Canadian parents in network to fight climate change want a 'livable planet' for their kids - CBC.ca

Canadian parents in network to fight climate change want a 'livable planet' for their kids | CBC News
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Canadian parents in network to fight climate change want a 'livable planet' for their kids

5,400 parents with advocacy network For Our Kids work at local level to make a climate difference

Years from now, Sarah Starrs wants to be able to look her son Peter in the eyes and tell the six-year-old she did everything in her power to fight the climate change crisis.

"I want to make sure my son has a livable planet to grow up and hopefully thrive on," the London, Ont., mom told CBC News.

Starrs is a volunteer with For Our Kids, an advocacy network of 5,400 parents across Canada who are taking action against climate change in their local communities to alleviate some of the impacts of the crisis.

The network connects parents so they can share concerns about climate change and ideas on how to work together to make a meaningful difference. It also provides supports for events and helps with research on policy issues.

For Our Kids was formed in 2019 as a result of that year's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, assessing the science related to climate change for the United Nations.

"There was a sense of anxiety, but there was also a lot of energy in coming together to make sure that the world our kids are inheriting is going to be safe, healthy and a place where they deserve to grow up," said Lella Blumer, one of the group's London-based organizers.

Parents in the network have been able to make both systemic and grassroots changes to address climate change — through planting gardens at local schools, organizing nature walks and bikes rides, and protesting land developments and banks, Blumer said.

Intense climate events plague the country

Blumer said there's plenty of scientific evidence to suggest how the planet's future would be at risk if no changes are made.

"We know the impact of warmer climate is melting icebergs, rising sea water levels, drought which could lead to famine. The scenarios are very clear and so are the predictions," she said.

July 3 and 4 set a global record for the hottest days ever, as the Earth's average temperature spiked more than 17 C. The year 2023 has officially been deemed the worst wildfire season in Canadian history, with impacted provinces including:

British Columbia, which is dealing with worsening drought and evacuation orders.
Ontario and Quebec, where some of the worst air quality levels in the world were recorded.
Atlantic Canada, where thousands of hectares of forest burned this year.

Blumer credits parents' advocacy in pushing the federal government to pass the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act in 2021.

She said the network focuses on working collectively to give parents a sense their actions can help drive policy changes, adding "this can get very heavy and overwhelming, so taking action one step at a time with others can help you break that down."

'Children didn't create this mess'

Matt Price founded the network after realizing the state of the planet his 17-year-old son will someday inherit.

Parents have the power to lobby for change, he told CBC News from his home in Cowichan Valley, south of Duncan, B.C.

"We thought, 'Why should [youths] be the ones who have to shoulder all this burden, when we're the ones who are making the decisions?' We had a responsibility to step up," he said.

"A lot of young people are confused why politicians aren't doing more, and it's hard to explain the realities of politics to someone who just believes we should be doing the right thing and not passing on the mess to them."

Price said this is a critical time to turn the corner with climate change. The group's work has empowered his local school board to purchase two electric school buses, he added.

Starrs believes while inspiring youth to take action is important, it's necessary to have conversations about climate change at a level they can process, she said.

"Young children are naturally compassionate and connected to nature, and they didn't create this mess," she said. "The scale of climate change and the anxiety that can bring to an adult is massive, and I don't think we should be putting the weight of that onto six-year-olds."

To set up a London chapter for the network, Starrs and Blumer are hosting a meet-up Saturday at Springbank Park, where parents will be able to connect and brainstorm ways to create change in their communities. They can join any time from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

"That love you have for your child is incredibly motivating, and when you see that their future is at risk, we want to act," said Starrs.