Collingwood is making a splash on the national stage when it comes to how it's dealing with its shoreline and flooding impacts of climate change.
During a Federation for Canadian Municipalities (FCM) workshop that took place during their annual general meeting in June, Collingwood Coun. Kathy Jeffery attended a session by The Co-operators regarding climate adaptation resiliency plans and disaster preparedness in Canadian communities.
According to Jeffery, there were more than 200 other municipal representatives from across Canada at the workshop, but knowing the struggles Collingwood has faced specifically when it comes to climate impacts of being a municipality adjacent to a major water body, Jeffery decided to throw her hat in the ring for a $1,000 grant by completing a survey.
To her surprise, Collingwood was notified recently it was selected as one of five municipalities nationally to secure the grant.
“I was interested in the workshop because of our shoreline issues,” Jeffery said. “I wanted them to be aware of the challenges of municipalities, especially ones like ours that are on The Great Lakes, where there are varying experiences of flooding, whether you’re in Winnipeg on the Red River or in Collingwood."
She says the grant will be given directly to the Collingwood Climate Action Team to assist in their work locally. Other municipalities that were recipients of the grant have not yet been publicly announced.
Don Iveson, former Mayor of Edmonton and current executive advisor for climate investing and community resilience with The Co-operators, says his team was originally formed to support climate adaptation projects in communities across the country.
“We have an enormous risk problem in the world...and the one that is currently getting worse is climate-related, physical risk to our communities,” Iveson said. “This industry has a role to play in addressing that risk.”
Iveson led the workshop at the FCM AGM, and was on the lookout for municipalities that were doing innovative things to combat climate change. When he came across Jeffery’s survey, Iveson says the Collingwood application ticked boxes for him and his team.
As part of her survey, Jeffery had outlined repair work completed at the Sunset Point shoreline, where a "large woody debris" treatment has been incorporated into the repairs.
The process involves adding logs or driftwood larger than 0.3 metres in diameter and two metres in length to the shore as a natural protectant for the shore. The town used cedar trees that were removed for water, wastewater, and hydro servicing for the new washroom near the Rotary Pavilion to reinforce the western shoreline.
“We were very interested to learn more about the confluence of flooding challenges that exist in Collingwood,” said Iveson. “The coastline erosion project and the innovative response to using more of a naturalization... seemed very innovative to us. We were very interested in that and if that is a scaleable solution to replicate for other areas with coastal challenges.”
“Even though Collingwood is a smaller community, its leadership on climate issues – both on mitigation and on adaptation and resilience – punches way above its weight. We thought that was worth recognizing,” said Iveson.
Dr. David Ohrling, board member with the Collingwood Climate Action Team, says the team first found out about the grant in mid-November. He points to the collaboration between the team and the town.
“For them to support the work we’re doing is fantastic,” he said. “We have had a really good relationship. We’re trying to be bridge to the community to raise awareness about climate change and hopefully get the community on board to support the initiatives the town is taking.”
Ohrling says the funds will be used to extend outreach through community events such as their workshops, called Carbon Conversations and Climate Café. He says the group has plans to hire a facilitator to provide the workshops. As it stands now, the work is driven by volunteers.
“Our board is all volunteers, and we only have so much time to commit to this work. Being able to bring other people on board who can help organize and facilitate these things is really important,” he said.
CCAT is now a registered charitable organization, and Ohrling says he hopes more members of the community will get involved either through donations or by volunteering to help spread the word.
For more information on the Collingwood Climate Action Team or to get involved, click here.
Jeffery noted this isn’t the first time attending these types of provincial and national conferences has paid off for Collingwood, with the municipality also obtaining $90,000 for tree canopy work through a similar collaboration.
“It is so important that we are engaged with the FCM and (this points to) the benefits of attending the AGMs, workshops and study tours as being really critical,” said Jeffery. “It’s about networking, finding opportunities and potential.”
Jeffery said the experience will also have longer-lasting impacts, as the Town of Collingwood is now in talks with Iveson and The Co-operators for other projects and possible collaborations that could help mitigate more climate impacts.
“It’s a really great resource for us,” she said. “We’re not the first to experience these problems. There’s always someone else out there who has dealt with them.”