By working together we build stronger relationships, learn from each other, and become better prepared for the effects of climate change. I feel hopeful when working with community partners with the common goal of strengthening neighbourhoods. We are collaborating for Thunder Bay’s Strong Neighbours Night Out.

If every household in Thunder Bay had a rain barrel, then the water holding capacity of our urban environment would increase by approximately eight million litres.  That’s a lot of water diverted from runoff.  Water can be released from the rain barrel after the storm at the home owner’s convenience.

Check out the MASSIVE amounts of unused space on the edge of Memorial avenue.  I’m terrified to cycle on Memorial avenue, especially with my son in tow and so we avoid shopping or visiting here during the warmer months.  I also see countless people cycling illegally on the sidewalks and edges of Memorial.  Let’s turn this useless space into a beautiful protected cycling path to encourage the whole community to visit this area safely.

The snow in this picture is melting so fast my sons had to hold the snowman together so I could get them a picture. That’s how I feel we’re “tackling” climate change: holding it together, looking for the upside. You need hope to inspire action, but if you fail to plan that action – you’re planning to fail. Climate Change means seasons don’t act like they’re supposed to. So more snow-man snow days than our cold winter months used to give us means less food in the garden, better odds of a house insurance claim, more bugs invading and killing that wouldn’t survive an “old” winter. I’d feel better about our ability to thrive despite climate change if we were actively changing to accommodate our changing world rather than just trying to hold the old together.

It is up to us to ensure the prosperity of pristine ecosystems

I have started being mindful of serving only as much I can eat. We can always go for some more in the second helping if need be. With climate change arises the problem of food insecurity. Crops are failing because of unusual changes in temperature. Save food for the hungry.

I was overwhelmed to see such beauty serenity and the never-ending shore of Lake Superior. I feel privileged at this very moment to have seen the rocky coast of the lake; to have felt the fresh water on my skin; and to be able to bask under the sun. I want to keep having this experience in the years to come. Nature is powerful, yet its beauty is sublime.

Due to the cycles of freezing and thawing, the concrete is cracking and breaking creating holes that get dug deeper by our cars that pass through them. These are almost impossible to keep maintained due to the abundance of them!

Been planting on average 50 seedlings a year since 1995.

As a teacher, the need to educate younger generations on climate change is important and evident. The lack of knowledge and understanding about the effects of our actions on the planet has resulted in movements such as the one pictured here, found on Lakehead University campus.