The Nanaimo Climate Action Hub officially launched on November 21st, 2020, with the goal of advancing climate action in Nanaimo and the surrounding areas through advocacy, local initiatives, and collaboration with other organizations. 

We hope to continue improving how humans interact with the environment by involving as many people as we can who have unique talents, experiences, and perspectives. We welcome all interested community members in Nanaimo and the surrounding areas, and hope to help amplify the voices of politically under-represented groups including youth and BIPOC in climate conversations. 

Please subscribe to our mailing list to find out about upcoming events or contact us at NanaimoClimateAction@gmail.com if you'd like to help us organize!

Principles and Values

Nanaimo Climate Action Hub is a non-profit, grassroots, membership driven organization working in the community to effect change both locally and globally. We collaborate with other groups in Nanaimo and beyond, connecting people to people, people to knowledge, and people to action in response to the climate crisis.

We are a non-partisan organization, working with elected officials, community leaders and local citizens in the interest of fighting the climate emergency.
Chris Baitz, Director
Chris is a stay at home dad with a background in robotics and technologies. He would like the best possible world for his two kids to live in when they are grown up.
Heather Baitz, Chair
Heather Baitz works as a Clinical Psychologist and in addition to serving as President of the Nanaimo Climate Action Hub, she is also active within the BC Climate Alliance and the West Coast Climate Action Network. She lives on the traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw Nation in Nanaimo and has a passion for food forest gardening.
Guy Dauncey
Guy Dauncey is the Founder of the BC Sustainable Energy Association, as well as author of The Climate Challenge: 101 Solutions to Global Warming, along with the Co-founder of the BC Climate Emergency Network.
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"I live in Yellow Point, and I share both an excitement for the better green future. We can create with alarm about the growing climate emergency. My website is www.thepracticalutopian.ca"
Doug Fraser
Doug Fraser is a science educator, textbook author and the current president of Nature Nanaimo. Doug trained with Al Gore as part of the Climate Reality Project and has travelled with students, artists and scientists to the Arctic to learn about climate change. When he isn't writing or talking about science and the environment, Doug can often be found with camera in hand, exploring habitats from rainforests and coral reefs to those of beautiful BC.  

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Laurie Friskie​, Secretary
Laurie Friskie is a retired Student Advisor, avid kayaker and gardener.

"I joined the Nanaimo Climate Action Hub because Canada is not doing enough to tackle the climate crisis. By joining a group of likeminded people, with the common goal of supporting concrete action to fight climate change, I believe we can make a difference."

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Don Giberson, Treasurer
Don Giberson is a professional business coach and founder of Transition Nanaimo Society. He is also the host of Climate911, a weekly radio show which explores solutions to the climate emergency. This is his first attempt at creating an avatar; as you can probably tell. 

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Sam Gilbert, Director
Sam is a passionate educator who currently teaches a classroom of grade 2/3 students in Parksville. She loves watching their curiosity, enthusiasm and joy, and is inspired to help build the future these kids so deserve. She lives with her husband on the traditional territories of the Qualicum and Snaw-Naw-As First Nations.
Patti Grand, Director
Kathryn-Jane Hazel, Director
Kathryn-Jane Hazel is a climate organizer with the Nanaimo Climate Action Hub, and member of the Environmental Justice Task Force of the First Unitarian Fellowship of Nanaimo.

​"I have been a member of the federal Green Party for 20 years, as well as the Ontario Green Party and the B.C. Green Party. I live at Pacific Gardens Cohousing Community, whose residents believe in working to reduce our environmental footprint for the well-being of ourselves, the wider community, and future generations."
Tian Liang
Tian Liang is a grade 11 student in Nanaimo. She was first introduced to environmentalism when she joined her school's Eco-Club in grade eight and has since then been volunteering and helping out with organizing club events. Last year, Tian learned about the Nanaimo Climate Action Hub through Eco-Club and decided to join because it was a fantastic opportunity to learn about climate action beyond her school community. In her free time, Tian really enjoys singing and playing guitar.
Maria Mikaela Sumile
Mika is a grade 12 student at Dover Bay who's always passionate about being a part of something bigger than herself. As the 2020 President of DB Eco club, she could constantly be seen volunteering and overseeing club activities around the school and community.​ In her spare time, she enjoys playing badminton and watching Kdrama. She is looking forward of being an exec for VIU Eco club in 2021.

"In my grade 8 year, I got baited by a Eco club exec through a pizza to volunteer in his club. This quickly snowballed and eventually I became interested in environmental activism through school. I started as a member who does not know anything to stick to the club for five years and becoming a president."
Viraat BK Thammanna
Viraat has been an activist for the environment since he was a teenager. He has planted around 900 trees with his own resources through school children in countries that don't always replace trees that are cut down. While doing this his team created an awareness of the importance of ecological balance. 

After moving to Nanaimo, Viraat has dedicated his time to volunteering for the well-being of society and nature. 

Viraat takes pride in: having planted and organized sponsorship for at least 50 fruit trees for food forests; helping the stewardship of Cat stream; and cleaning up parks and communities in Nanaimo.
Bill Woolverton, Vice Chair

send us an email

NanaimoClimateAction@gmail.com
We are a Community Climate Hub, building public support for political leadership on climate change in affiliation with the Climate Reality Project Canada. Visit the Community Climate Hub website to learn more, find out if your city has a hub, or start one up!

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Photo used under Creative Commons from Joachim Dobler