How to inspire neighbourhoods to fight climate change? It’s all about taking action

Howard Lawrence says it takes a neighbourhood to fight climate change. And that’s exactly what they’re doing in Edmonton.

“We’ve all heard that axiom, it takes a village to raise a child,” Lawrence, neighbourhood resource co-ordinator for the City of Edmonton, told What On Earth host Laura Lynch. 

“But it also takes a village to reduce carbon footprint, to tend to climate justice. So all of these things are really born out of the fact that neighbours are taking responsibility for their place.”

Lawrence works on a new program in Edmonton called Neighbouring for Climate, which is meant to bring people together and give them the tools they need to fight climate change in their own community. 

It can be as simple as working together to complete action items — a list of options — such as helping a next-door neighbour put solar panels on their roof, creating a sustainable community garden, or figuring out who can help with what in times of need.

“A neighbour of mine, who is well into his 80s, we were together discussing actually what would we do in case of an emergency,” said Lawrence. 

“He didn’t feel like he had anything to offer, but as we talked, we discovered that he was the last person on our block that still had a landline. And landlines in the event of an emergency are an important tool. So he was able to offer up his landline.”

How it works

Heather Wheeliker said the program started when residents told the city they’d seen enough strategies and plans and wanted to take action on climate change. 

Wheeliker, a program manager for communities for climate with the City of Edmonton, says the program includes a guidebook, as well as action cards with different things people can do.

The action cards include categories such as emergency preparedness, nature and plants, food security, energy and fuel savings, and waste and water. These include action items such as planting a garden, reducing energy consumption, and starting a fix-it club. 

“It’s really just to spark people into action,” said Wheeliker.

The program launched in April, and it currently has 45 neighbourhoods participating.   

Community resilience

Bob Doppelt, founder of the International Transformational Resilience Coalition, says what’s happening in Edmonton could be used elsewhere in Canada, and across the globe. 

His organization works with groups to find solutions to combat climate change, as well as other social issues. He says communities are key for dealing with these challenges, especially in a crisis.

“Who’s going to be around to help you in severe stresses and severe disasters?” said Doppelt. 

“It is your friends, families and neighbours … They’re the people who are going to provide food, water, shelter, have you come over to their home that’s got electricity still and you can repower your phone.”

He says there are plenty of groups that are working across North America to create more resilient communities, whether it’s about climate change, or other global challenges.

And Edmonton isn’t the only place turning to community to create resilience. 

In Vancouver, the Connect & Prepare program aims to bring neighbours together through presentations, interactive games and discussions, in an effort to better prepare communities for emergencies. 

In Sudbury, Ont., EarthCare Sudbury works with neighbourhoods that are vulnerable to climate impacts to create neighbourhood-led climate adaptation plans. And those are far from the only ongoing programs in Canada, and across the globe.

“When communities are actually involved, when residents are actually involved, it builds hope and people actually believe in the future again,” said Doppelt.

Benefits of community

Marty Springstead lives in the Delton neighbourhood in Edmonton, and is part of Green Delton, a group of neighbours there taking part in the city’s program. 

He says one of the great parts about their group is, since becoming closer with his neighbours, he’s able to have more meaningful, productive conversations about big topics such as climate change. 

“We don’t get stuck in that Facebook, ‘I love you, I hate you.’ I mean, that’s just such a polarizing thing,” said Springstead.  “We might have heated discussions, but we still support each other no matter what.”

Gail Silvius, an organizer with the Green Delton group, says being a part of the program has created more than just a group working to fight climate change. Because of the program, the Delton neighbourhood group has gotten more involved with gardening.

And Silvius says it has created a community of support, beyond the fun of gardening. 

“Last year, I got quite ill and all of those neighbours that I garden with, they were all coming to drop off food at my house,” said Silvius.

Lawrence says when you get to know your neighbours, you also learn what skills and experiences they have, and how that can help. 

“It’s kind of like a mini think-tank, and they will come up with suitable, sustainable, workable solutions. And because you live close by, you can link arms and get these things done,” said Lawrence. 

Making a difference

Doppelt says there’s certainly a need for government to make policies that push toward change, but if someone sees the importance of community, and the impacts of climate change, they should step up and make community programs like what’s happening in Edmonton. 

“Normally these things come together with two or three people in a community or a neighbourhood that realize what’s going on now in our community is not healthy,” said Doppelt.

Meanwhile, Lawrence hopes the program will continue to grow in Edmonton, and that more neighbourhoods across Canada will do the same. 

“Humans are social. The neighbouring relationship is a vital ingredient for our personal and our collective well-being,” said Lawrence.

“I think that the movement [of] neighbouring is vital and will continue to flourish as we see sparks become a flame, become, you know, larger in our sense of well-being.”

Interview with Howard Lawrence and Heather Wheeliker, produced by Nick Logan and Rachel Sanders. Files from Pippa Reed.