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Workshops to help build extreme temperature resiliency in North Island

Public invited to join in one of two workshops this month
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The warming centre in Tahsis, where people were without power in January, 2022. Photo courtesy SRD

As the climate becomes more unstable, North Island communities will need to build resiliency to extreme temperature events — both hot and cold.

To help with that, the Strathcona Regional District, along with partners Mt. Waddington Regional District, Comox Valley Emergency Program and the United Way BC are holding two virtual workshops for members of North Island communities. The round table sessions are going to be focused on grassroots hope and empowerment, a press release from the SRD says.

“This winter, we have already experienced daily minimum temperature records set from the southern tip of Vancouver Island to the northeastern corner of the province, and many spots in between,” the release says. “There were many cold weather records broken across British Columbia.”

The workshops will look at what kind of supports are covered by the emergency programs and how the United Way supports grassroots organizations. There will also be guest speakers from rural communities as well as a roundtable discussion and relationship-building opportunity.

The SRD release says it’s an “opportunity for attendees to share projects they’re working on or are aware of in their community as well as hopes/dreams they would like to see their community achieve.”

“Rural communities tend to have fewer financial, human and formal institutional resources with which to respond to these changes. Access to important assets that support resilience and adaptation from which communities can draw from are available, such as strong informal economies, social networks and connections to place, community, and culture,” it says. “Grassroots organizations have a distinct and critical role in advancing social change, specifically in the area of community resilience to climate change.”

The workshops will be held virtually on Monday, Jan. 23 from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., and Thursday, Jan. 26 from 12 p.m. until 2 p.m. The theme of the workshop will be enhancing extreme temperature resiliency in rural North Vancouver Island communities. Both workshops will have the same agenda.

The virtual Zoom attendance information can be found at www.srd.ca/extreme-temp-session.

RELATED: Climate change causing more frequent warm winter temperatures: extreme weather expert

Twice as much snow and sun during a volatile December on the Island



marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com

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