Drawdown Alberta, Canada

Challenger Profile at a Glance

Meet the Drawdown Alberta team from Canada, challengers in the 2020 International Climate Action Challenge. Their initiative is to envision and create a future Alberta that stores (draws down) more greenhouse gases than it produces, applying the approach of Project Drawdown to the province.

Team

#79 – Drawdown Alberta
90-Day Challenge Goal: Expand efforts and advocate for a sustainable business program
Location: Alberta, Canada
Registered Challenger: Melanie Hoffman
90-Day Challenge Period: September 1 – November 30, 2020

Impact

Here are some impact highlights from the Drawdown Alberta team during the 90-day challenge period:

Came together and grew to 15 core team members
Launched a Facebook page
Hosted a community watch party for the film “2040”
Created partnerships with 15 organizations

Challenge Experience

What was the team’s experience during the challenge? Melanie shared:

The weekly meetings provided a meaningful way to connect with people across the province.
“I’m terrible at asking people for anything and having the challenge just pushed me to say, ‘Hey! who wants to work with me on this?'” said Melanie. “It was awesome to see the team grow from week to week, and evolve with lots of strong individuals coming in and bringing their interests and experiences to the group.”
Launching a province-wide initiative in 90 days was a lot of work and stressful at times, during the pandemic and on top of other commitments. Melanie said that it required well over the minimum commitment of 3 hours per week, but got the team kicked off in a good direction.

Next Steps

Moving forward, the team is planning to expand its efforts:

Develop Community Workshops with Indigenous Leadership
2021: Launch a website
December 2020: film screening, strategic planning forum, Christmas Party
January 2021: policy, research, network building, education
April 2020: Earth Day Festival

Advice

We asked Melanie, what is your advice for someone who wants to make an impact?

Acknowledge that Indigenous people have been experiencing the destruction of their lifestyle and culture for hundreds of years. While the climate crisis demands our immediate attention, we can’t skip past building relationships. It may be that we need to slow down so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.

“Yes, the climate crisis is urgent. What is even more urgent is that we come together as people, as living beings with other people and other living beings in this world,” said Melanie. “So build community, ask those folks who are not present to come and join you and ask them how you can create an environment that they want to be a part of.”

Melanie also recommends:

“Share your passion. Create a space in which to let others join and co-lead. Be authentic. Complement strengths and background. Use a framework like the Climate Action Challenge book and workbook to making it happen.”