Join us on Thursday, Jan.21, 2021 from noon to 1 pm for our first Starting the Conversation of the year. This will be an on-line discussion, so please email icer.ok@ubc.ca to register for a link.
The question for discussion will be: How can we effectively engage our Okanagan communities in climate action?
Abstract:
In order for government at all levels to take the actions needed to address urgent and ambitious climate targets, a broad social mandate is necessary – one that reaches across divides to avoid political polarization. To achieve this mandate, government, civil society, and other actors need to invest in higher quality and quantity of public engagement on climate change. These efforts need to be tailored to the particular community that is being engaged. In this ‘Starting A Conversation’ event, Mary will outline what constitutes effective climate engagement at the community level, drawing from the research evidence base as well as her experience in training and implementing a climate ambassador program in collaboration with the City of Vernon, where over 30 ambassadors were trained to reach out to their particular community networks, ultimately reaching over 1000 people (and counting).
Bio:
Mary, a Lecturer in Human Geography at UBCO, has made addressing climate change her central concern. She recently returned from living in the UK on sabbatical leave (2019-2020); while there, she volunteered as coordinator of videographers a two week Extinction Rebellion event in London last October, and began her current part-time work at Climate Outreach in Oxford as project manager for an ambitious international project called the Climate Engagement Initiative. Locally, she has acted as Co-Chair for the Climate Action Advisory Committee (CAAC) of the City of Vernon, who have just released a draft Climate Action Plan for community engagement.
