Kyle Wickland, left, ACER assistant and Oscar Thoms, ACER Coordinator, set up a greenhouse gas demonstration where they can imitate the effects of the gas by putting C02 into one of the tanks. ACER uses this demonstration at high schools in Nanaimo and will have it on display during the symposium. Vancouver Island University photo
October 16, 2024 - 9:30am
What: A Citizen’s Guide to Climate Success: A Climate Change Symposium
When: Saturday, October 26, 9 am to 1 pm, doors open at 8:45 am
Where: VIU Nanaimo campus, Building 355, Room 203
Explore how people can take personal and collective action to help prevent extreme climate impacts during A Citizen’s Guide to Climate Success: A Climate Change Symposium.
The symposium, presented by Awareness of Climate Change through Education and Research (ACER), is free to attend and will focus on climate solutions and the connections between climate change, wildfires and human health. ACER is a public outreach initiative led by an interdisciplinary group of Vancouver Island University (VIU) undergraduate students under the guidance of faculty.
“The symposium is an amazing chance to hear from and speak to the experts, which is so important in today’s world,” said Oscar Thoms, ACER Coordinator.
This year’s symposium is the tenth held since it began in 2010. It features Dr. Mark Jaccard, Dr. Sophie Wilkinson and Dr. Stephanie Cleland. Jaccard, the keynote speaker, is the author of The Citizen’s Guide to Climate Success and a professor at Simon Fraser University (SFU). He served on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development and the Global Energy Assessment. Jaccard will discuss how people can overcome myths that hinder people from taking action and how their personal consumer choices and collective efforts must help foster a global strategy of decarbonization.
Wilkinson is a wildfire and ecosystem scientist in SFU’s Resource and Environmental Management department, developing ecosystem management strategies that reduce the negative impacts fire can have on ecosystems and society. Her current research includes understanding patterns of wildfire severity and identifying ecological tipping points.
Cleland is the Legacy for Airway Health Chair in Promotion of Lung Health and an assistant professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at SFU. She is also a research scientist at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. Cleland will discuss the human health impacts of wildfire smoke inhalation.
The climate change symposium is free but attendees are asked to please register on Eventbrite.
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Media Contact:
Rachel Stern, Communications Officer, Vancouver Island University
C: 250.618.0373 l E: Rachel.Stern@viu.ca | X: @VIUNews
The VIU community acknowledges and thanks the Snuneymuxw, Quw’utsun, Tla’amin, Snaw-naw-as and Qualicum First Nation on whose traditional lands we teach, learn, research, live and share knowledge.
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