City hosts online open house for draft Climate Adaptation Plan through to May 14th
“We must be prepared for the impacts that are already coming with a changing climate. The Climate Adaptation Plan does just that, shoring up City resources and processes against the projected impacts of climate change to protect both City assets and the health and safety of residents.” – Olivia Groff, Climate Change Adaptation Coordinator, City of St. Catharines
An Invite to residents from the City of St. Catharines
Posted May 3rd, 2021 on Niagara At Large
The City is looking to residents for their input as planning continues to offset the impacts of global climate change.
With a draft being finalized for a new Climate Adaptation Plan (CAP), the City of St. Catharines is hosting an online open house from April 30 to May 14, allowing residents the opportunity to review the plan, ask questions and provide feedback.
In recent years, scenes like this have become more commonplace – Lakeside Beach and surrounding lands in Port Dahousie, St. Catharines swamped from damagingly high water levels in Lake Ontario. file photo by Doug Draper
“While we are working as an organization to do our part in preventing climate change through emission reduction targets and other initiatives, we must be prepared for the impacts that are already coming with a changing climate,” said Climate Change Adaptation Coordinator Olivia Groff, adding, “the Climate Adaptation Plan does just that, shoring up City resources and processes against the projected impacts of climate change to protect both City assets and the health and safety of residents.”
Based on the latest climate projections, by 2050 St. Catharines will experience hotter summers; warmer and wetter winters; longer and wetter springs; and shorter falls, all driving increased extreme weather events including flooding, heat waves and intense winter storms.
Building on two rounds of public engagement through the Niagara Adapts partnership with Brock University and other Niagara municipalities, the CAP outlines six goals:
- 1. Prepare for hotter and drier summers
- 2. Prepare for and respond to extreme weather events
- 3. Develop a flood prevention strategy
- 4. Improve stormwater management including the use of green infrastructure
- 5. Prepare for high Lake Ontario water levels
- 6. Re-think how the City addresses Climate Change
Based on these goals, 28 action items have been developed, ranging from increasing the urban tree canopy to shoreline protection.
For more information or to provide feedback and ask questions please visit engageSTC.ca/ClimateAdaptation
To watch and listen to a short presentation on St. Catharines’ Draft Climate Adaption Plan, click on the screen immediately below –
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