Back in 2019, in response to youth climate strikes and community calls for action, then Sackville mayor John Higham convened the Mayor’s Roundtable on Climate Change. One of the first actions of the group was to host a community forum in February 2020, to tackle the question of what Sackville could and would do to adapt to the effects of rapid changes in the climate, and to help mitigate those changes.
The Mayor’s Roundtable has since spawned the Tantramar Climate Change Advisory Committee (CCAC), an official committee of municipal council tasked with advising councillors on all things adaptation and mitigation. And the CCAC has decided it’s time again to gather community members to talk climate action.
This Saturday afternoon at the Sackville Legion the CCAC is hosting a Community Climate Action Workshop focussed on tangible next steps in addressing the climate crisis.
CHMA called up CCAC member Adam Cheeseman to find out more:
“What we’re hoping to do with this upcoming event is to have folks come out to share ideas, but really to ignite action to tackle the climate crisis,” says Cheeseman. “It’s interconnected between a lot of different issues in our community,” he says, which is why the group is hoping to attract a wide range of people to the Saturday workshop.
“It’s focused on getting as many different perspectives in the room,” says Cheeseman, “looking at various different sectors, various different ages, various different demographics in our community.”
The promotional materials for the session promise a focus on “tangible next steps”, and
Cheeseman says he’s hoping the workshop can build on previous meetings and studies, including the original climate forum, and more recent Climate Imagination sessions hosted by EOS Eco-Energy and Quinn MacAskill this past summer.
“We have a lot of ideas in terms of what our needs are, what our gaps are, and kind of what skills and expertise we have as a community,” says Cheeseman. “What we’re hoping to do is really build on that by connecting people together, and mobilizing that action.”
The Community Climate Change Workshop is taking place this Saturday, November 30 from 12:30pm to 4pm at the Sackville Legion on Lorne Street in Sackville. Refreshments will be served, and advanced registration is requested at this link, but residents are also welcome to drop in. Organizers can also be contacted by email at ccactantramar@gmail.com.
