The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation acknowledges that the programs we operate and the projects we fund across the province are within the traditional territories of Indigenous people who have been stewards of the land for time immemorial. We pledge to learn, engage, improve inclusiveness, and build respectful relationships with Indigenous peoples. In doing so, we will advance conservation, stewardship, and education to conserve, restore and enhance BC’s native fish and wildlife populations, and their habitats.
HCTF’s Commitment to Collaborative Conservation
The British Columbia government is committed to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and reconciliation with the First Nations and Indigenous peoples of BC. Habitat conservation and restoration can be a pathway towards this goal. The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF) commits to collaborating with Indigenous peoples to create better conservation outcomes for fish, wildlife, and their habitats for future generations as outlined in our 2022-2027 Strategic Plan.
HCTF staff and board members are learning about the role our organization can play in reconciliation, and how our organization can be accessible and inclusive to Indigenous peoples through our grants, programs, governance, and overall operations. HCTF is in the early stages of this very important work and welcome the learning opportunities and changes to come. This work is important to us, and we will meaningfully engage and build respectful relationships with Indigenous Nations and peoples to achieve caring, respectful, and equitable processes and operations.
Objective #4 of HCTF’s 2022 Strategic Plan outlines our commitment to:
Expand collaborations with organizations, agencies, and Indigenous peoples to build conservation connections and responsible use between people and nature.
- Meaningfully engage and build respectful relationships with Indigenous peoples to achieve better conservation outcomes.
- Broaden and diversify participation in HCTF programs and projects.
HCTF Progress – 2022
- Board and staff continued working with consultants, expanding knowledge through webinars/courses, including Ethical Space and UNDRIP
- Engaged with individual Indigenous peoples to listen and learn about challenges and opportunities in conservation and with our granting programs
- Reviewed our granting process to make changes that will increase inclusiveness and reduce barriers
- Completed a recruitment process during the spring and summer and elected a Board Director who brings Indigenous perspectives and diversity
- Adopted a Land Acknowledgement Statement
HCTF Progress – 2023
- Hired a Community Engagement Coordinator to identify opportunities for shared success and collaboration with First Nations and Indigenous communities across HCTF’s granting programs
- Improved our responsible investing capability to screen out companies in our investing portfolio that have conflicts with Indigenous communities
- Updated the conditional grant agreements to better support cultural and archaeological sites
- Continued to incorporate the feedback we hear from our Indigenous project leaders to make our grants and agreements more inclusive
- Launched Capacity Grants to provide funding to strengthen the capability of organizations to successfully design and deliver conservation projects; the Capacity Grant has a focus on Indigenous community-led projects
- Organized a 3-day “boots-on-the-ground” caribou habitat restoration workshop that was hosted by Simpcw First Nation (Simpcw Resources Group) and included attendance by members of a First Nations-led collaborative technical working group in the region
HCTF Progress – 2024
- Reviewed UNDRIP to inform changes to HCTF grant applications and reporting including the CHRF pilot multi-year application grant to reduce administrative burden
- Added a second board member bringing more Indigenous perspective on our board
- Doubled the engagement from the previous year of in-person meetings in communities to 22
- Sponsored the Healing the Land Conference, hosted by the Saulteau First Nations, which brought together Indigenous leaders, government representatives, restoration practitioners, and industry stakeholders to advance restoration efforts
- Co-hosted a 2-day pilot workshop titled “Launching a Restoration Community for Practitioners in Northern B.C.: Sharing learnings, building our future”
- Developed more consistent engagement with First Nations at Board dinners and field tours
- Adopted a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion statement
HCTF Progress – 2025
- Engaged with other foundations to bring knowledge on ways to improve HCTF’s engagement with First Nations
- Established a Technical Review Committee of Habitat Restoration that supports a broader landscape view reflective of First Nations approaches to stewardship of fish and wildlife habitat
- Updated the Fish & Wildlife Grant application form to reduce administrative burden and added a question to better describe the type and degree of Indigenous involvement in the project
- Strengthened HCTF’s approach to First Nations engagement by moving toward proactive, relationship-based outreach that creates opportunities for connection while respecting each Nation’s protocols, capacity, priorities, and preferred level of engagement
- Updated the Land Stewardship Grant application criteria to expand conservation management practitioners including First Nations and Indigenous communities
Local Land Acknowledgement
The staff of HCTF acknowledges that our office operates within the territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən Peoples of the Xʷsepsəm (Esquimalt) and Songhees ancestors and peoples. We are grateful for the welcoming spirit of these Nations that allow us to live and work on these lands.
Header Image: Nîkanêse Wah tzee Stewardship Society members surveying Peck Creek restoration, northeast of Mackenzie, BC
