Rise Up! youth in the Interior Region gathered for their annual Regional Gathering in July. This year, we were lucky to spend the day on-site enjoying the beautiful scenery at Helen’s Acres Community Farm.

We kicked off the morning connecting over tasty pastries and hearing about the work and mission of Helen’s Acres from Farm Ambassador, Dan Connolly. After that, the volunteers got to work weeding a few overgrown rows. It was awesome to see how much space can be weeded by many hands in a couple of short hours!

We welcomed kelsie kilawna (Marchand) from Smoke on the Plateau catering for an incredible afternoon of feasting and storytelling. Kelsie generously shared syilx teachings of the Four Food Chiefs, along with her own journey and stories of the food she had prepared. Seated in the shade of tall trees, strong winds offered us relief from the scorching heat and we received It as the land showing excitement for our gathering.

The day wrapped up with time for reflection and a big group circle before parting ways. A huge thank you to our hosts and guests for a fantastic day together!