June 2023

Heather Baitz, Chair, Nanaimo Climate Action Hub

Greetings! We've all been super busy this Spring at Nanaimo Climate Action Hub. So I was just thinking it might be time to take a moment to pause and celebrate each other for our collective commitment to climate action! How does that sound? Would you like to join us for a summer social event? Please let us know when you are available and what activities you would prefer on this poll.

Heat Pump Affordability Campaign Launched

The Nanaimo Climate Action Hub's campaign to make heat pumps affordable is revving up. The heat pump affordability team of NCAH vice-chair Larry Whaley and organizers Kathryn Hazel and Laurie Friskie has started lobbying local MLAs. They've also sent a news release to local media about the campaign and the solutions they're recommending.

There is a lot of information about this program on our website. Click here to begin a search.

Rebates on E-Bikes!

Just in time for GoByBike Week, the Province of B.C. is offering rebates on the purchase of eligible new e-bikes, according to a press release issued on May 25th, 2023. "E-bikes add a new dimension to everyday travel, even in rural communities," said Michael Koski, executive director of the BC Cycling Coalition. "For those struggling with the cost of a car, this funding will provide a wider access to a transportation option that is affordable, efficient and eco-friendly. E-bikes make cycling accessible to a wider range of people, improve personal health and help smaller communities by making more people mobile." To find out more about this program, visit the rebates website.

Corporate-Sponsored Teaching Tools in Schools?

Nanaimo Climate Action Hub recently sent a letter to ask the Nanaimo Ladysmith School Board to consider whether or not they should endorse corporate-sponsored teaching materials. It is our position that the school board should not promote corporate materials -- and we feel particularly strongly about materials coming from the oil and gas industry. We encourage you to read the letter, which includes a link to the materials that prompted this action. As always, we welcome your comments and feedback.

Partner Highlight: Nanaimo Community Gardens Society

This month we're highlighting the work of Nanaimo Community Gardens Society. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the society's Gleaning Program, which was established to reduce food waste in Nanaimo and area. Volunteer gleaners pick fruit and vegetable from backyards and gardens that would otherwise be wasted. It works like this: if you have more produce than you can use and need help picking it, gleaners are on the way! If you want to become a gleaner, you must attend an orientation before the season starts (there are still two upcoming June orientations!). So whether you are a food producer or anticipate surplus or you are keen to get out there and pick, you can find more information here.

Tip of the Month -- Green Bin Guidelines

Did you know that landfill gas (LFG) is generated as a bi-product of anaerobic decomposition of waste within a landfill? LFG is composed of equal parts methane and carbon dioxide. As a greenhouse gas, the global warming potential of methane is 25 times that of carbon dioxide. That's why it's so important to keep food waste out of the landfill and take advantage of the weekly organics (green bin) pickup here in RDN. "From beans to bones" to soiled paper packaging -- you might be surprised at what all you can compost. Here is a list of all the things you can put in that green bin.

Book Review

by NCAH board member Laurie Friskie

Adrift is the debut novel of author Lisa Brideau.

Set in 2038, the adventure begins in Haida Gwaii where the main character sets out on a solo sailing trip to Nanaimo in hope of finding answers to the mystery of who she is and why she is suffering from a partial memory loss.

Many familiar Nanaimo locations are part of the story but if you are like me and can’t imagine what climate change will look like in 2038, you can envision it with the help of this thriller. Brideau masterfully describes sweltering heat, choking wildfire smoke, and a one-in-a-thousand-year storm that destroys Tofino and wreaks havoc in Nanaimo.

Ms. Brideau, who currently works as a municipal Sustainability Specialist in Vancouver, focused on climate policy, was recently interviewed on CBC’s North by Northwest.

Please Support Us!

We have an account with the Regional Recycling South Return-It Depot at 839 Victoria Road in Nanaimo. You can donate the money from returnable items by asking the clerk to credit the Nanaimo Climate Action Hub account. Thanks in advance for your support. It makes a huge difference!

This newsletter is a publication of the Nanaimo Climate Action Hub. For more information, please click below:

We respectfully acknowledge that we live, work and play on the traditional territories of the Snuneymuxw, Stz'uminus and Snaw-Naw-As First Nations.