Coast and Ocean Risk Communication Community of Practice

What’s That Sound? Tsunami Evacuation on Vancouver Island
2021-01-15 10:00 - 23:00 (America/Vancouver)
It’s 3am on an early Tuesday morning, and you wake to the sound of a warning siren. You realize it’s your community’s tsunami warning system, and listen as it broadcasts instructions to evacuate the tsunami inundation zone and seek shelter on higher ground. You aren’t sure if you live in the inundation zone or not. What do you do?
We conducted parallel door-to-door and online surveys to better understand how Port Alberni residents responded to this exact scenario on an early January morning in 2018. We wanted to learn how and when residents learned about the tsunami warning, what actions they took to respond, and where evacuees sought safety. We also wanted to explore residents’ views on how the evacuation was conducted by emergency officials and how the event may have changed their perceptions of tsunami risk in the community. Join us as we discuss some of our findings from over 450 public surveys and interviews with 11 community and regional emergency officials in the Alberni Valley and highlight some best practices to improve future evacuations.
Please visit this link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mzAyBYAdTG6XCK-Z2AjcUg
Dr. Ryan Reynolds (Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of British Columbia, School of Community and Regional Planning)

2020 UNDERSTANDING RISK FORUM
2020-12-01 08:00 - 2020-12-03 17:00 UTC
The Understanding Risk (UR) Global Forum is a biennial conference that convenes experts and practitioners from all around the world to showcase the best practices and latest innovations in the field of disaster risk identification as well as to facilitate non-traditional interactions and partnerships.
Register Here: https://understandrisk.org/event/ur2020_forum/

Webinar: Life at the Arctic’s Edge: Looking for long-term environmental change in a subarctic landscape
2020-11-19 16:00 - 17:00 (America/Vancouver)
Life at the Arctic’s Edge: Looking for long-term environmental change in a subarctic landscape
Hosted by the ArcticNet Students Association
Dr. LeeAnn Fishback is a Research Associate at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre in Churchill, Manitoba. Her research focuses on environmental freshwater geochemistry investigating the impacts of environmental change in the Churchill region. Much of this research is conducted with citizen science volunteers as part of the Earthwatch project called “Climate Change at the Arctic’s Edge”. For 15+ years, she has conducted long-term monitoring on key environmental variables along the western coast of Hudson Bay to explore the impacts of change while communicating scientific findings with local community members and citizen scientists. LeeAnn has spent more than 25 years working throughout the Canadian Arctic including living and working in Churchill for the last 18 years.
REGISTER HERE: http://bit.ly/2UAO8XO

Seven Best Practices for Risk Communication (Online)
2020-11-19 14:00 - 15:30 (America/Toronto)
Course Description – NOAA Office for Coastal Management
Understanding risk is a key component for initiatives focused on helping communities prepare for and respond to weather and climate hazards. This interactive webinar introduces participants to seven best practices, numerous techniques, and examples for communicating about coastal hazards. Whether beginning a new effort or trying to keep people motivated to better prepare for future hazards, applying risk communication principles will lead to more effective results. Please note that this training focuses on improving risk communication skills for coastal hazards planning and preparedness, not crisis communication.
You Will Learn How To

Apply seven risk communication best practices and techniques
Use the fundamentals of behavior change to improve communication
Adapt successful strategies from case studies of peers who have applied these best practices and techniques

Participant Requirements

Internet and speakers
Adobe Connect (connection and user instructions provided in advance)

https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/training/risk-communication.html

Building Equity Using Nature-based Solutions
2020-11-10 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Vancouver)
Overview
Green infrastructure and nature-based solutions provide low-emissions urban planning approaches to climate impacts such as flooding, heatwaves and air quality, improved habitat for biodiversity, and benefits for mental and physical health, with the latter becoming even more important during the pandemic. However, access to green space is not always equitable, and without strategic planning these solutions can lead to gentrification and displacement. As interest in nature-based solutions accelerates across Canada, it is essential that we embed equity considerations in their design.
On November 10 from 11am-12pm PT, join ACT (the Adaptation to Climate Change Team), SFU and special guests Grant Fahlgren, Chair of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects’ Reconciliation Advisory Committee, and Katherine Howard, Project Manager for the City of Vancouver’s Parks and Recreation Services Master Plan, for a webinar on the intersections between equity, green infrastructure, climate action, and human health and well-being and ways to incorporate equity into climate and community planning.
Presenters

Grant Fahlgren, Project Designer at PFS Studio and Chair of the Reconciliation Advisory Committee of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects.
Katherine Howard, Project Manager, VanPlay, the City of Vancouver’s Parks and Recreation Services Master Plan.
Paige Hunter, ACT research assistant; student, Simon Fraser University’s School of Resource and Environmental Management.
Deborah Harford, Executive Director, ACT (the Adaptation to Climate Change Team), Faculty of Environment, Simon Fraser University.

The Role of the BC DRR Hub in Enhancing Use of Risk Information in Disaster and Climate Risk Reduction
2020-10-20 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Vancouver)
ONLINE: October 20, 2020, 1 pm – 3 pm (interactive session)
Convened by Sahar Safaie (Sage Consulting and DRR Pathways Project)
Explore the proposed design for “BC DRR Hub” as a mechanism to strengthen the governance of disaster and climate risk management. Participants will share insights and suggestions on the challenges, expectations, and good approaches to enhancing use of risk information in designing resilience policies and plans.

Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition: Virtual Workshop
2020-06-22 08:00 - 2020-06-23 17:00 UTC
Register Here
The Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition (COLC) is an alliance of organizations, networks, institutions, and communities working together to better understand and advance ocean literacy in Canada. Widely accepted internationally, ocean literacy is defined as understanding our impact on the ocean and the ocean’s impact on us.
The Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition’s (COLC) primary project since our inception in 2018 has been to lead a Canada-wide research initiative to better understand Canadians’ varying relationships with the ocean and to examine how ocean literacy (OL) is understood and practiced across different regions and sectors. The aim of this work is to establish a baseline seascape of OL in Canada, and in so doing, to co-develop an evidence-based national OL strategy and implementation plan.
Regional and National Findings to be shared June 22-23!
The virtual workshop will take place over two days, June 22 and 23, with 6 one-hour sessions offered (3 sessions / day) as an opportunity to discuss, validate, and advance findings and recommendations to have emerged through the regional consultation and engagement phase. Outcomes of the virtual workshop will guide the final phase of drafting the national ocean literacy strategy and implementation plan.
Monday June 22nd
10:30 – 11:30am EDT: Atlantic
12:00 – 1:00pm EDT: St. Lawrence
1:30 – 2:30pm EDT: Pacific
Tuesday June 23rd
10:30 – 11:30am EDT: Inuit Nunangat
12:00 – 1:00pm EDT: Inland Canada
1:30 – 2:30pm EDT: National
Participation is open to anyone who is already a member of the COLC network, has participated in the study, or is more broadly interested in Canadian ocean literacy. Participants are welcome to join multiple sessions!

Webinar: Northern Communities on the Front Lines of Ocean Change
2020-06-10
Northern Communities on the Front Lines of Ocean Change
Earth’s polar regions are changing more rapidly than any other place on the planet. These changes are already having dramatic effects on people living in northern communities. How can scientists and communities work together to understand these changes and prepare for the future?
Join ONC for the first of SIX upcoming interactive webinars hosted by Ocean Networks Canada. In this session, learn about the intersection between scientific and Indigenous approaches to understanding ocean change in Northern communities and discuss preliminary sea-ice related findings with Maia Hoeberechts, the Associate Director of Learning & Community Engagement at Ocean Networks Canada.
To preview upcoming topics and additional resources, please continue to check ONC Learning & Community Engagement page: https://www.oceannetworks.ca/learning/resources/learningathome/LifelongLearnerCitizenScientist

54th CMOS Congress Online
2020-05-26 08:00 - 2020-06-10 17:00 UTC
More Info and Register HERE
We are pleased to announce that the online alternative to the 54th CMOS Congress is going ahead from Tuesday, May 26 to Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
After receiving enthusiastic support for moving the Congress online, we worked with convenors to create an online forum consisting of 16 virtual sessions spread out over three weeks. These sessions cover a broad range of topics related to the Congress theme of “Building Societal Resilience to Changing Weather, Climate, Oceans and Environment”.

Climate Outreach Webinar: May 21 - Communicating climate change during the Covid-19 crisis: what the evidence says
2020-05-21 07:00 - 08:00 (Europe/London)
More Information and Register Here
Communicating climate change during the Covid-19 crisis: what the evidence says. May 21: Register for 7am BST or 4pm BST (pick the best one for your time zone).
The world has changed — and advocates are having to change with it, adapting campaigns and plans to a profoundly new external environment. Commentators and campaigners are reflecting and re-writing plans. But what does the evidence say? The social science of climate change communication provides insights into what effective communications could look like during the current crisis.
Join Robin Webster, our Advocacy Senior Programme Lead, in a webinar on 21 May as she shares key insights from our upcoming toolkit, to be released the same day. There is a choice of two times depending on your timezone: 7am BST and 4pm BST.

*postponed* Marine Planning Process Workshop
2020-04-28 - 2020-04-30 | University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, B3H 4R2, Canada
MEOPAR and Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment will host the second Canadian Marine Planning Process (MPP) workshop at University of Victoria, Victoria, BC from April 28-30, 2020.
The MPP workshop will present participants with key issues in the marine planning process using national and West Coast case studies, interactive game-based activities, and an optional field trip on April 30th. Participants will learn an innovative approach to marine planning while building their network of coastal management professionals and early-career researchers in the Pacific region and across Canada.
Who should attend?
This workshop is designed for industry, public and not-for-profit professionals who make decisions regarding coastal and marine uses and resources, as well as those seeking a better understanding of marine planning decision-making. Students and postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to attend.
Travel Funding for HQP
HQP and recent alumni are eligible to apply to MEOPAR for travel funding. Up to five HQP from the Pacific region and five from other areas of Canada may receive travel support. Please contact Laura Avery to express interest.

NOAA Webinar: Seven Best Practices for Risk Communication - Weather and Climate
2020-03-11 15:00 - 16:30 (America/Toronto)
More Information and Webinar Registration
Understanding risk is a key component for initiatives focused on helping communities prepare for and respond to weather and climate hazards. This interactive webinar introduces participants to seven best practices, numerous techniques, and examples for communicating about coastal hazards. Whether beginning a new effort or trying to keep people motivated to better prepare for future hazards, applying risk communication principles will lead to more effective results.

Adaptation Canada 2020
2020-02-19 08:00 - 2020-02-21 17:00 (America/Vancouver)
Canada’s national conference on climate change adaptation is coming to the West Coast!
ADAPTATION CANADA 2020 (February 19-21, 2020) will bring to Vancouver experts and leaders from diverse sectors, regions and jurisdictions to work on one of the most urgent issues of our time — how to build climate change resilience in our communities, ecosystems and economy.
This conference is a must-attend for people in all orders of government (federal, provincial, municipal and Indigenous), industry, academia and non-government organizations. If you want to learn from others and make new connections to ramp up your own resilience efforts, this is your conference!

Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020 - San Diego, California
2020-02-16 - 2020-02-21
February 16-21, 2020, San Diego, California, USA
The Ocean Sciences Meeting (OSM) is the flagship conference for the ocean sciences and the larger ocean-connected community. As we approach the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, beginning in 2021, it is increasingly important to gather as a scientific community to raise awareness of the truly global dimension of the ocean, address environmental challenges, and set forth on a path towards a resilient planet.
Session: SI003: Ocean and Marine Sustainability: Preparedness for Climate and Ocean Extreme through Societal Participation.
Ocean, marine and coastal systems are important for human livelihoods. The Sustainable Development Goal 14 – the sustainable use and development of the world’s oceans – focuses on ocean and marine sustainability. This session deals with challenges and opportunities in ocean and marine sustainability. The session focuses on multidisciplinary issues related to climate and weather extremes and its impacts on ocean, marine and coastal biodiversity. We invite presentations on ocean and marine pollution, societal participation for ocean and marine sustainability, and risk and resilience in ocean, marine and coastal areas. The session also deals with the issues related to ocean change, acidification and hypoxia and social and ocean science interactions. The session invites presentations on ocean sustainability including ocean productivity, marine policies, aquaculture and fisheries resource management, information and communication science for ocean sustainability, ocean observation and data management, coastal and marine tourism, fish drought and its societal impacts and social, economic and policy issues relevant to coastal, marine and ocean resources estrangement and development.
Abstract submissions close on 11 September 2019.
Session SI003 Submission through URL agu.confex.com/agu/osm20/prelim.cgi/Session/85836

ArcticNet ASM 2019
2019-12-02 - 2019-12-05 | Halifax Convention Centre, 1650 Argyle St, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 0E6, Canada
Canada’s North is experiencing unprecedented change in its sea and terrestrial ice, permafrost and ecosystems under the triple pressures of climate change, industrialization and modernization. The impacts of these pressures can be seen on food and energy security, shipping, sovereignty, northern community health and well-being, and sustainable development and resource exploitation. All these issues have brought the North to the forefront of national and international agendas.
ArcticNet ASM Website

Webinar: Room for rivers and voices: A comparison of the Room for the River approaches in Alberta and the Netherlands
2019-11-13 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Toronto)
Historically, both Alberta and the Netherlands have focused on physical  infrastructure  approaches to flood mitigation.  However, following catastrophic  flood  risk in the 1990s, the Dutch government developed the  Room-for-River (RfR) program, breaking from their 1000-year tradition of structural engineering approaches of ‘fighting the water’ to ‘living with water’. In Alberta, the  high cost of the 2013  disaster and a growing sensitivity to the implications of climate variability triggered a reassessment of costly structural solutions and exploration of other approaches, leading to three  RfR  projects. In this presentation, I compare the RfR approaches in the Netherlands and Alberta through the Transition Governance Framework.  Unlike transferable  technological change, RfR requires fundamental institutional, governance, and cultural change, and hence is more challenging to implement. This presentation sets the stage for discussions on how a combination of policies and practices  could  make  more room for rivers and  voices in flood risk management.https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FQ7T2NxsTQOxiGv2E8MZ1Qhttps://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FQ7T2NxsTQOxiGv2E8MZ1Qhttps://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FQ7T2NxsTQOxiGv2E8MZ1Q

Canadian Science Policy Conference
2019-11-13 - 2019-11-15 | Westin Hotel, 11 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N9H4, Canada

Webinar - Navigating the Changing Communication Landscape: Social Media For Risk and Crisis Communication
2019-10-04 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Vancouver)
REGISTER FOR WEBINAR HERE
Webinar Description
Over the last 25 years, rapid advancements in the development and proliferation of communications technologies has had a dramatic impact on the ways we obtain, interpret, and respond to information. This is particularly true within the context of risk and crisis communication, which has been profoundly affected by the development of mobile technologies and new media. Social media is one such technology that has (perhaps unexpectedly) influenced all facets of emergency management, particularly preparedness and response. This talk will begin with an introduction to the field of risk and crisis communication, and then will discuss the impact that social media has had on disaster preparedness and response. This talk will outline the strengths of social media for crisis communications, as well as several significant challenges that social media has posed for emergency management. Lastly, this talk will examine several case studies (Hurricane Sandy and 2011 Goderich, Ontario tornado) to set the stage for a deeper discussion about lessons learned and future directions of research and practice.
Presenter: Dr. Amber Silver, Assistant Professor for the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, University at Albany.
Dr. Silver received her Ph.D. in Geography and Environmental Management from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Her primary research interests focus on how individuals and groups make decisions before, during, and after high-impact weather. She is interested in the roles that public attention, risk perception, and communication play in protective action decision making during extreme events. Her most recent research has focused on the ways that new technologies, including social media, influence how individuals obtain, interpret, and respond to official and unofficial warning information. Key areas of interest include: the impact of environmental disasters on sense of place and place attachment; the use of social media as a risk and crisis communications tool; and the role of new media in collective sense-making during and after disaster.

Webinar: Climate Action Planning: Creating Low-Carbon Resilient Communities
2019-08-07 13:15 - 14:45 (America/Toronto)
Webinar: August 7, 2019 1:15 to 2:45 PM EDT
Register For Webinar
Climate Action Planning is designed to help planners, municipal staff and officials, citizens and others working at local levels to develop and implement plans to mitigate a community’s greenhouse gas emissions and increase the resilience of communities against climate change impacts. This fully revised and expanded edition goes well beyond climate action plans to examine the mix of policy and planning instruments available to every community. Boswell, Greve, and Seale also look at process and communication: How does a community bring diverse voices to the table? What do recent examples and research tell us about successful communication strategies?
Climate Action Planning is the most comprehensive book on the state of the art, science, and practice of local climate action planning. It should be a first stop for any local government interested in addressing climate change.
US context but ideas and approaches relevant to Canadian communities.
Hosted by the Security and Sustainability Forum

#TalkingClimate Training Webinar
2019-08-01 18:00 - 19:00 (Europe/Brussels)
Do you find it difficult to have conversations with friends, family and colleagues about the climate crisis? Are you interested in participating in an innovative ‘citizen science’ project and gaining interesting experience and new research skills?
Register here: https://climateoutreach.org/resources/how-to-have-a-climate-change-conversation-talking-climate/
Thursday, August 1, 2019, 6pm Central European Standard Time
This summer, we are seeking participants for a project exploring how to have conversations about climate change in our daily lives – and how to come out of them feeling inspired and connected. At the same time, we will be building a hugely important evidence base for the future.
The project is a collaboration between Climate-KIC and Climate Outreach working to widen and deepen public engagement in climate change by producing world-leading advice and practical tools for engagement.
As a participant, you will get:

A training webinar in early August laying out the evidence base on how to have effective day-to-day conversations about climate change;
Support – including from your own community – in having four to five conversations about climate change in your daily life over the summer period, with different sorts of people;
The ability to feedback your experiences in written and (if you like) video form and be a part of a wider piece of analysis;
A second webinar in October pulling together the feedback from all the participants into a piece of research;
A short report giving down to earth guidance on how to have conversations about climate change in your daily life, produced as a result of the research;
Inspiration to go on doing it!
At the moment, evidence exists from a number of different sectors – including social science research on climate change communications, non-violent communication principles and informal advice for important personal conversations like coming out or talking about religious beliefs. But this will be the first in-depth exploration of how to have the climate change conversation.

At a time when more are waking up to the climate crisis, these conversations are important. We’d really love to have your participation in exploring this – and hope that together we can learn a lot.

Webinar: How Risk Research Can Inform Professional Practice
2019-07-03 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Toronto)
Risk research can be of great importance for professional practice, and vice versa. However, to connect the two domains is not always easy. During a period of over 15 year scholars at Lund University have been conducting research in close collaboration with professionals working with disaster risk management (DRM) in Sweden. The presentation is based on some of the experiences from several research programs during this period. It starts with a presentation of disaster risk management in general and use the Swedish DRM system to exemplify. Then follows a presentation of a research framework that has been used to ensure both scientific rigor and practical relevance of the results. And finally, the use of the framework is exemplified by describing several studies focusing on helping professionals improve their practice. One important practical problem addressed by the studies are how to aggregate risk information from several sources.
Wednesday, July 3 at 11am ET

Webinar: Canada’s Changing Climate Report: Changes in the Oceans and Coastlines Surrounding Canada
2019-06-26 13:00 - 14:30 (America/Toronto)
Please join the upcoming webinar that will be jointly hosted by the Climate Risks for Coastal Transportation Infrastructure Community of Practice (CRCTI CoP) and the Canadian Coastal Resilience Forum (CCRF). The webinar is titled “Canada’s Changing Climate Report: Changes in the Oceans and Coastlines Surrounding Canada” and will be presented by Blair Greenan, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Thomas James, Natural Resources Canada. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, June 26th at 1:00pm – 2:30pm EST/ 10:00am – 11:30am PST.

Webinar registration link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cWV5Gxb_SaCJANIXLfR3hQ

Coastal Hazards and Risk Communication Forum at the MEOPAR ATM/ASM
2019-06-14 13:00 - 15:45 (America/Vancouver) | Delta Ocean Pointe Resort, 100 Harbour Road, Victoria, BC, V9A 0G1, Canada
The Coast and Ocean Risk Communication Community of Practice (CORC CoP), sponsored by MEOPAR Network invites you to an afternoon forum focused on communicating risks of coastal hazards. The Forum offers an opportunity to discuss with, and hear from, researchers and practitioners who engage in communicating about coastal and marine hazards and to connect with others interested in this area. The Forum is free to attend, but because space is limited, we ask that you register here by June 13 to reserve your place. Preliminary Program (check back for updates).
Who Should Attend?
People from the community involved in study, research, or practice of coastal hazards planning or policy-making; coastal community resilience or preparedness; communicating coastal hazard or risk information (e.g., emergency managers, planners (sustainability, climate change, community resilience), communications specialists; policy-makers; decision-makers; students, or others) in addition to MEOPAR personnel.100

Coastal Hazards and Risk Communication Forum
2019-06-14 00:00 - 2019-06-15 00:00 (America/Vancouver)

Grand Forum Des Communautés Résilientes
2019-06-04 - 2019-06-05 | Grand Séminaire de Québec, Quebec City, Québec, Canada
Le Grand forum des communautés résilientes, c’est l’opportunité de s’inspirer et de mettre à profit l’intelligence collective pour mieux répondre ensemble aux enjeux sociaux, environnementaux et économiques générés par les changements climatiques.
Au-delà d’un partage des savoirs issus des communautés et de la recherche, les participantEs seront amené à co-construire des solutions et des projets collaboratifs lors d’ateliers participatifs. En parallèle, un appel à l’action sera élaboré et validé par les participantEs durant l’événement, afin d’interpeller les acteurs de la recherche, les éluEs et les praticiens municipaux à agir conjointement pour accroître la résilience des communautés et faciliter l’adaptation aux changements climatiques.
L’événement veut rassembler des collectivités membres de la Rés-Alliance, des professionnelLEs des secteurs publics, municipaux et communautaires, des chercheurEes et des étudiantEs, des représentantEs des communautés des Premières Nations, des éluEs et des citoyenNEs engagéEs. C’est un rendez-vous les 4 et 5 juin prochain !
The Grand forum des communautés résilientes is an opportunity to draw on collective knowledge to better address the social, environmental and economic issues caused by climate change.
In addition to sharing knowledge from communities and research, participants will co-create solutions and build collaborative projects during hands-on workshops. A call for action will also be prepared and validated by the participants during the event in order to urge the research community, elected officials and municipal practitioners to act collectively to increase community resilience and facilitate adaptation to climate change.
The forum aims to bring together community members of the Rés-Alliance, professionals from the public sector and from communities and municipalities, researchers and students, First Nations community representatives, elected officials and committed citizens. It’s a must-attend event on June 4-5!

Webinar: Modelling of Future Flood Risk Across Canada Under Climate Change
2019-05-31 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Toronto)
Register Here
Climate change has induced changes in key climate variables and hydrological cycle across Canada. With continuous emission of greenhouse gases, this trend is expected to continue over the 21st century and beyond.
In this study, a macro-scaled hydrodynamic model is used to simulate 25 km resolution daily streamflow across Canada for historical (1961-2005) and future (2061-2100) timelines. Future projections from 21 GCMs following four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) are used for analysis. Changes in the frequency and magnitude of historical 100-year and 250-year return period flood events and month of occurrence of peak flow are analyzed. Results obtained from uncertainty analysis for both return period flood events found that flood frequency will increase in most of the northern Canada, southern Ontario, southern British Columbia, northern Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Presenter: Slobodan P. Simonovic
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Western Ontario
Director of Engineering Studies, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction

Webinar: Communicating Disaster Risk - An Evaluation of Publicly Accessible Disaster Maps in Canada
2019-05-08 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Vancouver)
Webinar – Communicating disaster risk? An evaluation of publicly accessible flood maps in Canada
MEOPAR and CORC COP cordially invite you to a webinar presentation of recent research evaluating flood maps and their utility for communicating about flood risk in Canada. You are welcome to share this invitation with other colleagues who may be interested.
When: Wednesday, May 8, 2019 (1 hr)
10 am PT / 1 pm ET / 2 pm AT / 2:30 pm / NL
REGISTER HERE
Description
In a time of extreme weather, ageing infrastructure and increasing urban development, it is perhaps unsurprising that economic losses from floods are on the rise. A fundamental step to building resiliency is to identify risks in order to reduce and manage their consequences. This webinar will present new research on the information that is available to the public to identify their flood risk and act on it. Our research found that flood maps—information that is a cornerstone of flood risk management—is available to most surveyed communities but it is difficult to find, incomplete and it is normally highly technocratic. We argue that in a time when governments look to the public to reduce flood risk, user-friendly information and institutions need to be in place to support the public.
Presenters
Andrea Minano, PhD Candidate @Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo
Andrea is a specialist in Geographic Information Systems and has previously worked for municipal, provincial and federal governments as well as the insurance industry. Andrea’s research and work experience are highly interdisciplinary ranging from visualization of flood risk, community-based climate adaptation and flood risk management policy. Andrea’s current research focuses on public and private responsibilities in flood risk management and identifying opportunities for strengthening flood resiliency in Canada.
Jason Thistlethwaite, Associate Professor @School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo
Jason’s research focuses on innovative strategies designed to reduce the economic impacts of extreme weather and climate change. He explores the role of insurance and government risk-transfer in promoting climate change adaptation and reducing economic vulnerability. To inform this work, he has worked directly with business and government leaders in the insurance, banking, real estate, building, and investment industries. Jason is also a frequent speaker, media contributor on Canada’s growing vulnerability to extreme weather, and a self-described “weather geek”. Check out a recent CBC article and interview with Jason on CBC’s The Current, April 3, 2019: ‘Get Used to Being Disrupted’)
We hope you can attend!

The Climate-Resilient Coastal Natural Infrastructure Workshop and ACCESS 2019
2019-05-06 - 2019-05-10 | St Mary’s University, 923 Robie Street,, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
This combined event will connect coastal practitioners, coastal engineers, natural and social scientists, professors, students, planners, politicians, and Indigenous groups. Working towards the application, implementation, and delivery of nature-based adaptations to climate change, and the latest in coastal & estuarine science!
Hosted by: TransCoastal Adaptations: Centre for Nature-based Solutions, ACCESS, and The Cold Regions Living Shorelines Community of Practice (CRLS CoP), part of Coastal Zone Canada Association.
Event Website
Event Registration Here

CCACoP Webinar: Canada’s Changing Climate Report – An Overview
2019-04-18 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Toronto) | CCACoP
Register for Webinar Here
Hosted by the Climate Change Adaptation Community of Practice (CCACoP) and led by Environment and Climate Change Canada, this webinar focuses on the recently-released report, Canada’s Changing Climate, which details how and why Canada’s climate has changed and what changes are projected for the future.This document is the first of a series to be released as part of Canada in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action. It documents changes across Canada in temperature, precipitation, snow, ice, permafrost and freshwater availability as well as in Canada’s three oceans.
Presenters:
Elizabeth Bush (Project Lead, Canada’s Changing Climate Report, Environment and Climate Change Canada)
Others TBD

Webinar: SmartICE Sea Ice Monitoring & Information - Adapting to Climate Change
2019-03-12 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Toronto)
Join us in learning more about SmartICE, an award-winning technological innovation for the North, which was first developed in Newfoundland and Labrador through collaboration with northern communities, including Nain and Pond Inlet. SmartICE is the world’s first climate change adaptation tool to integrate Inuit traditional knowledge of sea ice with advanced data acquisition and remote monitoring technology to provide data-driven insights into sea-ice thickness and local ice conditions in real-time, to support safer travel on ice. SmartICE embraces a social enterprise business model that aims to expand opportunities for economic and social development in northern communities while preserving local cultures and lifestyles. Learn about how SmartICE works, which communities are participating, and how to become involved. Please note this webinar will be offered in English and Inuktitut.
REGISTER HERE
Presenters

Carolann Harding (Executive Director, SmartICE Sea Ice Monitoring & Information Inc.)
Andrew Arreak (Nunavut Operations Lead, SmartICE Sea Ice Monitoring & Information Inc.)

Facilitator

Eric Bing (Transport Canada)
