Full Name and Title
Brenna Walsh, Regional Organizer for the Atlantic
Short Biography
A Nova Scotia native, Brenna has a Bachelor’s and a PhD in chemistry. Having worked on several projects which focused on improving renewable capacity, she decided to focus more specifically on urban scale to the climate issue. She spent six months in Senegal, working at a small local NGO with six municipalities, implementing sustainable waste management and landfilling systems. She then moved on work on the Cities and Climate Change Science conference by CitiesIPCC, which brought 700 academics, urban practitioners, and policy makers together to discuss ways to collaboratively address climate change in cities. She is now the Project Manager at SPARTAN, a project working to obtain much needed information on the health and climate effects of air pollution in developing cities around the world.
Why did you join the climate movement/what pushed you to become interested in climate change issues?
In the lead up to the signing of the Paris Agreement, I got immersed in reading about the many aspects of climate change. When I realized how much this issue touched various aspects of our lives and how far its influence spanned, I wanted to become involved in slowing its nefarious effects.
What is one achievement you are proud of?
Helping to pull together both the Cities and Climate Change Science conference, and its research and action agenda.
What are some climate change initiatives you are currently taking part in?
Ecology Action Center's Urban Development Action Team, where we are focusing on getting Halifax's new Green Network Plans, Integrated Mobility Plans and Climate Action Plan integrated into the Regional Plan for Halifax Regional Municipality.
What do you think is the most effective way for people to take climate action?
Action can be important on many scales, and I think the concept of meeting people where they are is very important in climate action. Someone may be more comfortable starting in their own home with their own actions, some may be more comfortable talking to politicians, some may be more engaged by organising a march. I think figuring out where you are comfortable having influence and digging in there first will allow you to stay motivated, and give you a good base to jump to something that may be more outside your comfort zone. The municipal scale has a lot of different entry points for action that can be interesting and tangible for people with different interests, from community gardens, to cycling, to getting behind incentives for retrofitting buildings where you live and work.
What is a fun fact about yourself?
I lived in Maine for 4 years, and walk on my tiptoes (though not as much as I did when I was a kid).