Keyword Mitigation

At FortWhyte Alive’s solar-powered farm, young people are coming together to fight climate change, restore habitat and encourage biodiversity. Located just inside Winnipeg’s city limits, FortWhyte Alive is a destination for environmental education and recreation deeply committed to protecting the environment. The centre strives to connect humans with nature through a variety of unique programs and events that foster sustainability in the community. One of FortWhyte Alive’s newest programs, the solar farm is a model for how urban agriculture can be used to educate young people, foster community, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And as a social enterprise, the revenue generated by the farm is put back into the community. “We grow youth, food, and community,” summarizes FortWhyte Farms Manager, Dannielle Mondor. The most visible feature of the farm is a large bank of solar panels. It’s actually the largest installation of solar panels in Winnipeg. “You have solar panels, native prairie plants, wild pollinators and honeybees all in one space, working together. It’s a really neat example of what real action toward fighting climate change and investing in biodiversity can look like,” says Mondor. This is a “good news” story and great example of how people in communities across the country are coming together to fight climate change and make a difference – one small action at a time.   Recommended Video Citation Climate Atlas of Canada. (2019). FortWhyte Alive: Solar Powered Farming. Prairie Climate Centre. https://climateatlas.ca/video/fortwhyte-alive

Featuring members of the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP), this video showcases how the planning profession is at the forefront of developing policy, capacity, and climate resilience within communities and environments across the country.   Recommended Video Citation Climate Atlas of Canada. (2018). Planning for climate resilience: Bringing climate change into community planning. Prairie Climate Centre. https://climateatlas.ca/video/planning-climate-resilience

Canada’s forests are some of the largest in the world. They have enormous economic, cultural, environmental, and recreational value for Canadians of all walks of life. [1]

Livestock producers Troy Stozek and Don McIntyre – both from southwestern Manitoba – are on the frontlines of farming carbon. By practicing rotational grazing, they’re able to raise more cattle on less land, and in doing so they’re restoring the soil and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere at the same time. Their stories and farming practices show that animal agriculture can be an important part of the climate solution.   Recommended Video Citation Climate Atlas of Canada. (2018). Farming Carbon: Environmentally responsible ranching. Prairie Climate Centre. https://climateatlas.ca/video/farming-carbon

Robin Tunnicliffe has farmed for almost 20 years, growing a wide range of organic vegetables for local restaurants and farmer’s markets. She remembers that “when I first started farming, my mentor gave me a list of planting dates.” This essential farmer-to-farmer teaching gave her confidence thanks to its hard-won wisdom, and she recalls thinking “Good! Now I know what I’m doing!” But she soon found that the lessons of tradition and experience were expiring, thanks in part to climate change.

The map shows the value for the selected climate variable or index for one of three 30-year time periods: the recent past (1976-2005), the immediate future (2021-2050) and the near future (2051-2080). Future projections are calculated using two possible greenhouse gas emissions scenarios that result in more or less severe levels of climate change.

The Reep House for Sustainable Living is a 100-year old house in Waterloo, Ontario that has been retrofitted to be maximally energy efficient. This demonstration project shows how older housing stock can be an effective part of the climate change solution through a combination of cutting edge technology and simple upgrades.   Recommended Video Citation Climate Atlas of Canada. (2018). Reep House for Sustainable Living, Waterloo: Demonstrating the benefits of energy efficiency. Prairie Climate Centre. https://climateatlas.ca/video/reep-house-waterloo

On Gabriola Island, community members are beginning to notice the impacts of climate change. To reduce their ecological footprint, some residents started a non-profit organization called GabEnergy, which helps people order and install affordable solar energy systems on their homes. GabEnergy member Michael Mehta discusses the solar panels on his house and the potential for distributed, renewable energy systems across Canada.   Recommended Video Citation Climate Atlas of Canada. (2018). Community Renewables: Supporting solar energy on Gabriola Island. Prairie Climate Centre. https://climateatlas.ca/video/community-renewables

In 2009, Vancouver announced that it wanted to become the “Greenest City in the World by 2020”. Their action plan hopes to wean the city off fossil fuels and prioritizes pedestrians, bikes and transit when planning neighborhoods. As a result, Vancouver now has the lowest carbon emissions of any city in North America.   Recommended Video Citation Climate Atlas of Canada. (2018). Vancouver: "Greenest City in the World by 2020”. Prairie Climate Centre. https://climateatlas.ca/video/vancouver

As their oil wells began to dry up, the small community of Montana First Nation was faced an unemployment crisis. That’s when the idea of solar energy came up. The Nation founded Green Arrow Corp. Akamihk, western Canada’s first Indigenous-owned and operated community solar energy company. Green Arrow’s own team of trained community members is now installing solar panels across all of Alberta. “You hire your own people, by your people, for your people. We can do this for ourselves, we understand these types of businesses,” explains Vickie Wetchie, Montana First Nation member and general manager of Green Arrow. Wetchie describes the benefits that the community has experienced since they launched their solar company in 2012. The economic benefits–local employment, community revenue, and power savings—have been the primary motivators for pursing this energy development. There are now dozens of community members trained as skilled labourers in solar installation and maintenance.   Recommended Video Citation Climate Atlas of Canada. (2018). Montana First Nation. Prairie Climate Centre. https://climateatlas.ca/video/montana-first-nation