Surrey's Lota Colobong is about to have a watershed moment.
She's joining seven emerging sustainability leaders from across British Columbia in converging at Mount Robson Provincial Park before embarking on a trip of a lifetime.
Meeting each other for the first time on July 16, they will spend a few days getting acquainted with each other and their mode of travel for much of the trip – a Voyageur Canoe – before starting down the mighty Fraser River.
These seven individuals have been selected to take part in the Sustainable Living Leadership Program (SLLP), a hands-on educational adventure run by the not-for-profit Rivershed Society of B.C.
Traveling the route of the salmon, the program will take them from the Fraser’s headwaters near Mount Robson to the shores of Vancouver 1,400 km away by canoe, raft, shuttle van, and on foot.
During the trip, the participants learn about sustainable living and responsible community and resource development, while immersed in the impressive and ever-changing scenery of the Fraser River.
They return to Vancouver on Aug. 8, paddling their way to the Jericho Sailing Club.
Along the journey, each SLLP participant is also designing a sustainability project to implement in their community when they return.
Colobong works with the City of Surrey on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.
For updates on the group’s progress down the river, or to learn more about the Sustainable Living Leadership Program, the participants, or their community project ideas, click here.