Valentine’s Day is a celebration of all things love, but the Earth is an often overlooked part of the festivities. Much of the consumerism that happens in the name of showing love and making memorable moments also makes a lasting negative impact on our environment. Make your special day eco-friendly by opting for mindful (and local!) date ideas. Check out our list for all the things you can do with your special someone!

As Climate Change continues, so do the efforts to incorporate eco-conscious habits into daily life. Often, suggestions to do so involve recycling, turning off the lights, and turning off the tap water when we’re brushing our teeth. But what do sustainable practices look like when it comes to art? Local Windsor-Essex artists Gisele Bick and Julie A. Bell join us to discuss sustainability in art and the ways they ensure their practices are eco-friendly.

The Canadian housing market has reached a crisis.

People, locally and all across the country, cannot afford a place to live. Is there anything that can be done? Jeff Watson presents tiny homes (otherwise called Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs)) as a possible solution, and breaks down their place in Ford’s Bill 23 (“More Homes Built Faster”).

Will tiny homes become a staple part of our sustainable future? Read on to find out.

Transitioning into a new year is often a time of gratitude, reflection, excitement, and planning. While 2022 saw some milestone moments for climate policy in Canada, 2023 will be even more important as Canada steps up implementation of climate actions.

So, to prepare ourselves for another year of hard work and progress, the WoC team has assembled a list of 10 big things in the climate and environmental realm you should watch out for in 2023!

The Windsor-Essex municipal elections are just around the corner and in preparation, we sent out a questionnaire to candidates across all municipalities in the region to better understand their stances on climate change and sustainability.

Staying on top of platforms and issues in a sea of information can be overwhelming; our goal is to equip you with knowledge about where your potential representatives stand regarding climate change mitigation and resilience building—so, we’ve summarized larger trends for an overview of where our local politics are leaning, pertinent climate issues and corresponding possible solutions, and what we can look out for as informed voters in local government.

Save the date! The Windsor-Essex municipal elections will be held on Monday, October 24th. In preparation, Windsor of Change has sent candidates across all municipalities in the region a questionnaire to find out their stances on climate change and sustainability.

Our Canadian wildlife is more diverse than we might realize, especially our avian friends - the birds. Though we're used to geese, ducks, chickadees, and the like, the species in Windsor-Essex County extend far beyond that. Besides being diverse and beautiful, birds are essential parts of the ecosystem and they have immeasurable value balancing the food chain. This Fall migration season, we shine a light on the importance of birds in our region, get wrapped in raptor-talk, and cue the drumroll for the upcoming Festival of Hawks at Holiday Beach!

It's no secret that the travel and tourism industry leaves a huge carbon footprint on our planet. However, we don't have to settle for that fact. As tourists, we have the power to make responsible choices to mitigate climate change. From what we use to travel, to what we bring, to where we stay, etc., our trips are loaded with choices that impact the carbon footprint in question. So, what can we do to travel sustainably? And how can these lessons be applied in domestic traveling and our own communities?

Most of us have grown up with the Great Lakes in one way or another—from colouring them in during geography class to swimming in them during the summer. It can be easy to take for granted bodies of water we’ve known for a lifetime. But where do the Great Lakes fit in on a larger scale and how do they function? How are they doing? And why do we need to concern ourselves with governing them? Read on to learn about freshwater access, water governance, how our Great Lakes fit into the system, as well as what we can do to shape their future in a climate change future.

COVID-19 and climate change have one major thing in common: both are public health emergencies that exposed deep-rooted social inequities in marginalized communities around the globe. Though we're all affected by COVID-19 and climate change in one way or another, marginalized communities take the brunt of it. As climate change progresses, these equity gaps will worsen. How can we learn from the aftermath of COVID-19, and what can we do as a community to mitigate negative consequences as well as close the equity gap?

Eco-dread and climate anxiety are becoming a fast reality for many who are direct or indirect victims of climate change. This can be counter-productive in the fight against the crisis and can have profound implications. In the second and final part of our series on climate change and mental health, guest author and Policy Planner at the Town of Essex, Jeff Watson, writes about the changes we can make in our daily lives that will help with both alleviating mental health issues arising from climate change as well as climate change itself.

How do we break the cycle of production, consumption, and demand in our communities? What do we do when we start losing our connections to each other, our relationship with nature and consequently, our time? Dane & Alley reflect on breaking their ties to systematic consumption by simply turning towards one thing connecting all of us right now : the soil.

In this article, Cameron Fioret talks to us about taking a community-first approach to tackling the urgent climate impacts in our region, allowing for inclusiveness and equity amongst the people it affects the most.

The conversation surrounding Canadian seniors and climate change has a very consistent tone: seniors are vulnerable. While care for older Canadians is one of the areas that we must seriously continue investing in, the focus on seniors’ vulnerability, puts them squarely in the category of passive victims. Emma Bider, draws from her work with the seniors-led group Climate Legacy, and writes about why and how institutions and agencies would be wise to include this demographic as active agents of change.

The WOC team is proud to bring to you our latest offering - The Breeze. This is our quarterly newsletter giving you a roundup of the latest feature stories from our website, relevant environmental news from our region, and the best stories from the world of climate change. Check out Vol. 1.

As Canadian politicians gear up for an early federal election, various residents of Windsor-Essex County are calling attention to bring the climate crisis front and center leading up to their campaign trail. On September 8th, while catastrophic climate events continue to erupt around us, citizens of our region will be demanding emergency-level climate action, at Dieppe Gardens. Windsor of Change interviews Sofie Waters, one of the founding members of the Windsor-Essex Youth Climate Council and leaders of tomorrow’s march, about their rally call and message to Canadian political leaders.

With fashion and clothing choices being everyday rituals, what does it mean to be conscientious about a rapidly changing apparel industry that has more than its share of an impact on environmental and social problems? How do our choices influence more than what meets the eye? Amber Lively, a champion of sustainable fashion in her life and community, takes us along a journey of her confrontation with fast fashion by allowing us into her personal trove of memories.

News of extreme weather events in Canada and beyond have plagued us this summer and in the past. The physical and economic damages from climate change impacts are quite well-documented; however, there remains one aspect of impacts that is possibly the least discussed and most overlooked - mental health. Over the upcoming weeks, Windsor of Change will share a series of articles on the toll of climate change on our minds and health, written by guest author and Policy Planner at the Town of Essex, Jeff Watson.

While experts are trying to find answers to the climate crisis through social, economic, and policy changes, some are betting on an unexpected ally. Could the genetic code in all living beings be the leg up we need to be resilient to such changes? WOC writer Prabarna Ganguly breaks down the latest in the intersecting worlds of climate science and genomics.

Earth Day is on April 22nd, and every year, community members assemble to plant trees, clean up streets and beaches. This year we put the focus on water. Windsor of Change interviews Jacqueline (Jackie) Serran, the Remedial Action Plan Coordinator at the Detroit River Canadian Clean-Up, about Earth Day celebrations, the work they do, and how we can continue to be involved in protecting our River.

As we in Ontario are pushed indoors again in the face of a third province-wide lockdown, Earth Day celebrations will be remote again. Fret not reader! Windsor of Change is ready with your Earth Day fix with eight stunning and educational documentaries

This year, we at Windsor of Change want to celebrate the ethos of Earth day all month round. Get started with these researched and selected recommendations of films and series that tell stories from across the planet. Each one reveals the intimate balance of life and nature, unexpected friendships, and the value of individual courage.

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The journey to a sustainable lifestyle is highly regarded and quite necessary in a world contending against climate change and its impacts, but it does come with its own set of challenges. Alley Biniarz began her sustainable fashion store, Grown Lady Garments, in Windsor in April, 2020, which came with its own inspiring tale. In this article, Alley talks about how in a quest to living more sustainably, she found a personal connection with life and self-love through clothing.

This story comes from the other side of the aisle. From across the Detroit River, Michele Arquette-Palermo from the Freshwater Forum at the Cranbrook Institute of Science, draws our attention to the failing state of Great Lakes infrastructure. In an era of climate change, rising lake levels, and increased precipitation in the region, is the Great Lakes region prepared enough for a surge?

What important lessons does the infamous pre-historic animated squirrel from the Ice Age movies have with respect to modern day climate change? Baird Langenbrunner takes us on an inter-epoch ride with his tales of what the Last Ice Age has to say about the adaptive capacities of plants today.

Originally featured on Massive Science, this article unpacks layers of information of what lies ahead, from what has already occurred!

“I surrender”

al.lucyna takes us through a lyrical journey of discoveries and decisions she went through to make better choices for herself and the planet. While she laments the choices of her past, she also looks forward to a future guided by more sustainable beliefs.