Weathering the storm together

The city will wrap up a series of workshops focused on climate change Saturday, at an event hosted by the Museum of Natural History.

The workshops, dubbed Rough Weather Ahead and facilitated by the municipality and the non-profit community organization How We Thrive, were developed to encourage communities to discuss climate change preparation.

“One of the foundational principles of our work is that connection is one of the most important things that we can do to become more resilient in the face of climate change,” says Emily Cowin, co-director at How We Thrive and one of the organizers of the workshop.

Two previous sessions were held this week at the North Woodside Community Centre on Wednesday and the Captain William Spry Recreation Centre on Thursday.

“The Halifax Regional Municipality is offering climate connections workshops in different communities because each community has unique characteristics and its own understanding of what makes it strong and connected,” said Megan Fong, a climate change specialist for the city, in a statement to The Signal.

“The more prepared and connected residents are to others in their community, the stronger they become and the more likely they are to support one another in times of need.”

“The workshop was really about some deep conversations about climate change, what resiliency means, how we work together as a community and you know, collectively support each other,” said District 11 Coun. Patty Cuttell, who attended the workshop in Spryfield.

The workshop asked participants to consider the strengths and weaknesses of their communities and what they can do to be better prepared and assist others in case of emergency — for instance, if neighbourhoods need to be evacuated.

Renée Fougère, who lives in Woodside, wants to set up a group chat between her neighbours for easier communication, and to identify who in the community has a generator or a barbecue to feed people in times of crisis.

Participants also discussed what they can do to be prepared for an emergency, like having an emergency kit and identifying resources available from the municipality and other organizations, like hfxALERT, the Voluntary Vulnerable Persons Registry and Red Cross Psychological First Aid Courses. Fewer than ten people attended both workshops.

Lyndsay Foisey, a mother of two who wanted to attend for her two children, said, “It was amazing. I learned so much and learned a lot about community resilience and emergency preparedness.”

The last workshop will be held on Saturday in the Museum of Natural History. Interested individuals can pre-register here.