Taking action on climate change doesn’t have to be a dismal, desperate, solitary task.
Energy and ideas flowed at a recent Community Climate Forum held against a backdrop of nature’s beauty in Marine Peace Park.
Hosted by the Shuswap Climate Action Society, about two dozen people of varying ages articulated ideas for moving forward. Climate Action was looking for concerns, ideas and suggestions on what the group could be doing to educate, engage and get more action on climate from individuals, businesses and governments.
One person said they would like to make acting on climate change more interesting and fun, with no shaming.
Other ideas captured on a flip chart included:
• Holding a school competition to create a TikTok video;
• Encouraging people to connect with and value nature;
• Collaborating with other local groups to help spread awareness and create power in numbers;
• Using traditional rather than institutional knowledge.
The two guest speakers were Knowledge Keeper Louis Thomas from the Neskonlith band and Dr. Warren Bell. Thomas spoke of sharing the land, the idea that it’s not mine, it’s not yours, it’s the community’s.
“More of an ethic of valuing what we have,” said Julia Beatty, chair of the society, as she reviewed the day.
“For us, it’s a bit of a tough sell as people are anxious about the impact of climate change; it’s no longer in our future, it’s on our doorstep. How do we turn anxiety into positive action?”
She said a lot of people are already acting, but much more needs to be done.
“How do we engage business, how do we engage elected officials to do more? How do we engage the community in fun ways?”
She said the society has just registered another code for a group purchase rebate for energy pumps.
“The first rebate code had 11 people register the code; they each got a $350 rebate on their new heat pump.”
Shuswap Climate Action will be at the next two Downtown Salmon Arm Farmer’s Markets, Aug. 6 and 13, to sell raffle tickets on two original prints by local artist Steve Mennie. Tickets are $10 each and just 200 tickets were printed for each framed original print. The draw date is Aug. 15.
As for the forum, Beatty said although the turnout was a bit lower than she was hoping for, “I felt that it was a real success given it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon when most folks are out enjoying the lake, and those who did attend provided a lot of really good input – from both our speakers and the participants. It generated a lot of discussion and that’s the first big step in finding solutions and increasing our community’s resilience.”
She said Shuswap Climate Action will be looking at all the points presented as a work plan is drawn up for the next year.
To contact the society, email shuswap.climate@telus.net.
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martha.wickett@saobserver.net
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