Skip to content
Join our Newsletter
  1. Home
  2. Local News

PHOTOS: Cross-Canada bike trip celebrating greener youth makes Prince George stop

Students with jobs in forest industry, B.C.’s conservation encouraged to do more
Kyle Balzer
Kyle Balzer

Two brothers are mounting wooden bikes and cycling from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland thanking and recognizing local youth for their strive to better our country’s environment.

Zac Wagman and brother decided to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who takes part in a green job across the country by biking coast-to-coast across nine provinces, believing if they stick with those positions in forest and environmental conservation sectors, it could lead to a full-time job.

They, along with representatives from Project Learning Tree Canada (PLT), stopped in Prince George this afternoon (May 31) at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park for a picnic while also explaining their journey.

“The meaningful work experiences offered through this initiative are long-lasting,” said Zac, who is the Green Jobs Manager for PLT Canada. “Not only do they encourage a passion for the outdoors, they are also important building blocks that allow youth to acquire valuable knowledge and skills. They can take these with them if they choose to pursue careers in these sectors.”

Of the 2,000 youth employed in Green Jobs via PLT Canada, 200 of which are in Prince George, making up one-tenth of the initiative.

One of those employees is Abigail Grigg, who studied wildlife and fisheries at UNBC and is currently an Environmental Consultant with DWB Consulting, which is part of the Green Jobs program.

She’s only been with the firm for one month, but has already been hard at work in the region.

“It’s been lots of orientation and lots of training,” she explained to PrinceGeorgeMatters. “I just spent nine days in Chetwynd doing bird-surveying, which meant waking up at 3 a.m. and going into the bush and finding bird nests, which was really interesting [...] The fact that I get to work outside every day and learn about the environment in and around Prince George is great because it’s interesting how I get to learn about my new home and what’s around me.”

Grigg is grateful PLT Canada provides the opportunity to help fund for a job in her own backyard, having been surrounded by B.C.’s great outdoors her whole life.

“To me, it means a lot because I grew up really involved in nature and being outside a lot. It's really nice to be able to have my work in the outdoor environment and to be involved in learning as much as I can. It makes me feel really involved in the community.”

Employment and Social Development Canada provides half of the salaries for Green Jobs, which makes up $12 million in funding.

“We’re visiting 50 Green Jobs employers in over 30 communities across Canada and we’re hoping that by sharing these Green Job experiences inspires even more youth to pursue these types of jobs,” explained Wagman. “Gender equality is also a big thing for us as, traditionally, this sector is mainly dominated by men, but in 2018, two-thirds of these jobs went to young women. We believe in providing all youth with an opportunity to be a part of the environmental sector.”

As for the near 8,800 km journey from Victoria to St. John’s on a wooden bike, Wagman is not downshifting his mental game any time soon before getting to the Atlantic in September.

“You just go down in your lowest gear and start cranking it out. Basically, you don’t look up, you just look at two-metres in front of you and keep going. We’ve had one flat tire [...] and a couple of farm dogs chase us, but that’s pretty much it.”