for youth.
We are looking for partners to support our online program, specifically in healthcare, and other online training opportunities. If you are interested, please reach out to the program organizers.
NIMMO YOUTH CONNECTIONS
January 30, 2020
The team at Nimmo Bay is facilitating an exciting program for youth to access training and development through the lens of tourism. Staged in the Great Bear Rainforest, we are inspiring another generation to grow and build careers through this instructive youth program.
Who do you know in your community that would interested in this opportunity?
Mission Statement: To provide exposure, support, and real-world training to youth for employment opportunities in sustainable tourism, while fostering a deeper sense of connection and empowerment inspired by the natural environment of British Columbia’s coast.
Where: Nimmo Bay, British Columbia
Who: This is a unique opportunity for any youth, ages 16-19, who are interested in learning and experiencing what working in an outdoor environment entails.
Successful applicants will get to take part in this transformative wilderness experience while also helping to provide the opportunity for other youth to attend who have barriers to accessing this kind of program
Scholarships are funded in part by Nimmo Bay and regular tuition fees but can also be funded by the support of outside donors. Supporting our local community’s youth through access to tourism, employment, and self-discovery of skills is part of Nimmo Bay’s core values. If funding a scholarship is of interest to you, please inquire with our office team.
More About The Program
The program incorporates character development, leadership skills, and personal empowerment. This is delivered in combination with the practical skills needed to access long-term employment in the sustainable and fulfilling field of nature tourism. We foster and support a connection between the youth and the coastal environment, wildlife, themselves, and each other.
This 5-day intensive program will include group management, risk mitigation, leadership and communication training, hospitality skills, and practical marine and land-based guiding skills. Practical applications will consist of kayaking, boat-handling skills, navigation and chart reading, weather pattern analysis, bear and wildlife behaviour education, and world-class standard hospitality training mentored by Nimmo Bay’s highly trained staff.
This program aims to connect with youth at a crucial time in their life and to provide an experience that is empowering, encouraging, and educational. It is the intent that participants will use their experience at Nimmo Bay as a grounding place from which they can feel safe and supported, before using their newly cultivated technical and personal skills towards passions, careers, and lives that highlight the value of nature-based tourism as an emerging and prosperous employment sector.
Once in a Lifetime Opportunity
Words: Avery Lapour, 2019 Youth Connections Participant
Sustainable tourism is a concept of visiting a place as a tourist and trying to make a positive impact on the environment, society, and economy.
For a week, I was tucked away with 13 strangers in the Great Bear Rainforest. I was blessed to be given a sponsored trip from Elkay Manufacturing to experience life in the raw. Getting ready for this trip, I had no idea where I was wanting to go with my life. I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted out of life. I was starting to fall down a bottomless void of self-deprecation. I knew I wanted to learn and to be a part of the moment. I didn’t want to sit in a classroom and learn about faraway places and cultures out of a book. I wanted to feel alive and be present.
Being at Nimmo Bay with these 13 strangers for 4 days changed my whole mindset about life. I was surrounded by people with different backgrounds, with different values, and together we learned how our small impact could help save the state of the world. Together we grew, we learned how to live off the land, to appreciate the land we had been blessed with. A family was created, we shared a love so strong, we were connected. I wish my words could do this place justice for what it has done for me in my life. I sat in the quiet for hours, listening to the glacier water rush around me reflecting on not only myself, but the people around me and what I can do for them. How we can all be one. How complete strangers can come together in such a loving way no matter their backgrounds or beliefs. Together we can all find some way to come as one and take care of the place that takes care of us.
Thank you, Nimmo Bay, for giving me a family, for letting us become completely transparent.
Apply today
Please contact us for more details.