Local Residents Roll Up their Sleeves on Climate Action - theHumm April 2020

Local Residents Roll Up their Sleeves on Climate Action - theHumm April 2020

Back in early March, over 100 Lanark residents attended a day-long workshop to plan deep climate action for our community. This Climate Action Where We Live workshop was organized by the Climate Action Network.

“We originally booked a hall that would hold 60, but within days of opening up registration we were at 80 and so had to find another venue,” says Gord Harrison, one of the event organizers. “We finally capped the numbers at 115, with a waiting list… It’s very heartening to see such interest, such commitment.”

Steve Lapp provided a compelling presentation on how Ontario can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. “Steve provided detailed calculations but in a way that was very accessible. But more than that, he showed that it’s doable, within reach and this gives me hope,” explains Barb Purdy, a workshop participant. Steve Lapp is an engineer by training and spent his career designing and implementing clean energy solutions. Most recently, he designed and taught a course on Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering and Technology at St. Lawrence College in Kingston.

In the afternoon, participants met in ten Working Groups, each on a different topic: health and climate change, local government, energy supply, transportation, farms, forest, engagement and communications, and energy in buildings. “We set two broad objectives for each Working Group: that they develop detailed action plans around their topic, and that they commit to continuing to work together to finalize and implement these plans,” adds Gord Harrison. “This happened in spades with several of the groups setting a date for their next meeting. People want to see real and deep action on climate and I know the workshop groups represent a broader commitment of the community at large. The Network will support these groups and this effort.”

The Climate Action Network of Lanark County, Smiths Falls and Region was created by the Lanark County Stewardship Council in February 2019. It represents over twenty local organizations, many individuals and several key agencies. The mission of the Network is to connect, coordinate, facilitate, initiate and support collaborative efforts and actions by and for the community to address the impacts of climate change through both mitigation and adaptation.

For more information, please contact Gord Harrison at gordonkh@magma.ca or 256–1487.

facebook.com/CALL-Citizens-Call-for-Climate-Action-in-Lanark-County-and-Smiths-Falls-220649972218168

 

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