Potential prizes for completing city survey
By Kyra Hoggan
The City of Castlegar is once again asking residents to fill out a survey – this time, discussing climate change.
City sustainability facilitator Kristin Aasen said the survey is part of the city’s Adapting to Climate Change project, upon which thecity has embarked in partnership with the Columbia Basin Trust.
“We’ve got information and research data from PCIC (Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, out of UVic),” she explained. “They have projections reaching into the 2080s of what climate change will look like in the basin, with colour-coded maps and charts to help people understand the information.”
(This material can be perused at www.pacificclimate.org)
“What we want now is more local, anecdotal information,” she said. “Local observations of what’s happening in our own backyards can often be more compelling than what scientists are discussing in some other city or region.”
Mayor Lawrence Chernoff said he certainly has noticed some differences.
“When I was growing up, we used to jump off our roof into massive snowbanks,” he said. “If residents have noticed climate-related changes like less snow in their yard, a dryer garden in the summer or new bird species they don’t normally see, we would like to know.”
Aasen said city representatives expect there will be many residents who have noted shifts and changes over the years, and they want to gather as much of that information as they can.
“There are lots of people here who remember (what the climate has historically looked like), and we want to compare their perceptions with what the scientists have said to see if there are any areas of research we should look into a little further, and also to filter the findings into the city’s priority areas.”
She said the climate change may impact a huge range of city issues, from health to infrastructure, but the city has identified, as priority concerns, its stormwater system, local food and agriculture, and its overall water system.
These priorities were chosen based on staff advice and the recommendations of the city’s Adapting to Climate Change steering committee, which is comprised of eight residents, three city staff members and two city councillors.
The survey can be completed by clicking here: www.surveymonkey.ca/s/changesincastlegar
“There’s an option for including your name and contact information …if you do, you’ll be entered in a draw to win a composter, a rain barrel, or an energy savings kit,” she concluded.
For more information, contact Aasen at 250-365-8955.
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