Climate Cafés
Find the schedule of upcoming cafés on our Upcoming Events page.
Climate Change Café·
- Want a chance to connect with friends, coworkers or neighbors on a new level?·
- Interested in finding out what you can do to create a healthier, more livable low-carbon North Shore community that future generations will be proud of? ·
- Curious about reducing waste and tackling climate change in your home?·
- Want to be supported and make sure your actions really make a difference?
We know that global warming is a dangerous reality, one that touches our lives, those of our children and grandchildren, and many of the poorest people on our planet. Serious consequences can already be seen in the form of floods, heat waves, more violent storms and the rise of sea levels.But do you know that the typical B.C. household generates 20,000 kg of CO2 annually… compared to only 11,000 kg in Germany and a mere 6,000 kg in Sweden? There are many ways that we can lower our “carbon footprint.” And guess what… it’s easier when we all do it together. Come find out how you can do this as an individual, member of your community, and as a business.
We invite you to join us for an exciting Climate Change Café. It’s a powerful, new social change technology that enables us to experience the power of community. You’ll interact with a broad cross-section of colleagues and friends in frank and open conversation that will help us reflect deeply on what global warming means to each of us, individually and as a community. We’ll exchange views, feelings and ideas. We will then learn about the Low Carbon Diet program, to help us lower our carbon footprint and transfer this knowledge to our communities and workplaces.
This stimulating, simple and effective model was created by the Empowerment Institute, and used in hundreds of communities and organizations across the world. We modified it to fit the needs of the North Shore. We’re partnering with local governments and others to spread this across the entire North Shore over the coming year. This is a ground-breaking opportunity for citizens and neighborhoods to make a concrete and satisfying difference on the North Shore.
Here’s how it works:
Climate Change Café: a stimulating evening with friends, family members, colleagues and fellow citizens to start identifying actions for creating a healthier low carbon community. A café can be put together for a group within the same organization, social group or neighborhood; all that’s needed is a commitment to start doing something!
- After the Café, participants work in teams, meeting 3 times over two months, to share ideas and support each other in taking simple actions to achieve a carbon-reduction goal they set; ideally, reducing annual household carbon emissions by at least 15%. Teams receive in-person support and a well-structured, fun and easy guideline to follow, including materials.
After Two to Three Months , the original Café group gathers in the “Going Further” evening to recognize and celebrate achievements, talk about challenges, insights, and further possible actions, and provide feedback on how Cool North Shore can be improved. As more people in the community participate in Cool North Shore, we will have the opportunity to organize additional events and activities to keep supporting people in their lifestyle and household low-carbon choices as well as learning more about creating sustainable communities and engaging others.
Check our Upcoming Events page to find out when is the next climate change café!
