By TRANSITION SALT SPRING
Many islanders would agree that summer on Salt Spring is tough to beat. Lakes for swimming, forest trails for hiking and bike rides, ocean beaches for lounging and picnicing, farmstands with fresh local offerings around every corner, and plenty of beautiful places to be social or to take time to rejuvenate. We all agree we live in a very special place and if we would like to ensure that the natural resources we enjoy will be around for our children and grandchildren to enjoy, it’s time to take action. Better yet, get your friends and neighbours involved as well.
What difference can a few of us here on a little island in the Salish Sea make, you ask? It’s just too hard, and depressing. The current narrative is all about personal sacrifice: eat less meat, drive less, fly less, shop less, less, less. We retreat. We disengage. If the future of our planet depends on a few selfless individuals we are doomed! We know that to make significant systems change we need governments and big business to step up without a doubt, but it’s time for everyone to get involved.
Climate change is not just an environmental issue; it also affects our economy, society, and our physical and mental health. Our young islanders are among the most profoundly affected. Transition Salt Spring (TSS) and the GISS Earth Club hosted a Clothing Swap and Textile Repair Cafe in the spring, drawing over 300 students. We conducted a survey and asked students one question; “How worried are you about the effects of climate change on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being ‘I don’t worry at all’ and 10 being ‘I can’t sleep at night because I am so anxious about it.’” The average response was 8.5! While planning our Earth Day talk for the student body, one of the members of the Earth Club said in all seriousness, “Just tell all of us the five most important things we can do to save the planet and we will do it!”
Our children feel a deep sense of urgency and anxiety about climate change. They are looking for solutions and inspiration, whether through activism, innovation or community efforts. Highlighting positive stories, encouraging sustainable practices and advocating for systemic change can help foster hope and motivate action. Individual actions do matter; they embody our values and impact those we come in contact with. They can lead to collective action, send market signals to business and trigger larger system change. We need both! We owe it to ourselves and our kids to do more.
Between 2019 and 2021, TSS developed a Climate Action Plan for Salt Spring. Then in 2023, a report card was completed with a full update on progress. Overall, Salt Spring is not on track to meet the emissions reduction and climate change adaptation goals set out in 2021.
What if we told you that there are plenty of actions we can take as individuals and neighbourhoods that do make a difference and do not focus on self-sacrifice?
TSS is launching “Lighter Living,” a new initiative designed to promote more sustainable and balanced lifestyles. Lighter Living emphasizes living within our ecological means, balancing our consumption with the Earth’s ability to regenerate its resources. There is plenty of science connecting behaviour change, happiness, climate change and carbon counting, which has resulted in evidence-based, low-effort individual actions that make real impacts!
Lighter Living aims to provide resources and information to help islanders and their neighbours collaborate in creating a more resilient, thriving and sustainable community. We have consulted loads of experts who have derived low-effort actions that relate to our everyday choices and habits regarding what we eat, how we move and what we do with our stuff. Resources will be shared over the coming months and we are consulting with plenty of locals to find out what changes they are making at home, work and play in order to live a little lighter on this island we are fortunate to call home.
It’s not too late to ensure a bright future for our children, but we need everyone to come along. We are well past the talking stage, it’s time to take action! Transition Salt Spring invites you to sign up for free access to Lighter Living content at signup-can.keela.co/lighter-living-series-subscription. Learn how to take low-effort actions that make you feel good, are good for our community and good the planet.
Editor’s note: The Driftwood will be running Lighter Living features in coming months.