South Shore Sustainability Summit Offers Opportunity to Connect on Climate

If our recent historic fires and flooding have you considering how you can engage with the climate crisis, mark your calendar for the South Shore Sustainability Summit.

The Summit on Saturday, Sept. 23 at Bridgewater’s NSCC Lunenburg Campus is a free, day-long series of discussions on creating climate change solutions at the local level.

Kacy DeLong, councillor with the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg (MODL), organised the summit with a partner at the Atlantic Infrastructure Management Network.

“The whole theme is regional cooperation and engaging the community with local decision makers,” says DeLong. 

It’s an opportunity to become informed, ask questions and network on climate action.

The event is sponsored by MODL, the Town of Bridgewater and Town of Mahone Bay. A Community Climate Panel Q&A will discuss Mahone Bay’s solar garden, MODL’s plans to drastically reduce carbon emissions, and Bridgewater’s efforts to sustainably lower energy costs.

All councillors from the three municipalities have been invited to attend and meet with constituents over a complimentary lunch.

DeLong says the Summit aims to centre equity-deserving groups. There is a talk on Indigenous Perspectives on a Changing Climate led by a delegation from Wildcat Acadia First Nation, and a Youth Panel near the start of the day.

DeLong says the idea for the Summit came from, “Looking at how we handle crises as – each one that comes to us, we deal with it separately, and we all seem to operate in our own silos.”

“I really want to see more people working together, more collaboratively, and more effectively,” says DeLong. “I want to see people networking at the event so they can follow up afterward on similar interests and passions.”

The Summit is preceded by the South Shore Sustainable Social on Sept. 22, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Bridgewater’s Firkenstein Brewing. This is a free networking and storytelling event featuring ten local stories of environmental action.

Attendees are asked to register for the Summit in advance to reserve lunch. Learn more and register online at: https://www.aimnetwork.ca/ss-sustainability-summit