Windsor-Essex Votes: Candidate Platforms and Climate Change

Windsor-Essex Votes: Candidate Platforms and Climate Change

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.

Windsor-Essex Votes - The Heated Issue of Climate Change

Windsor-Essex Votes -   The Heated Issue of Climate Change

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.

We Can't Wing It: Conserving Bird Habitats in Essex County

We Can't Wing It: Conserving Bird Habitats in Essex County

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!

Pack Your Bags: A Guide to Traveling (Carbon) Light

Pack Your Bags: A Guide to Traveling (Carbon) Light

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?

How to protect the Earth's largest freshwater supply in a changing climate

How to protect the Earth's largest freshwater supply in a changing climate

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.

Lessons from COVID-19: Equity in Climate Action

Lessons from COVID-19: Equity in Climate Action

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?

The Tipping Point - From Anxiety to Action

The Tipping Point - From Anxiety to Action

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.

Growing Your Own Food : A Pathway From Consumption to Connection

Growing Your Own Food : A Pathway From Consumption to Connection

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.

Community First: Addressing Climate Change in Windsor-Essex

Community First: Addressing Climate Change in Windsor-Essex

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.

Age is only a number: Bringing seniors into the climate change movement

Age is only a number: Bringing seniors into the climate change movement

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.