Support Indigenous conservation leadership and connection by sponsoring future Estuary to Old Growth Gatherings
Your generosity helps remove barriers, strengthen connections, and lay the foundation for a thriving future rooted in Indigenous leadership.
Why Your Support Matters
The Estuary to Old Growth Gathering is held on an annual basis and made possible through the collective efforts of community and partner organizations who share a responsibility to care for the lands, waters, and one another.
Your support directly strengthens:
Community Participation: Making it possible for representatives from coastal Nations to share their stories, priorities, and visions for the future.
Intergenerational Learning: Creating space for Elders and youth to connect, exchange knowledge, and carry forward teachings.
Cultural Protocols and Ceremony: Honouring practices that root the Gathering in respect and relationship, linking cultural and ecological restoration.
Every contribution carries forward the spirit of the We Rise Together movement.
What Your Contribution Supports
Costs vary depending on the event venue, which rotates each year. Based on past Gatherings, here is an estimate of the full cost to support one participant’s attendance at the Gathering:
Ways To Contribute
1. Sponsor The Event
Sponsorship reflects a deeper commitment to allyship and shared responsibility, demonstrating meaningful support for the We Rise Together movement and for Indigenous conservation leadership across the Pacific west coast.
Sponsor one attendee: Become a Herring Sponsor and donate $3,000 to cover the costs of one person’s attendance at the Estuary to Old Growth Gathering.
Direct contribution: For maximum impact, send an e-transfer to donate@cicica.ca Or send a cheque (contact Abby Sparling, abby@iisaakolam.ca for details).
Donate online: Donations can also be made through our secure Charitable Impact page under the Canadian Indigenous Conservation Innovation Centre Association (CICICA). (Please note: Charitable Impact applies a 2.8% fee to credit card donations. To ensure your full contribution supports the campaign, you can send an e-transfer and we’ll send you a donation receipt).
Charitable tax receipts will be issued for direct contributions of $50 or more. To receive a charitable tax receipt, please contact abby@iisaakolam.ca.
Other ideas on how to contribute?
Get in touch with our team here: wisp@iisaakolam.ca
Across the coast, Indigenous Nations are leading efforts to restore balance through the creation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) and other Indigenous-led conservation initiatives. At a time when spaces for connection and collaboration are urgently needed, the Estuary to Old Growth Gathering provides a vital forum to share experiences and build collective capacity to uphold our shared responsibilities to the lands and waters we all rely on.
The Gathering is more than an event; it is a living expression of We Rise Together— a movement grounded in reciprocity, care, and relationship. It reaffirms that the well-being of people and place are inseparable, and that enduring solutions emerge when we learn from one another and work together.
Impact
Over the past three years, more than 250 participants representing 40+ Indigenous Nations have gathered through the Estuary to Old Growth Gathering series. Together, they have:
Co-created a regional movement advancing Indigenous-led conservation and governance across Vancouver Island and the West Coast of B.C.
Launched the Estuary to Old Growth Declaration process, now underway through regional circles and a growing Steering Committee representing coastal Nations.
Celebrated/Supported the first graduates of IPCA Planning Advanced Certificate program with Vancouver Island University, building the next generation of IPCA planners and stewards.
Each Gathering builds on the last — turning dialogue into shared governance, collaboration, and stewardship rooted in respect, reciprocity, and responsibility.
Estuary to Old Growth Operations
The Estuary to Old Growth Gathering is coordinated through the IISAAK OLAM Foundation (IOF) and the Canadian Indigenous Conservation Innovation Centre Association (CICICA):
IOF is an Indigenous-led, educational, not-for-profit society. Our mission to support Indigenous Peoples’ leadership and capacity in the establishment of IPCAs and guide the transformation of nature conservation in Canada.
CICICA is Canada’s first Indigenous-led charity dedicated to supporting the establishment, governance, and management of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) and IPCA Innovation Centres.
These sister organizations serve as trusted vehicles for funders to support the annual Estuary to Old Growth Gathering. Both organizations have the administrative infrastructure to manage grants, sponsorships, and contributions from diverse funding sources, ensuring that resources flow efficiently and transparently to where they are most needed.
By contributing, you help the Estuary to Old Growth Gathering remain a place for connection, healing, and collaboration.
We rise together — from the estuaries to the old growth forests!
For questions or sponsorship inquires, please contact:
Abby Sparling
Estuary to Old Growth Gathering Planning Team, IISAAK OLAM Foundation
More information: https://ipcainnovation.ca/e2oggathering
