Building Adaptation Skills for a Changing Climate Webinar Series!
In 2022/23 the Building Regional Adaptation Capacity and Expertise (BRACE) Program led by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), hosted a webinar series focused on sharing experiences on how to build climate change adaptation skills. The webinars series featured the results of over 20 co-funded projects.
The key objectives of the webinar series was to:
1) present training, tools and resources for integrating climate change adaptation considerations in professional practice; and
2) highlight key messages/learning that are transferable to other organizations/sectors/regions interested in building adaptation skills and delivering training. Presenters will share information on activities, such as courses, workshops, networks and internships, which helped engineers, planners, resource managers, recent graduates and others develop the competencies (knowledge, skills and behaviour) needed to act on adaptation.
Building Adaptation Skills for Indigenous Communities
Presentations:
From the Great Lakes to Hudson Bay: Building a sustainable foundation for climate change adaptation capacity in First Nations across far north Ontario: The presenters will speak about the challenge of achieving the overarching goal of building sustainable capacity that will grow, and eventually reach and reside in dozens of scattered First Nation communities in the long-term, and how they tackled that challenge – Roxanne Metlin, Chapleau Cree First Nation, Specialist and GIS Officer in the Mushkegowuk Council and Dr. David Pearson, Emeritus Professor of Natural Sciences and Science Communication at Laurentian University
Thematic Approaches to Building Climate Adaptation Expertise: The presenter will speak about lessons learned from the “Fire with Fire” fire management project and other thematic approaches to strengthening capacity for climate adaptation from the Resilience Institute – Laura S. Lynes, President and CEO of the Resilience Institute
Weaving Indigenous Knowledges
An overview of the Indigenous Knowledges and Two-Eyed Seeing courses delivered through the Manitoba Climate Resilience Training Program – Christey Allen, Research Manager, Prairie Climate Centre and Brett Huson, Researcher, Prairie Climate Centre
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BRACE Presents: Building Adaptation Skills Indigenous Communities
Building Adaptation Skills for Engineers
Presentations:
Building Climate Resilience and Collaboration in Manitoba: A focus on the Manitoba Climate Resilience Training (MCRT) collaborative program of foundational courses, as well as look at the developed resiliency network – Curt Hull, Sustainability Consultant and Project Director, Climate Change Connection, Winnipeg
The Infrastructure Resilience Professional Credential: Developing and recognizing infrastructure adaptation skills. A review of the courses and requirements that make up the Infrastructure Resilience Professional credential – Paul Cobb, Manager, Training Services, Climate Risk Institute.
Trying to ‘Adapt’ Engineers to use Climate Adaptation Knowledge on Critical Infrastructure: A New Brunswick Approach. A look at adaptation projects being completed throughout New Brunswick (NB), including the “Climate Change Adaptation Capacity Building for NB Engineers” project. – Serge Dupuis, Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Université de Moncton
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BRACE Presents: Building Adaptation Skills for Engineers
Building Adaptation Skills for Planners
Presentations:
Planners Training and the Adaptation Resource Pathway: A focus on the Climate Change Adaptation Training courses developed for Ontario and Prairie Region Planners, as well as look at the Land Use, Regional and Urban Planning Adaptation Resource Pathway resource – Megan Gereghty, Climate Change Adaptation Planner, Climate Risk Institute
Planning a Climate Resilient Manitoba: An overview of the Manitoba Climate Resilience Training’s (MCRT) approach to enhancing the capacity of Planning Professionals to adapt to a changing climate – Christey Allen, Research Manager, Prairie Climate Centre
Building Infrastructure Resilience and Adapting to Climate Change in Newfoundland and Labrador: Our project has attempted to build adaptive capacity in NL by engaging with and facilitating communication between professionals and local decision makers on climate change tools and data for resilient public infrastructure – Joseph A Daraio, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Memorial University of Newfoundland
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BRACE Presents: Building Adaptation Skills for Planners
Building Adaptation Skills and Qualifications: Key Considerations for Upskilling the Workforce of Tomorrow
Presentations:
Development and evaluation of a training program designed to foster the adoption of climate change adaptation best practices by engineering, urban planning and architecture professionals:
Skills and knowledge to adapt the built environment, and land use planning for climate change, are essential. Thus, professionals must be trained in adaptation best practices. They must also believe in its value and feasibility. This presentation describes a training program for engineers, urban planners and architects, with the goal of building knowledge and skills that promote the adoption of adaptive practices. It also promotes positive attitudes, mainstreaming and behaviour change. The program was developed by Ouranos and the Québec Observatory of Adaptation to Climate Change – Pierre Valois, Full professor, Faculty of education (measurement and evaluation); Director of the Québec Observatory of Adaptation to Climate Change.
Using micro-credentials to create agile pathways for climate action upskilling:
Capacity-building for advancing climate-change-related leadership has become a critical workforce development requirement for both professionals and front-line workers in 2022. There is an urgent need to address the growing impacts and risks of climate change, and workers require upskilling quickly and conveniently through micro-learning experiences to fulfil this critical requirement in corporate, government, small-business, consulting services and NGO roles.
This presentation will be delivered in 2 parts:
1) The first part will discuss a micro-pathways approach to providing knowledge and skill building for climate action – David Porter, Principal, DP+Associates – contractor to RRU Resilience by Design Lab and Academy for Sustainable Innovation
2) The second part, will focus on the use of competency frameworks and competencies to guide upskilling and the building of micro-credentials for climate action – Robin Cox, Professor & Program Head, Graduate programs in Climate Action Leadership; Director of ResilienceByDesign Lab, Royal Roads University
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BRACE Presents: Building Adaptation Skills and Qualifications
Building Adaptation Skills for Water Management
Presentations:
Building Adaptation Skills to improve Agricultural Water Management in Saskatchewan: Best Practices for the Prairies and other Agricultural Communities. Helping prairie and other farmers plan drainage projects that are adapted & resilient to weather extremes, such as floods & droughts, while increasing productivity – Heather Davies, External Quality Specialist, Saskatchewan Water Security Agency
Building Adaptation Skills to Improve the response of Saskatchewan Communities to Hydrologic Drought: Lessons Learned for Rural and Urban Communities on the Prairies. Helping agricultural communities better understand climate change and how they can manage their community water supply in times of drought – Doug Johnson, Executive Director of Economic Development, Saskatchewan Water Security Agency
Atlantic Canada Water and Wastewater Guideline Updates. Incorporating Climate Resilience for Municipal Infrastructure into the Updates of Existing Atlantic Canada Water and Wastewater Design Guidelines – Lindsay Bolton, P.Eng, Group Lead, Water Resources and Climate Change, CBCL and Amy Winchester, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., Senior Engineer / Project Manager, CBCL
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BRACE Presents: Building Adaptation Skills for Water Management
Building Adaptation Skills in Economic Sectors
Presentations:
Building Climate Adaptation Capacities in Manitoba’s Northern Business Sector: Creating urgency and awareness under conditions of COVID, Wildfire, and Drought. A presentation discussing the unique climate resilience training needs of Manitoba’s northern business sector and identifying the challenges in stakeholder engagement when communities and businesses are responding to concurring impacts of COVID, drought and wildfire – Roger Rempel, P. Eng., FEC, IRP, Climate Resilience Service Lead, Dillon Consulting
Building Adaptation Capacity in Key Economic Sectors: Lessons Learned and Future Provincial Priorities for NL. A presentation outlining findings of climate change adaptation challenges and opportunities in the agriculture, fisheries, forestry, mining and tourism sectors – Joshua Barrett, Manager of Planning and Accountability, Department of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
A sectoral approach to building adaptive capacity in 3 agricultural commodities in Nova Scotia. A presentation covering key findings and lessons learned from developing adaptation strategies with NS Cattle and Sheep, Christmas Tree and Greenery, and Horticulture sectors – Jennifer Graham, Manager of the Climate Adaptation Leadership Program, Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change
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BRACE Presents: Building Adaptation Skills for Economic Sectors
Building Adaptation Skills for Young Professionals
Presentations:
ClimateSense: Training Climate Leaders on Prince Edward Island. A discussion about the ClimateSense Program, which provides training, professional development, and internship opportunities that focus on climate change adaptation for local professionals, recent post-secondary graduates, and organizations within the community. The ClimateSense program helps to develop valuable skills and networks, while building climate change adaptation capacity on Prince Edward Island. – Ross Dwyer, Manager of Research Partnerships, Canadian Centre for Climate Change & Adaptation (CCCA).
Building Climate Change Adaptation Expertise through the Adaptation Resilience Training program in Alberta. A discussion about the Adaptation Resilience Training (ART) program which, in partnership with the Government of Alberta, has employed 81 current students and recent graduates to work on climate change adaptation projects across the province. – Jasmine Farahbakhsh, Project Planner, SDG Engagement, University of Alberta Sustainability Council and Justis Allard-Hagan, Project Planner, Internships and Experiential Learning, University of Alberta Sustainability Council.
Green Jobs: Adapting to our Changing Climate. A discussion about the BRACE initiative under the Learning for a Sustainable Future organization, that worked with high school students from across Canada to create 10 videos exploring a range of job opportunities in climate change adaptation. Learning for a Sustainable Future is a national education organization focusing on sustainability. – Paula Gallo, Institute Facilitator, Learning for a Sustainable Future
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BRACE Presents: Building Adaptation Skills for Young Professionals
BRACE webinar series supported by Natural Resources Canada’s Building Regional Adaptation Capacity and Expertise Program
