Secwépemc-Led Reforestation After the Elephant Hill Wildfire

The 2017 Elephant Hill wildfire burned close to 200,000 hectares of Secwépemc territory near Kamloops, British Columbia, leaving soil so badly scorched in places that natural tree and plant regrowth was impossible. Eight Secwépemc member communities formed the Secwepemcúl'ecw Restoration and Stewardship Society (SRSS) in 2019 to lead the recovery themselves, combining Secwépemc law and traditional knowledge with Western forestry science to restore forests, rivers, and grasslands. With multi-year backing from WWF-Canada and Canada's 2 Billion Trees program, SRSS has planted more than 1.1 million trees and restored over 677 hectares of fire-damaged ecosystems while training and employing community members in the process.