{"id":7645,"date":"2025-07-19T08:43:34","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T08:43:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/7645\/"},"modified":"2025-07-19T08:43:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T08:43:34","slug":"behchok%c7%ab-celebrates-launch-of-reforestation-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/7645\/","title":{"rendered":"Behchok\u01eb\u0300 celebrates launch of reforestation project"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Elder Michel Louis Rabesca says trees are an important part of the T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb way of life. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe tree provides everything: warmth, shelter, everything for our people,\u201d a translator described Rabesca as saying in T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb Yat\u0131\u00ec. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe live off the land. We know that the land provides lots, it provides food and the trees also provide everything for us. But right now we\u2019re losing it, slowly we\u2019re losing it because of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rabesca made the remarks\u00a0on Saturday morning during an opening ceremony for what the T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb Government says will be the largest reforestation effort ever undertaken in the Northwest Territories. <\/p>\n

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\"\"T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb drummers perform in Behchok\u01eb\u0300. Elder Michel Louis Rabesca is in the centre in blue. Emily Blake\/Cabin Radio<\/p>\n

\"\"A group photo at the reforestation project celebration in Behchok\u01eb\u0300. Emily Blake\/Cabin Radio<\/p>\n

Over the next three weeks, dozens of tree planters from across Canada will be planting 1.4 million seedlings around Behchok\u01eb\u0300, Russell Lake and James Lake.<\/p>\n

The seedlings were grown from locally harvested seeds.<\/p>\n

The project is part of the T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb Government\u2019s response to the increasing frequency, size and intensity of wildfires and their impact on the land, wildlife and communities.<\/p>\n

In the summer of 2023, a devastating wildfire forced residents of Behchok\u01eb\u0300 to evacuate<\/a> and destroyed four homes<\/a> in the community alongside more than a dozen structures<\/a> in the area. <\/p>\n

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By the end of August that year, NWT Fire said the massive wildfire had burned 167,082 hectares of land. Burn scars and blackened trees can still be seen alongside Highway 3 and the road to Behchok\u01eb\u0300. <\/p>\n

\"\"Burnt trees around Behchok\u01eb\u0300 in July 2025. Emily Blake\/Cabin Radio<\/p>\n

\"\"Behchok\u01eb\u0300 Chief Bertha Rabesca Zoe plants a seedling outside of the community\u2019s cultural centre. Emily Blake\/Cabin Radio<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know fire is part of the natural cycle, but with climate change, fires are burning hotter and more often than ever before,\u201d newly elected<\/a> Behchok\u01eb\u0300\u00a0Chief Bertha Rabesca Zoe said on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince that time, it\u2019s been two years now, and we\u2019ve lived surrounded by charred forests, a painful reminder of that unforgiving summer.\u201d <\/p>\n

Tammy Steinwand-Deschambault, director of the T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb Government\u2019s department of culture and lands protection, also said the land is not coming back the way that it used to and forests are struggling to quickly regenerate on their own.<\/p>\n

She said T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb language, culture, identity and history is deeply tied to the land. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe land has always been more than a place. It is our teacher, our provider and the heart of who we are. For as long as anyone can remember, T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb people have lived in relationship with the land and the environment, the animals, the wildlife. Our precious land has continually supported and nourished us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is time for us as T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb people to give back, to support the land that has supported us for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rabesca Zoe and Steinwand-Deschambault said the tree planting project will help to restore the forest and ensure the land remains strong for wildlife and future generations. <\/p>\n

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\u201cI believe the spirits of our ancestors will proudly accompany us along this journey,\u201d Steinwand-Deschambault said. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur ancestors taught us to live in balance with nature. Now, in a changing climate, we are ready to learn new skills and rise to new challenges,\u201d Rabesca Zoe said. <\/p>\n

\"\"A freshly planted seedling outside of Behchok\u01eb\u0300\u2019s cultural centre. Emily Blake\/Cabin Radio<\/p>\n

\"\"Elder Joe Rabesca holds seedlings he says he plans to plant near his home in Behchok\u01eb\u0300. Emily Blake\/Cabin Radio<\/p>\n

The celebration at Behchok\u01eb\u0300\u2019s cultural centre saw tree planters join a drum dance with T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb Elders, leaders, staff and other community members.<\/p>\n

Chief Rabesca Zoe and Elder Joe Rabesca each planted seedlings outside of the centre.<\/p>\n

Rabesca said he also plans to plant some seedlings near his home. <\/p>\n

The T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb Government says this summer\u2019s tree planting effort is part of a larger six-year plan to plant 13 million trees across T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb lands. <\/p>\n

In remarks shared on his behalf at Saturday\u2019s celebration, T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty, who was unable to attend in person, said \u201cthere is much work ahead to heal and restore our land.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are embarking on a truly remarkable and transformative journey,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese trees will protect our communities through Firesmart planting and help restore the forests that sustain various wildlife, including caribou, and all who rely on this land.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated Articles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Advertisement. Elder Michel Louis Rabesca says trees are an important part of the T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb way of life. \u201cThe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[8264,49,48,295,66,8265,6090],"class_list":["post-7645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-behchok","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-tlich","tag-wildfires"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}