Agents of Change Reflections
Lessons learned by participating communitiesAgents of Change Reflections: Lessons learned by participating communities
Learn how different Canadian municipalities have built climate engagement volunteer programs to support municipal climate goals and what lessons were learned along the way.
Over the course of 2022, Canadian municipalities participated in ICLEI Canada’s Agents of Change project to design local volunteer engagement programs for climate action. Through a collaborative cohort model, participants explored key considerations like governance structures, partnership models, recruitment techniques, Indigenous engagement, inclusion and equity, approaches to social media, and more. Ultimately, ten municipalities designed an impactful program tailored to their community and climate mitigation and/or adaptation action goals.
The following ten volunteer engagement programs were developed to work towards net-zero and climate resilience.
- Youth Ambassadors and Climate Crew, Municipality of Colchester, NS
- Local Partnerships Support Community Coordination, City of Cranbrook, BC
- Youth-Led Climate Action + Justice, County of Dufferin, ON
- Reconciliation-Focused Land Stewardship, County of Grey, ON
- Inspiring, Educating and Empowering to Reduce Climate Impact, City of Nanaimo, BC
- Evolving and Building Capacity for Greater Climate Action, Town of New Glasgow, NS
- Delivering Key Messaging for Greater Climate Resilience, City of Ottawa, ON
- Increasing Neighbourhood Resilience, City of Vernon, BC
- Lessons Learned to Inform New Retrofit Program, City of Victoria, BC
- Engaging the Business Community to Reach Net-Zero, Town of Wolfville, NS
The Agents of Change Project was a learning journey for all. Read reflections and lessons learned by participating municipalities
Additional resources from the Agents of Change project
Municipal Climate Volunteer Training and Skills Development Guide
Design, organize, and deliver climate action volunteer training in your community. This guide is a tool that can be used to work through logistics and considerations of planning and running volunteer training. It includes questions to conceptualize climate action training, key tasks and checklists, as well as tips on delivering and facilitating a successful training. This resource was created based on current best practices and lessons learned from participants of the Agents of Change project.
Climate Communications Workshop in a Box
This “Workshop in a Box” provides everything you need to develop and deliver a climate communications workshop in your community. Resources include: an instructions and facilitator guide, PowerPoint slides, breakout activity materials, and more. The workshop itself is designed to equip participants with climate communications insights and tools (e.g., how to frame climate messages, identify target audiences, develop communication strategies etc.) that will ultimately allow them to support local climate action in their day-to-day work.
Agents of Change Project Reflections and Resources Webinar
In this webinar, select participants talked about the climate engagement volunteer programs they built as part of the Agents of Change project, shared reflections, and answered questions while ICLEI Canada staff provided an overview of the project and talked about how to use Agents of Change resources. Watch the webinar replay and download the presentations.
These resources were developed as part of the Agents of Change project with the financial support of the Government of Canada. We would also like to acknowledge those who generously shared their time and knowledge to help shape this resource.
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We respectfully acknowledge that ICLEI Canada’s work happens across Turtle Island which has traditionally been and is home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples since time immemorial.