Together for Climate
Managing risk through community collaborationThe Together for Climate (T4C) project, supported by the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia’s (REFBC) granting program, supported eight communities across Vancouver Island in advancing their climate adaptation and resilience efforts. This two year project fostered relationship building and enduring partnerships, not only between participating municipalities but also between community stakeholders, ensuring an ongoing commitment to climate adaptation across Vancouver Island and beyond.
About the project
We undertook a collaborative planning process with eight municipalities across Vancouver Island – working to build adaptive capacity and community resilience to local climatic impacts. Each step of this process involved diverse partners, stakeholders, and community groups unique to each municipality, who helped to identify local climate impacts and risks, and then envision climate adaptation objectives and actions that can be taken to enhance climate-resilience across municipal departments and the wider community. Learn more about our approach, the eight participating communities, and the lessons we learned throughout the process.
Meet our Together for Climate Team
The Together for Climate project maintained a specific regional focus, selecting eight communities from across central and southern Vancouver Island. Each participating municipality worked with ICLEI, following our Building Adaptive and Resilient Communities (BARC) Framework to guide their planning process, and built upon that framework to further engage community partners. In doing so, they ensured climate change impacts and actions were tailored to the unique circumstances and needs of their communities.
Participating Communities
City of Campbell River Community Climate Change Adaptation Plan
City of Courtenay Together for Climate Project Report
City of Port Alberni Together for Climate Project Report
Capital Region District Community Climate Change Adaptation Priorities
District of Saanich Climate Plan
City of Colwood Climate Change Adaptation Strategies
Township of Esquimalt Adaptation Planning Guide
Cowichan Valley Regional District Regional Adaptation Strategy (available Winter 2021)
Protecting Cultural Heritage from Sea Level Rise
As with natural resources, biodiversity, public health, and municipal infrastructure, the integrity of our cultural heritage is threatened by climate change. Of the various climate change hazards we face, sea level rise (SLR) is one of the most damaging to our tangible cultural heritage. As a direct result of the climate change impacts identified by several of the participating local governments and their interest in protecting cultural assets from SLR, we developed Considering Sea Level Rise and Cultural Heritage: A Resource for Municipalities. This resource assists municipal planners in better understanding cultural heritage and the various approaches and adaptive actions that can be taken to begin sea level rise management, or continue these efforts.
Lasting Legacy Webinar: Sharing the Together for Climate Project Results
Watch our webinar recording to learn about the results from our T4C project. It is a great opportunity for climate practitioners to learn directly from other municipalities regarding adaptation planning and different processes and actions that can be taken to achieve effective climate action!
We also unpack our new resource, ‘Considering Sea Level Rise and Cultural Heritage: A Resource for Municipalities’, and provide some key takeaways for local governments looking to protect cultural heritage but are not sure where to start.
Speaker Presentations and Webinar Replay
Our speakers reflect on their experiences and ‘lessons learned’ throughout the duration of the project, speaking to both challenges and successes.
Guest speakers include:
- Hana Lapp, Climate Change Programs Manager, ICLEI Canada
- Maggie Baynham, Senior Sustainability Planner, the District of Saanich
- Chris Osborne, Acting Manager Long Range Planning and Sustainability, the City of Campbell River
- Nicole Smith, Archaeologist
If you have questions about the Together for Climate Project, please contact Hana Lapp at hana.lapp@iclei.org.
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