CFBC graduate builds outdoor adventure business

CLEARWATER, B.C. – A Construction Foundation of BC (CFBC) program graduate is taking what she’s learned to build both a physical location and business plan for an outdoor adventure business in British Columbia’s North Thompson River Valley.

Lacey, who goes by a single name, is a graduate of the CFBC’s Indigenous-led Sky Keepers program which provides drone training and certification to underrepresented groups, as well as entrepreneurial, technical and safety certifications.

Lacey, an avid hunter and outdoor enthusiast, has built up the profile of her business, Countryside Adventures, on social media and is now taking the next step with the licensing of the business and construction of a physical location in the town of Clearwater, B.C., a release said.

She also intends to implement her drone training through the Sky Keepers program to document outdoor events facilitated by Countryside Adventures as well as including services for other outdoor activities.

“I want to keep growing my business so it gets bigger and bigger. Right now it’s a small storefront, but I don’t plan on staying this small for long,” she said.

Lacey graduated in the Sky Keeper’s second cohort of students and continues to access the programs that are put in place to help participants on a one-to-one basis as they navigate their way towards their goals, the release said.

“It was a few stressful months. The Indigenous entrepreneurship course was more intense than the drone training — it gets tough sometimes when you’re balancing training with life and family,” Lacey said.

Sky Keepers is made possible through the support from DIGITAL, Canada’s global innovation cluster for digital technologies, the release said, and funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Skills for Success Program.