“You have to love something before you can protect it.”
That’s the driving belief behind the work outdoor educator Nancie Dohan has been doing in the Kootenays for the past three decades, as she encourages kids to get up close and personal with nature.
This week she was wrapping up a series of performances on salmon, out at Kokanee Creek Provincial Park, in which she took School District 8 students along on a journey through a salmon’s life cycle using black lights and neon fish.
“Welcome to the place of many Kokanee,” she told the kids Thursday as they gathered in the Suzy Hamilton Theatre.
In years past she’s had different themes — a particularly popular one was Star Wars, and featured Princess Lay-Eggs and Darth Raven — but this year she wanted to change things up, so along with a team of interpreters they borrowed some black lights from the Rhythm Ropers and set out to create something magical.
“We always try to touch on all the curriculum connections, so we put together a show that plays on life cycle, predator-prey relationships, First Nations content and the whole thing about how these Kokanee salmon got land-locked,” she said.
Since Thursday was the last day of performances, she was feeling a little tearful as the kids rushed out to the spawning channels to see the fish in person, and to participate in a dissection with interpreter Joanne Siderius.
“When I’m with these students, they become part of my story. When I see them and their reaction not just to the theatre show, but also the spawning channel and the fish, all the creatures down there, their passion ignites mine.”
Dohan’s been doing this sort of education for 29 years, working originally for B.C. Parks before starting out her own contracting business. She’s taken different positions over the years, at one point taking an outdoor education role in Victoria, but she’s always returned to Kokanee Creek Park.
The kids, she’s found, really do say the darnedest things.
“One little boy yesterday, when I said some animals eat the brains of the fish, he said, ‘At least if they’re eating brains, then they’re getting smarter,’” she said, with a laugh.
“It’s working with the fisheries personnel, working with these interpreters, being with the children — all of these things capture my imagination. I’m passionate about the fish, and I’ve been this way for so long.”
She believes learning about salmon will have a political, social and environmental impact on the kids — especially as the renegotiation of the Columbia River Treaty looms in the future.
“I always say you’re learning about something in your own backyard, and this will be important for you when you’re decision-makers and have to decide how we’re going to be with our environment that we share with so many animals,” she said.
“What we do here is, we’re helping the kids learn to love this area, to fall in love with fish.”
