We are so excited to be celebrating Power To Be’s 25th year: what a journey it has been! Thank you to everyone who has participated in or created the numerous opportunities to bring our community together to enjoy the benefits and beauty of nature. As we transition into the autumn months, we are taking the opportunity to look towards the future, which looks brighter than ever.

Power To Be was presented with an exciting opportunity to partner with Nature Bee to create custom Beeswax wraps where 15% of the proceeds are donated to Power To Be. The timing was perfect as Nature Bee celebrates their 5th anniversary this year, and Power To Be celebrates our 25th! We caught up with Katie Gamble, Founder of Nature Bee, to share more about Nature Bee and what makes their products so special!

Tēnā Koutou, Nau Mai Koutou, Kia Ora Tātou Katoa! (A warm and generous welcome, greeting and acknowledgement to all of you reading this post) Ko Tangata Māori ahau (I am a Māori Person ‘visiting’ here on these Indigenous lands and waters of Vancouver Island)

For the past 15 years, the Family Roots program has been a core program offering here at Power To Be. Through partnership with Human Nature Counselling, the 5-month program supports solo-parent families living within Greater Victoria, B.C.

Ryan Peterson advocates for inclusion and leverages his creative thinking to drive change in the area of accessibility.  Ryan, a prominent name in the BC tech industry, and his wife Monica have a passion for inclusion and accessibility.  They established the Peterson Family Foundation to champion a world where barriers are removed, creating an environment that inspires creativity and possibility. 

Magic happens when you bring together organizations with shared passion. Staff and volunteer club leaders from NatureKids BC joined us virtually to learn about making the outdoors more accessible for all. We are passionate about our mission and know that for everyone to belong in nature, we need to work with partners to move the inclusion movement forward.

Last year, Power To Be’s Head of Programs and Services, Pete Carson, and I were approached with an opportunity to visit a number of organizations in Colorado who operate in very similar ways to Power To Be, with the intention to learn, share, and collaborate. Over three nights and two days at the beginning of November 2022, we were able to visit three organizations and one State Park, starting high in the Rocky Mountains.

At Power To Be, we want to help our participants build skills and create positive outdoor experiences by removing barriers to nature. We are proud to offer a wide variety of programs to accommodate as many of our community’s needs as possible. The Inclusive Adventures stream is designed for folks who are keen to learn and grow through outdoor adventures.

Throughout the years, we have worked hard to improve our programs to make them more accessible. We cater these programs to our participants’ needs and desires and consistently discover new ways to support them in reaching their goals. By being curious, exploring, and asking questions, we have found many different kinds of adaptive equipment to support our participants in accessing nature and experiencing the magic of the outdoors.

Recently, we met with members from BC Mobility Opportunities Society (BCMOS), Strathcona Wilderness Institute, and CRIS Adaptive to discuss the TrailRider. This device will make the outdoors even more accessible and allow anyone to venture to incredible places, create connection within our community and discover the wonders nature has to offer.

Once a year our program team gets together and dedicates our time to sharpen and develop our skills at our Spring Training. For two years we were not able to have our traditional Spring Training so coming together this year with our program team had many reasons for why it was successful.

Power To Be is always exploring ways to improve and expand the programs we offer. Thanks to meaningful conversations and a generous grant from the BC Rehab Foundation, we were able to build relationships and partnerships with organizations both old and new which in turn has helped us cater to the needs of our participants.

Whether we are paddling, exploring, climbing, stretching or simply getting the wiggles out, participation in Power To Be’s programs often involves moving our bodies in some way! Our physical activity outcome in our Theory of Change seeks to support individuals with increasing their access to physical activity.

We believe that spending time in nature fuels the body, guides the heart, and mends the soul. With the addition of a welcoming community, a safe place, and a large dash of playfulness we believe Power To Be programs can have a positive impact on the mental and emotional health of our participants, volunteers and staff.

In 2020, Power To Be formed a new partnership with Foundry. Foundry is a province-wide network of integrated health and social service centres for young people ages 12-24. As we all adapted to life through a virtual platform, the idea came to run an “Educational Workshop Series” that Foundry staff could attend from anywhere in BC.

At Power To Be, one of our Theory of Change program outcomes is “Social Skills”. This acknowledges the importance of creating space and opportunity through our programs for participants, staff and volunteers to connect with each other. We strive to have a safe space that allows folks to practice social interactions, learn, teach, grow and develop healthy relationships.

As the hype continues after the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo this is the time to enjoy the strength and ability of the Paralympic athletes. Locally in BC we have some phenomenal organizations who work with Para- athletes year round. Through coaching one on one to fostering groups of athletes these organizations become part of the fabric of the athletes’ lives and a part of their community.

At Power To Be we often refer to nature as a “co-facilitator” to our programs. The natural environment we explore provides not only the setting, but the lessons, the adventure, the playfulness, and the space to heal or ground ourselves.

Power To Be’s partnership model centers on engaging other sectors and industries, including tourism partners such as the Sea To Sky Gondola. When we first met the amazing team at the Gondola, we were taking our participants to their site and their staff were so excited to meet us and welcomed us with true authenticity.

When you are headed outdoors for an adventure, it is essential that you bring along things that you need to keep you safe in the outdoors. These things are typically known in the Outdoor Industry as “The Ten Essentials”. There are a whole variety of different versions of “The Ten Essentials”, but they can all be broken down to the ten essential categories of items to pack. Check out our list and use it a guide to help you pack everything you need for your next adventure.