Hello Everyone,
Anyone else feeling like March is going to be big? Suddenly we can go outside again and the energy that has been collecting all winter and indeed for the past two years, is exploding in all directions.
As an organization, that explosion comes in the form of growth. Three years ago Gord Harrison and Sue Brandum invited some 20+ people and organizations to a gathering to find out if the broader Lanark County community wanted to focus on the climate crisis. The answer was a resounding YES. The Lanark County Stewardship Council (which is not related to the formal Lanark County government) generously agreed to sponsor us. Since then we’ve accomplished a lot, and we’ve grown. Time to fledge and fly off the nest. We have now received our incorporation as an independent non-profit federal corporation in Ontario. In order to support that transition, we have hired Sadie Brule to join our administrative team thanks to the generous support of Nature Canada. You can learn more about her below.
If you want places to put your political energy, we are happy to support 350.org's Climate Day of Action in Perth on March 12th. Later this month, the movement continues with Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike in Perth on March 25th. These are National and International events, and we are consolidating our Lanark energy in Perth, so save the emissions to downtown Ottawa and join us locally. More details below.
Lastly, our Emissions Reduction Target Campaign continues as the County continues to identify actions to shortlist. Over 400 people have supported the target. Make sure your name is one of them. We have also started adding business and organizational support as well as individual names, so do join us if you represent one of those.
We look forward to seeing you in person soon,
Gord, Sue, Sadie and Emily
- Local Political Actions
- Meet our New Staff Member - Sadie Brule
- Emissions Reduction Target Campaign
- Youth for Climate Action Looking for New Members
- Learning and Events
- Local Climate Action in the News
- Actions You Can Take
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1. Local Political Actions
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On Saturday, March 12, 2022, Lanark County Warden John Fenik will attend a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Perth Town Hall (80 Gore St. E., Perth). Area residents are invited to attend the 11:00am opening of the local job office for the Ministry of Just Transition.
Of course, the Ministry of Just Transition doesn’t actually exist. In the 2019 election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to introduce a Just Transition Act, “ensuring that workers have access to the training and support they need to succeed in the new clean economy.”
It’s been nearly 3 years since that promise, and we haven’t seen any serious progress. Meanwhile, our communities are experiencing extreme climate impacts, a multi-year global pandemic, and a looming economic crisis. The fossil fuel era is ending, and people can’t keep waiting for help with the transition to clean jobs.
2021 was marked by extreme heat, fuelling one of the worst wildfire seasons on record. In BC, an atmospheric river caused deadly mudslides that destroyed hundreds of homes and took out entire highways. We’ve also had to navigate the escalating COVID 19 health crisis that’s overwhelmed our hospitals and emergency services.
In 2022 there’s no time to waste. That’s why we’re taking action together across Canada on March 12th, to put our vision for a Just Transition on full display. Confirmed guests include candidates for the upcoming Ontario election and two high school students to speak on why young people need a Just Transition program.
This event is part of a 350.org national event
Please direct any media inquiries to: Tony Cote 613-715-0012
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2. Meet our New Staff Member - Sadie Brule
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We are pleased to welcome Sadie Brule to our administrative team. You may find her at the end of an email, or roaming through her hometown of Perth, but until you meet, here is a little bit about what moves her to act on Climate.
Sadie’s childhood left her no stranger to the environmental movement - with a mother who spent part of her life on a commune and an activist aunt who happily tied herself to the trees she wanted to protect. But growing up in a bustling city, those core values left her feeling on the outside - even when she turned vegetarian at fifteen her friends raised an eyebrow and she was left to ponder how to talk about our environmental impact without sounding like an extremist.
As a new parent, the image of a garbage heap of disposable diapers made the impact of her own choices become starkly apparent. She stopped worrying about being an extremist because suddenly it all felt incredibly urgent “The amount of diapers you produce as a parent, are going to be here longer than you are. I wanted a family but when I thought about what it was costing the planet and everyone in the future, I wanted to do it with an awareness that our resources are not infinite.”
The images of environmental devastation on social media can be motivating, but she also acknowledges they can carry a demotivating weight; so instead she focuses on the communities of people who are brought together because of a shared concern. She sees part of her job as translating that concern into positive actions. Rather than impart the doom of the trash heap to her own kids, she is instead imparting the joy of using less, while normalizing it - her once cloth-diapered 4 year old happily plays with their vermiculture setup, and it is not uncommon for her to be the one correcting - “Mom, that is not garbage!”
Sadie’s journey to Perth was a long one, with stops in Virginia, high school in Victoria, University for English Lit in Mexico, and College for Hospitality in Ottawa. She and her partner were driving through Perth one day and, struck by the wholesomeness and general ambience of the town, decided this was the place to settle down.
By volunteering at The Table and sitting on the Perth Climate Change Advisory Panel, she has been happy to find so many like-minded people and is looking forward to working with Climate Network Lanark to build that community in her own backyard.
Sadie is spearheading a “Trash-ure Hunt” community clean-up April 23rd in Perth. Register Here and come by and say hello...perhaps as enthusiastically as her daughter is greeting those worms below!
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3. Emissions Reductions Target Campaign
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The County Climate Action Committee has moved the emissions target setting date until April, which gives us more time to accumulate support for the aggressive targets we need. If you have not already, please join us in supporting this campaign.
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When we talk about Community Targets, this includes local businesses - entities that often have large emissions reduction potentials and small amounts of time, support and resources to make those changes.
There are however, a great number of local businesses that are leading the way in bringing Climate Friendly changes to the workplace. This could look like diverting methane producing organic waste from the landfill by composting- like Maximilians in Perth and The Good Food Company in CP, eliminating fossil fuels in their production processes like Fluid Solar Roasters in Clayton, or using low carbon building strategies like the Dairy Distillery's radiant floors and heat exchangers.
If you are a business that is taking steps to reduce emissions, we would love to hear what you are up to and add your name to our list of business supporters. Please contact us here.
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4. Youth for Climate Action looking for new members
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Are you a butterfly lover who is age 14-20? Are you equally at home playing in the dirt as you are playing with images online? Then come join us! After a successful 2021 season of planting pollinator gardens in Almonte and Perth, Climate Network Lanark’s Youth for Climate Action are looking for more young people to join their pollinator project, specifically to help with social media. Contact us if you would like to be involved. Eligible for school volunteer hours.
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6. Local Climate Action in the News
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The willingness to tackle climate change starts with acknowledging our relationship with nature. There are plenty of meaningful local opportunities to get up close and personal with our local ecosystems
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Main Photo - Charlotte Pragnell
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Lanark County is situated on unceded Algonquin Anishinaabeg traditional territory. We acknowledge this territory’s significance for Algonquin Peoples past, present and future.
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