Timberwest and Indspire announce new post-secondary Indigenous Forestry Education award

Nov 28, 2018

Five-year awards program available to post-secondary forestry students in trades as well as academic studies

Nanaimo: TimberWest is pleased to announce a $50,000 post-secondary scholarship program for Indigenous students enrolled in forest management studies.

TimberWest provided $25,000 through the Indspire Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries, Scholarships and Awards program for a five-year period that started this year and is running until 2022. Indspire has received matching funding from the Government of Canada, raising the scholarship to a total of $50,000.

“TimberWest is proud to support forestry-related education opportunities for Indigenous students”, said President & CEO Jeff Zweig. “We strongly believe that education is an important contributor to increasing indigenous participation in the forest economy.”

The TimberWest Indigenous Forestry Education Award will be awarded on an annual basis to First Nations students representing one of the three major language groups on Vancouver Island: the Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth or Kwakwaka’wakw territories. Students must be enrolled in a post-secondary institution studying forest resource management or natural resource management, forest sciences or fisheries, or apprenticeships, skilled trades and technician certificate or diploma programs to be eligible for the annual $5,000 award.

“I am pleased that TimberWest has further committed and invested in Indigenous education,” said Roberta Jamieson, President and CEO of Indspire. “This scholarship is a reflection of that commitment and speaks to the recognized value Indigenous peoples bring to the forest sector. With this award, that recognition can grow as it enables several Coastal BC First Nations students to follow their passion that starts with an entrenched set of land management values.”

To learn more about TimberWest’s commitment to their long-term First Nations partners, visit: https://www.timberwest.com/our-first-nations-partners/.

To learn more about Indspire and the TimberWest Indigenous Forestry Education Award, visit: www.indspire.ca

About Indspire

Indspire is an Indigenous-led registered charity that invests in the education of Indigenous people for the long term benefit of these individuals, their families and communities, and Canada. With the support of its funding partners, Indspire disburses financial awards, delivers programs, and shares resources with the goal of closing the gap in Indigenous education. Through the K-12 Institute, it provides resources to educators, communities, and other stakeholders who are committed to improving kindergarten to grade 12 success for Indigenous youth. In 2017-18, Indspire provided $14.2 million through 4,942 bursaries and scholarships to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students. Each year, the organization presents the Indspire Awards, a celebration of the successes achieved by Indigenous people that is broadcast nationally.

About TimberWest

TimberWest is certified to the Progressive Aboriginal Relations program of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. The company is also third-party certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and has been operating on the BC Coast for over 100 years. TimberWest is a Canadian company owned by two major Canadian public service pension funds.

MEDIA CONTACT
Monica Bailey|Director, Communications
T 250 716 3744
Monica.Bailey@TimberWest.com

NT5