What is the Oak Bay Coolkit?
The Oak Bay Coolkit is a hands-on, do-it-yourself resource that helps mobilize individual and neighbourhood climate action through participation in a series of fun and interactive engagement activities including:
- Neighbourhood conversations and climate walks
- Local asset and climate vulnerability mapping
- Carbon footprint calculators
- Visioning exercises
- Developing localized climate action plans
The Coolkit includes 5 steps that gradually ramp up community engagement, designed to aid in reaching goals set out in the District of Oak Bay’s Urban Forest Management Strategy and other climate policies.
Oak Bay Coolkit Goal: To help local residents reduce carbon footprints and help create climate proof, resilient neighbourhoods (on both private and public land in collaboration with the District.
How was the Oak Bay Coolkit program created?
The Oak Bay Coolkit program is a joint initiative between the District and the Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning (CALP) at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Faculty of Forestry. It is designed to engage residents on collective climate-change solutions in the community, with support from the District and community organizations or hubs.
How can I get involved in the Coolkit program?
The Oak Bay Coolkit program is an ongoing process which includes workshops hosted by the District and UBC to engage, inform, and empower Oak Bay Climate Champions in developing collective climate action projects in their neighborhoods, using Coolkit exercises. Participants typically join in fun indoor/outdoor exercises for visioning their own future and developing neighbourhood climate action plans in t. A monthly series of meetings and workshops is provided to inform interested residents on key climate issues and practical solutions, such as tree–planting, home energy improvements, active transportation, electric vehicles etc. These sessions also connect people with other local climate champions, where you can meet Year 1 and Year 2 Oak Bay Climate Champions and share tips on what worked for them. Residents are encouraged to organize their own Coolkit activities and engage neighbourhoods, family and friends in developing local climate action plans and sharing family targets for cutting their carbon footprints.
