CCQL 7 Campaign Day 6: HOPE

Who knew that a vacation 8 years ago would change my life? I remember taking the long drive up to Quesnel Lake from Calgary for the first time in 2013, it was adventure I didn’t know I was ready for. As we drove for what seemed like forever, we reached this little oasis in the middle of nowhere and began a journey.

My memories of Quesnel are filled with adventure, of the little eleven-year-old me annoying and amusing the boat driver with my incessant chatter, driving a quad for the first time, gutting a fish, and eating so many chips that I’m surprised the boat didn’t capsize.

But Quesnel Lake for me brings a connection to the people around me. Though the disaster broke my heart and infuriated me simultaneously it has brought a purpose into both mine and my mum’s life. A fire which I had once thought smothered within my mum came alight. She was outraged at the lack of justice displaced upon the mine; I think I may know enough environmental jargon to write a paper on mine waste.

But this story is mine, not my mum’s. I became involved with CCQL because I knew a little about technology. I could use a website creator and took a technology class in school that deemed me the ‘tech expert’, so without even realizing it I became involved with a small environmental group. I was designing billboards, creating websites, branding, and creating a Facebook account. Little did I know how much I was capable of, but by helping, it not only gave me a sense of achievement but of hope. I felt that the once beautiful lake which I had come to love had a future. The disaster didn’t have to be the end of Quesnel Lake, but it lived on in all of us.

When the appeal began, I saw that little by little CCQL was making significant steps and changes for not only themselves but for the rest of the environmental world. It gave me hope that ordinary citizens could make a difference and I could make a small dent on the injustice of our world.