January 2023

Membership Renewal Time

Please take a moment to sign up as a member for 2023. There is no cost and having lots of members gives us more clout when we are advocating for better climate policies or applying for funding. To renew your membership, simply click here to access the form. If you do wish to chip in towards our operating costs for the year (website hosting, business cards, etc), we would gratefully accept donations by e-transfer to nanaimoclimateaction@gmail.com.

Annual General Meeting -- January 28

Please save the date for our in-person AGM and winter social on Saturday, January 28th at 5 pm at Pacific Gardens Co-Housing. A brief meeting will be followed by food, fun and musical entertainment by Tony Turner! Please bring a finger food dish to share. Please let us know if you will be attending by emailing nanaimoclimateaction@gmail.com.

Huge March and Rally for Old Growth Trees -- February 25

We're gearing up to have a strong presence from Nanaimo at the Rally for Old Growth, being spearheaded by Elders for Ancient Trees. This promises to be a huge gathering to put pressure on the BC government to protect old-growth forests and honour support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved areas. Please reply to let us know if you're planning on going, so we can coordinate travel and meet up at the rally. (Image: Elders for Ancient Trees)

Congratulations City of Nanaimo!

The Climate Disclosure Project (CDP) has released its 2022 “A List” of cities and Nanaimo is on that list, along with 121 other local governments from around the globe. Selected from over 1000 cities who disclosed information, A List cities demonstrate best practice standards in adaptation and mitigation to climate change, set ambitious but realistic goals and make progress towards achieving those goals. Local governments in these cities demonstrate bold leadership on environmental action and transparency, despite the pressures of challenging global economics.

CDP is a non-profit international organization, which runs the world’s leading climate reporting platform and progress accountability system, designed to encourage cities to ramp up their climate action. Achieving sustainability requires measuring, monitoring and managing your impact on the environment. “You cannot manage what you don’t measure.”

Circular Economy Accelerator Program is at work in Nanaimo

The Circular Economy Accelerator Program is an initiative of Vancouver Island Coast Economic Developers Association (VICEDA) and Synergy Foundation that aims to provide hands-on support for businesses who seek to adopt circular economy principles, reduce waste and emissions, and develop innovative practices.

This program assists businesses in identifying cost savings and value-added opportunities so that they emerge as sustainability leaders. It includes on-site assessments with a circular advisor and customized reporting about reducing waste, emissions, and energy consumption, as well as industry-specific workshops to explore circular best practices.

The Accelerator program is the first of its kind in Canada, and six of the twenty participants are in Nanaimo. City of Nanaimo Economic Development Officer, Amrit Manhas, is the coordinator of the program. She looks forward to its completion in the summer, when she will introduce these businesses that are leaders in the green economy, paving the way to a prosperous, sustainable, and resilient future for our community.

Petition To Stop Coastal GasLink Pipeline

The Greater Victoria Climate Hub and Decolonial Solidarity in allyship with Gidimt'en Checkpoint are hosting a campaign in opposition to the GasLink Pipeline, which is planned to pass through Wet'suwet'en territory and deliver 5 billion cubic feet of LNG (liquified natural gas) per day.

They are seeking signatures on their petition asking the government to immediately halt all CGL construction and engage in government to government negotiations. They are also calling for removal of the RCMP from unceded territory and an end the stalking, surveilling, and harassment tactics of the Wet’suwet’en people.

For more information and to sign the petition, please click here.

Another New Partner: Fridays for Future Qualicum

Fridays for Future Qualicum is a grassroots group and a local branch of the worldwide network of Fridays for Future International. Our main project is the ongoing "Climate Fridays," which consists of strikes every Friday from 8:30 to 3:00 at the Qualicum Beach Municipal Town Hall, where we work to educate our community and engage in meaningful conversations about climate change.

We are involved in several other projects, including working with the town to update Qualicum's sustainability plan, and various initiatives at the provincial and federal level. Fridays for Future is youth-led, with students involved from Grades 8 to 12, however, we welcome community members of all ages.

A primary component of our group is working with others who are involved locally. Fridays for Future works to create an inclusive and welcoming space for everyone who wants to contribute to a peaceful and science-based approach to making changes in our community, province, country and world in ways that are compatible with the Paris Climate Agreement.

How Is Climate Change Affecting Our Young People?

A researcher at UVic is seeking participants born between 1994-2004 for a study about how climate change is affecting young peoples' relationships with nature. Please check out the details here if that's you!"

Please Support Us!

We have an account with the Regional Recycling South Return-It Depot at 839 Old Victoria Road in Nanaimo. You can donate the money from returnable items by asking the clerk to credit the Nanaimo Climate Action Hub account. Thanks in advance for your support. It makes a huge difference!n is a new Teck. Change the text.

This newsletter is a publication of the Nanaimo Climate Action Hub. For more information, please click below:

We respectfully acknowledge that we live, work and play on the traditional territories of the Snuneymuxw, Stz'uminus and Snaw-Naw-As First Nations.