Kaylen D.
Twenty-two year old Kaylen was born and raised in Fort McMurray, and is a proud member of the Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation.
Kaylen first heard about the Community Based Environmental Monitoring Program (CBEM) while working with the Athabasca Tribal Council (ATC).
“I always had an interest in the environment,” shares Kaylen. “ATC’s Employment and Training helped me to get more information on the program. It just so happened to be starting as my contract was ending, so I decided this program would be a good start into environmental studies.”
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no such thing as a “typical day” in the Program.
“We did a lot of different things from day to day,” Kaylen says. “Some days were in-class, and others were in training. We also had our times at work placements on the land.”
One of the things that Kaylen was surprised to learn during the program related to her culture.
“I’ve always wanted to know more about my culture and to learn my language, and this program has helped me gain more knowledge in those aspects,” she says.
For Kaylen, the highlight of the CBEM program has been the weeks spent on the land. Now that she has completed the program, she will be looking for work in the environmental field, and possibly going back to school for either her diploma or degree in Environmental Science.
When asked she would tell someone who is thinking about taking the CBEM program, here’s what she says: “I would tell them to take the chance. You’ll never know if you will succeed or like something without trying first. Plus, you get to learn both Indigenous and Western Science.”
The Community Based Environmental Monitoring Program (CBEM) is a Service Canada-Skills and Partnership Fund (SPF), Service Canada-Indigenous Skills Employment and Training (ISET) and Government of Alberta-First Nations Training to Employment (GOA-FNTEP) funded program. This project administered by Mikisew Cree First Nation-Government Industry Relations (MCFN-GIR) on behalf of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation- Department of Land Resource Management (ACFN-DLRM), McMurray Métis and Fort Chipewyan Métis. The CBEM is delivered by Keyano College.
