For seven weeks this summer the District of 100 Mile House's FireSmart coordinator, Ryan Dugaro, will have a helping hand.
On Tuesday, June 10, the district announced they have hired Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School grad Daylee Whyte as their junior FireSmart coordinator for the summer. Dugaro said he is looking forward to working with Whyte to increase public education about the FireSmart program.
"I want to let her find a direction that really engages her. That will be the majority of the role," Dugaro said. "There is also going to be accompanying me to educational events, the farmers' market and community events."
Dugaro said when he first took on the role of FireSmart coordinator earlier this year, he went to Victoria to train and meet with members of the program. While there, his previous role as a youth worker with the Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre came up, which he said dovetailed nicely with their new junior FireSmart coordinator program.
Last year, Dugaro said the Junior FireSmart coordinator role was piloted in two communities and this year it's been expanded to 14 communities, including 100 Mile House. The role is fully funded through the BCAA FireSmart BC Initiative.
"I was invited to apply to be part of the pilot project for this year and there was some good collaboration about what that program could look like and what my feedback was towards building some of the program," Dugaro explained. "I was really excited to be a part of that building process.
"What I pitched to FireSmart was based on my work with youth. I always found it exciting when the youth surprised me with what they brought to the table. To not necessarily put a limit on what they're going to come up with."
For the first few weeks, Dugaro said he'll be onboarding and training Whyte in what FireSmart is and what role a coordinator plays in it. He noted Whyte already has a head start as Dugaro went to PSO in the spring to teach her Junior Firefighter Class about the FireSmart program.
After this period of onboarding, Dugaro said he plans to let Whyte decide what she would like to dig into about the role. Whether that's building a social media presence for the district's FireSmart program or digging into an aspect of FireSmart that interests her, Dugaro said the main thing is that she is engaged.
"Part of what we were looking for when we hired is the sense that that person is enthusiastic and engaged with the program," Dugaro said. "I knew when I applied for the junior FireSmart that there were going to be engaged students in the (Junior Firefighter course) where I envisioned pulling this person from."
Whyte will begin her new role on July 2, 2025, with Dugaro noting the seven-week role will give her plenty of job experience and life skills. Dugaro said she has already shown she is engaged and very excited to take on the role.
"I really want to see where that goes. I think it's going to be very positive for the community to see a young person out in public and able to bring a different perspective than I have to that messaging," Dugaro said.
