Delegates from the Granisle Emergency Support Services (ESS) team attended the annual Northern Emergency Support Services Training (NESST) conference in Prince George on April 12 to 14, 2019. The goal of the conference is to bring emergency support services volunteers and support agencies together from all over northern B.C. for a weekend of networking, learning, and sharing of best practices and experiences in all areas of ESS response. The conference had over 200 attendees.
The weekend program was filled with workshops and courses ranging from registration and referrals to Indigenous Cultural Awareness, to panel discussion on the 2017 and 2018 wildfires, interlaced with spotlight speakers from Emergency Management British Columbia, City of Vancouver, Canadian Red Cross, Team Rubicon, and more. Topics focused on volunteerism, recoveries from disasters, and the health and safety of our responders.
During the volunteer appreciation dinner that was held on Saturday evening, the Honourable Janet Austin, Lieutenant Governor of B.C., made a special appearance and spoke about the vital role ESS plays in responding to wild fire and flooding in the past few years. Bryce Hunsaker, Grainsle team member was recognized for volunteerism by receiving a 20-year service pin.
Each delegate attended different workshops throughout the weekend to take full advantage of the conference. They will bring back lessons learned to the team and share their experience at the next team meeting on May 6, 2019.