Wanna improve your home's energy efficiency?
Reduce wildfire risk in your neighbourhood?
Conserve water?
Reduce emissions?
Help expand Kelowna's urban tree canopy?
If you answered yes to any one or all of those questions, the Youth Climate Corps of BC's Kelowna team is back for a second season to help you do just that.
In Kelowna's case, the corps provides meaningful work and training for 6 environmentally conscious people aged 17 to 30.
Ria Kaeley and Augustus Lee are the co-leads working alongside 'climate action mobilizers' Samantha Squires, Neela Rader, Pasha Summerland and Zoe Sibthrop.
The Kelowna corps is a partnership with the City of Kelowna and as such the corps will help connect citizens with city and other programs such as Energy Home Navigator, FireSmart, WaterSmart and NeighbourWoods.
Those are the initiatives that can help people achieve the home energy efficiency, water conservation, reduced wildfire risk and a more leafy Kelowna mentioned above.
The corps will connect with residents in the community to ensure they know about and can access the practical tools needed to create more climate-resilient homes, neighbourhoods and city.
They'll do this at emergency preparedness and wildfire resilience workshops, while doing FireSmart fieldwork and mapping projects and helping with the bike valet and the urban tree canopy programs.
The Youth Climate Corps will also work with the Kelowna Climate Action & Environmental Stewardship Department, Kelowna Fire Department, Okanagan Fruit Tree Project, Helen's Community Farm, Habitat for Humanity Okanagan ReStore and Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society to support all kinds of climate resilience, environmental stewardship, wildfire preparedness and sustainable food systems programs.
"Youth Climate Corps is playing an important role in climate action in Kelowna, bringing youth leadership and capacity to this work," said City of Kelowna climate action and environment manager Chris Ray.
"Their efforts support and extend the city's programs like FireSmart and NeighbourWoods, helping more residents connect with practical steps that build a more resilient community."
During the fall and winter of 2025 and 2026, the inaugural Youth Climate Corps in Kelowna completed 403 Climate Action Days -- calculated as one youth completing a full workday of climate action.
"Youth Climate Corps represents the kind of community-based climate leadership we need more of across British Columbia," said minister of state for local goverments Brittny Anderson.
"I'm proud to continue supporting a program that empowers youth while helping communities become stronger and more resilient."
There also also Youth Climate Corps teams at work in Vernon, Kamloops, Alert Bay, Courtenay, West and East Kootenay, Vancouver, Hazelton, Squamish, Golden and with the Union of BC Insulators.
If you want information on what Youth Climate Corps teams are up to you can subscribe to the newsletter at https://www.youthclimatecorps.
