It was indeed a fest and there will be action!

A group of 65 future-focused participants spent an inspiring day together at Kamloops United Church on April 29, brainstorming and fleshing out ways to make our community more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Many had studied climate solutions together for the past 3 months as part of a local climate action program organized by Transition Kamloops, the Kamloops Food Policy Council, and the Kamloops Naturalist Club.

The event was designed to help folks transition from knowledge to local action, as participants were invited to apply their learnings and shape the projects that each of them would like to help implement.

Facilitators Lindsay Harris and Bonnie Klohn of Tapestry Collective Coop started the day by setting up an Open Space session, where project “champions” presented lively pitches for their ideas. Participants were then encouraged to “vote with their feet” by moving to small group discussions hosted by those championing each idea. Animated exchanges took place at each table as participants helped shape the project ideas that most strongly resonated with them.

After several hours of refining the ideas, participants selected the projects that were seen as the most viable and had the most energy. The room erupted into cheers when a list of 11 projects (complete with ballpark budgets) was approved by consensus.

If you missed Climate Action Fest, check out the project list and volunteer here. The list ranges from setting up a carshare program to exploring options for green burial. See if there’s something there for you and roll up your sleeves!

The 12-week MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) as well as the funding for the climate action projects have been made possible by the STARCAP program: a joint initiative of the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCED-net), Synergia Institute, and Athabaska University.