Interior Region
Regional Rise Up! Spotlight: Interior
This region’s vast and diverse landscapes are also home to the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Tŝilhqot’in, Secwépemc, Dãkelh Dené, St’át’imc, Nlaka’pamux, and Ktunaxa Nations, comprised of 54 First Nations Communities. There are 14 Métis Chartered Communities within the Interior region. Stretching from Cariboo-Chilcotin to East Kootenay, you’ll find vibrant communities and a lot of agriculture among the mountains, lakes, and valleys.
Welcome to the Interior Region! This region’s vast and diverse landscapes are also home to the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Tŝilhqot’in, Secwépemc, Dãkelh Dené, St’át’imc, Nlaka’pamux, and Ktunaxa Nations, comprised of 54 First Nations Communities. There are 14 Métis Chartered Communities within the Interior region. Stretching from Cariboo-Chilcotin to East Kootenay, you’ll find vibrant communities and a lot of agriculture among the mountains, lakes, and valleys.
This region also faces the climate impacts of wildfires and annually increasing temperatures, requiring cross-regional collaboration, management practices, and crop diversity to build resiliency and food security for every community.
The Rise Up! Interior Regional Lead is excited to connect youth and organizations within and around the Okanagan, including Kelowna, Kamloops, and Penticton, while also looking for partnership opportunities across the entire region!
A Bit About Me – Your Interior Regional Lead
Megan Viszlai
I grew up on the traditional and unceded lands of the Syilx Okanagan People in Vernon, BC, and am grateful to be physically returning to my roots after spending several years living on the coast.
I’ve spent time studying at Capilano University and UBC in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, where I gained a curiosity and appreciation for the role food plays in our lives and societies.
I’m continually amazed at the way nourishing our bodies can also feed our relationships, cultures, and communities, and how grounding it can be to connect with where our food comes from.
I’m grateful to bring my experience in systems thinking, operations, and food literacy to connect youth with hands-on opportunities that highlight how diverse and inspiring food systems work can be.
Meet Our Interior Region Host Organizations
Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen
Penticton
The mission of the CFSOS is to facilitate partnerships, empower others, and inspire citizens to make our communities better. Food Security has been a strategic impact focus since 2023, and since that time, the Community Foundation has been engaged in efforts to enhance food security and help create a more resilient, sustainable and equitable food system in the South Okanagan Similkameen.
Youth volunteers would have the opportunity to gain insight into non-profit work through supporting and connecting various food-access organizations, and assisting in the planning, execution, and reporting for the 2nd annual South Okanagan Similkameen Food Security Summit in fall 2025.
Métis Community Services Society of BC
Kelowna
MCSBC provides programs and services to the local Indigenous community (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) to mitigate the effects of colonialism. MCSBC is guided by the “7 Teachings “which upholds honesty, humility, respect, wisdom, courage, love, and truth” as their guiding principles.
Youth are invited to join a gardening group at an Indigenous led community garden, and will assist in turning raw land into a food forest, and learn about plants, herbal remedies, seed collecting, harvesting and food preservation.
This garden project will help local families receive nutritious food, teach community members about growing food, provide plant medicine, and act as a safe space for cultural practices.
Other Organizations
Some of the other organizations we are excited and grateful to be partnering with include:
Ready to Get Involved?
Want to learn more about Rise Up!? Fill out our contact form below to connect with our Interior Regional Lead. The Regional leads can walk you through next steps and work closely with you to shape volunteer opportunities that align with your organizational goals and values.
