Two years after devastating wildfires swept through the Ashnola Watershed (nʔaysnúlaʔxʷsnxaʔcnitkw) in the South Okanagan, students from UBC Forestry’s Master of International Forestry (MIF) program travelled to the region to help bring life back to the scorched land.
Earlier this month, the group — representing countries and Nations including The Gambia, Nigeria, Kenya, the Wolastoqey and Mi’kmaw Nations in New Brunswick, and the Netherlands — joined an Indigenous-led forest restoration project in the traditional territory of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band (LSIB). The volunteer mission offered students a rare opportunity to participate directly in ecosystem recovery guided by Indigenous knowledge and leadership.
Healing an endangered forest
The 2023 wildfires burned with unusual intensity, leaving behind vast stretches of ash and sandy soil in one of B.C.’s most endangered forest types — the Ponderosa Pine zone. Though these dry, warm forests are naturally adapted to periodic fire, the combination of extreme heat, drought, and the pine beetle outbreak pushed the ecosystem to its limit.
In response, a long-term restoration project was launched — one that looks beyond timber values to focus on ecological and cultural renewal. The approach integrates traditional ecological knowledge with contemporary restoration science, aiming to heal both the land and the relationships that depend on it.
Learning through collaboration
Working alongside local volunteers and Elders, MIF students planted a variety of berry bushes, grasses, and young trees — species essential to local wildlife and to the Smelqmix peoples for food and medicine. Smelqmix Elders encouraged participants to speak words of encouragement to each plant as they placed it in the soil, recognizing the spiritual connection between people and the land.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to restore a degraded forest. Fire has been one of the major impacts that is causing deforestation, having a detrimental impact on the community,” MIF student Keith May said. “It was great to join a community that is ready to work and bring back what has been destroyed by our impacts, driven by extreme weather events. It’s so awesome to put back life into the earth.”
“Everybody is putting their heart and souls into the work,” said MIF student Monica Sarkies. “I know it’s the drier side of B.C. but we are expecting some rain to get the plants established. This is just a first step. We’re going to hope most of the plants survive and thrive. But, there’s so many people willing to come back out if we need to.”
Bridging knowledge systems
For many students, the trip brought classroom concepts to life. The MIF program explores how to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing with Western science, address transboundary watershed governance, and design Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs). The Ashnola restoration site served as a living classroom, illustrating how these ideas intersect in practice.
“What the LSIB is doing in the Ashnola is remarkable. They are restoring the watershed on their own terms, ensuring that the forest will continue to provide traditional foods and medicines,” Peter Wood, MIF Lecturer and Coordinator said. “My students and I are grateful for the invitation to take part in this important process.”
A lesson in hope
As new shoots took root in the charred soil, the volunteers witnessed not just the recovery of a landscape, but the resilience of collaboration across cultures and disciplines. For the MIF students, the experience underscored that forest restoration is more than an environmental act — it’s a gesture of respect, reciprocity, and renewal.
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