EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Climate Impacts and Adaptation @ Columbia Basin Watershed Network Conference

Climate science and local climate adaptation measures are part of the agenda for the Columbia Basin Watershed Network Conference in Kimberley, May 10 and 11. Presentations by the Communities Adapting to Climate Change Initiative team will cover the latest climate change projections for the Columbia Basin and focus on how climate science is used in decision making at the watershed level, featuring innovative actions by Basin communities. Learn more.

Join Webinar: Getting the Adaptation Ball Rolling

BC’s Regional Adaptation Collaborative is hosting a webinar on March 19 for local governments. It will feature different approaches to adaptation planning, implementation and action. CBT’s Communities Adapting to Climate Change Initiative will be part of this online learning opportunity, showcasing adaptation planning and action in Basin communities. Register now.

Free Engineers Canada Workshop in Castlegar

Is your municipal infrastructure ready for climate change? Join municipal managers, planners, engineers, public works administrators and councillors from across the Columbia Basin for a free, two-day workshop with Engineers Canada June 13 and 14. Get hands-on experience using risk assessment tools and costing of infrastructure responses to climate change. Learn more.

Ask Us and We Will Come!

CBT’s Communities Adapting to Climate Change Initiative team is ready to help. Just ask us and we will come to your community for:

• a brief presentation on the Communities Adapting to Climate Change Initiative and what it can do for your community;
• public workshops to discuss how climate change might impact your community, along with how to plan and take action; and
• a day-long Scanning and Planning Workshop to help local governments quick-start adaptation planning.

Contact Kate Mahoney, Coordinator, Communities Adapting to Climate Change Initiative, for more information.

RESOURCES

Slow it. Spread it. Sink it!

This Okanagan guide offers homeowners practical and eco-friendly ways to use rainwater as a resource.

Protect Health in Extreme Heat Events

Health Canada’s Adapting to Extreme Heat Events: Guidelines for Assessing Health Vulnerability will help communities identify and address health risks from extreme heat events. It covers adaptation options, lessons learned and best practices.

Adaptation Planning Helps Regional Development Strategy

The Cariboo Regional District has completed a climate change adaptation strategy that will inform the development of its long-term Regional Development Strategy. The strategy will help the region plan for the next 30 to 70 years.

ICLEI Guide and Workbook for Municipal Adaptation Planning

This ICLEI resource guide and workbook provides a framework to help local governments create adaptation plans to address local and relevant impacts in their communities.

Meeting Stakeholder Needs for Practical Climate Information

If you didn’t make it to the workshop, get presentations from the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium’s November 2011 workshop here. The workshop brought together climate stakeholders and the media to discuss communication approaches, scientific tools, stakeholder needs and the role of mass media in shaping perspectives on climate variability and change.

Get 'Linkedin' with AdaptAbility

AdaptAbility is an online community of sustainability, risk and disaster professionals working on climate change adaptation. It links more than 3,500 professionals worldwide who share a common interest in climate adaptation research, planning and action. Join this fast-growing group.

CBT IN ACTION

In addition to this initiative, CBT is taking the lead and working with a range of partners to:

• increase Basin residents' awareness of local climate change impacts;
• provide credible, science-based information on expected local changes in temperature and precipitation; and
• support local governments, municipalities and First Nations to reduce their emissions through a multi-year mitigation effort.

Visit www.cbt.org/climatechange  to learn more about CBT-supported climate change initiatives including the Carbon Neutral Kootenays, Communities Adapting to Climate Change Initiative, CBT Corporate Emissions Reduction and suggestions for ways you can reduce your carbon footprint.