
Thank you to everyone who joined us!
Session #1 Schedule
January 27, 2024, 8:00am – 5:00pm local time
Location : Saskatoon, SK, University of Saskatchewan, Education Building room EDUC 2014
The first of three hybrid sessions as a part of our Advocacy Training: Prairies Edition.
University of Saskatchewan | Credit: Ron Garnett / AirScapes.ca | Some rights reserved
Schedule
18:00 - 8:30 CT
Registration period
28:30-9:00 CT
Welcoming remarks
with Elder Roald Duquette, Adrian Werner and Sara Adams.
39:00-9:15 CT
Break
49:15-10:00 CT
Panel
Connection, Community, Action
Featuring :
- Emily Eaton, University of Regina
- Kaitlyn Harvey, Climate Action Saskatchewan, Climate Justice Saskatoon
- Lauren Wright, Climate Justice Saskatoon
510:00-10:15 CT
Break
610:30-12:00 CT
Workshop
Finding your place in social movements
Facilitated by : Sara Adams, the Climate Justice Organizing Hub
712:00 - 13:00 CT
Lunch
813:00 - 13:30 CT
Networking/community building break
913:30-14:00 CT
Presentation
Strategy and Campaigning
Presented by : Cameron Esler, David Suzuki Foundation
1014:00-15:30 CT
Panel
Saskatchewan Strategy - Issues Roundtable
Moderated by : A member of the Saskatoon Climate Hub
Featuring :
- Branimir Gjetvaj, Wild About Saskatoon
- Glenn Wright, Climate Justice Saskatoon and Wardell Gillis Law
- MJ Spady, Climate Action Saskatchewan
- Ines Sanchez-Rodriguez, Saskatoon Climate Hub
- Jessica DeWitt, SURJ Saskatoon
1115:30 - 16:15 CT
Workshop
Asset Mapping
Presented by : Brian Hoessler, Strong Roots Consulting
1216:15-16:45 CT
Closing remarks
1319:00 - late CT
Networking eco-mixer (optional)
Location : Amigos Cantina
Speakers and Facilitators
Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge with us!
Facilitated by Adrian Werner, Regional Engagement Coordinator for the Prairies, and Hannah Muhajarine, National Campaign Manager with the Climate Reality Project Canada. Click here to learn more about the members of our team.
Elder Roland Duquette
Elder Roland Duquette is an independent, ceremonial elder from Mistawasis Nêhiyawak First Nation. He is a Residential School Survivor, cultural knowledge keeper, land-based/language teacher, and works with many USask units including the Gordon Oakes Redbear Student Centre and local organizations. His teachings include traditional medicines, ceremonies & protocols (including smudging), the history and legacies of policies, communication, mediation, and much more.
Emily Eaton
University of Regina
Emily Eaton (she/her) is a professor in Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Regina where she researches the power and influence of the fossil fuel industry and pathways to energy transition that prioritize equity deserving communities and rectify Canada's unjust relationship with Indigenous Peoples. She is the co-author of the 2023 book The End of This World: Climate Justice in So-Called Canada. She is also a community organizer dedicated to climate justice and Palestine solidarity.
Kaitlyn Harvey
Climate Action Saskatchewan
Kaitlyn Harvey (she/her) is a Métis geographer, lawyer and researcher in the areas of climate change, human and Indigenous rights, and constitutional, administrative and international climate law. She teaches Legal Concepts, Instruments and Processes in Resource Management in the Kanaweyihetaytan Askiy program at the University of Saskatchewan, and is a co-founder and director of Saskatoon-based non-profit, Climate Action Saskatchewan. Kaitlyn has been involved in community development and climate action-oriented groups and initiatives in Saskatchewan for almost two decades. She knows the power of community organizing and activism, and is passionate about giving people the information and tools they need to participate in efforts to increase awareness of climate change impacts and efforts to mitigate harm.
Lauren Wright
Climate Justice Saskatoon
Lauren Wright (she/they) is a youth climate activist and litigant based in Saskatoon on Treaty 6 Territory. They began as a climate strike organizer locally and nationally through Fridays for Future and Climate Strike Canada. She has presented and published internationally connecting the climate crisis with mental health and disability rights. They are passionate about building just communities that centre youth and marginalized voices.
Sara Adams
Climate Justice Organizing HUB
Sara Adams (she/her) is the Anglophone Coordinator at the Climate Justice Organizing HUB, a training center for climate and social justice activists and organizers. As a grassroots activist, Sara has previously been involved with Climate Justice Ottawa, Climate Justice Montréal, and Research for the Front Lines, and is currently a member of Common Horizon Montréal and Laurier-Sainte-Marie for Palestine.
Cameron Esterson
David Suzuki Foundation
Cameron Esler (he/him) is an organizer and educator with the David Suzuki Foundation, helping cities reduce carbon emissions through a justice and equity lens. Cameron is a documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on social justice with the goal of having social impact. He has a Master’s Degree in Political Economy.
Branimir Gjetvaj
Wild About Saskatoon
Wild about Saskatoon advocates for the protection, connection and restoration of native species and natural areas as a positive – even joyful – response to the challenge of creating a livable future for all.
Dr. Branimir Gjetvaj is a Saskatoon-based biologist, environmental photographer and a dedicated nature conservationist. Branimir is interested in issues at the intersection of land use, biodiversity conservation and food security. Guided by his environmental and agroecology training, Branimir is seeking solutions to minimize the impact of agricultural intensification on the extent and health of natural ecosystems. He is passionate about supporting and restoring biodiversity in agricultural landscapes through wider adoption of nature-based climate solutions.
Branimir is a former president of Nature Saskatchewan and Saskatoon Nature Society, has served on the board of directors of several environmental non-profit organizations, and as an appointed member to the University of Saskatchewan Senate. In 2013 Branimir was recognized by the Canadian Environmental Law Association for extensive participation in environmental NGOs, and for using his photography to advance environmental conservation. He published two award-winning books on prairie conservation - The Great Sand Hills: A Prairie Oasis and the Islands of Grass.Glenn Wright
Climate Justice Saskatoon & Wardell Gillis Law
Glenn Wright (he/him) worked as a mechanical engineer for 20 years before becoming a lawyer in 2021. Glenn grew up in Saskatoon as a “city kid” but decided to start farming in 2004. Glenn and his wife reside on a farm near Delisle, SK, and grow grains, oilseeds, and pulse crops while focusing on reducing their emissions and environmental impact. Glenn and his wife installed a solar energy system on their farm and are electric vehicle advocates. Glenn knows from personal experience that policy, collective action, and regulation of industry are what is necessary to mitigate the climate crisis. Glenn is presently lead counsel on a strategic climate litigation project in Saskatchewan where 7 applicants and the NGO Climate Justice Saskatoon are challenging SaskPower’s ongoing expansion of natural gas fired electricity generation because these projects will exacerbate the climate crisis and violate Charter rights of the applicants and citizens at large.
MJ Spady
Climate Action Saskatchewan
MJ (he/him) is an ethnic German settler living in Treaty 6 territory with his 14 pound ginger cat, Ralphie. He recently graduated from the University of Regina with a degree in social work, and as a practitioner is informed by the principles of harm reduction and trauma informed care. MJ is also a co-founder and chief administrative officer of Climate Action Saskatchewan. While getting his social work degree, MJ became a skilled community organizer, taking part in numerous campaigns showing significant positive outcomes. He combines his love for community advocacy with his professional training to create space for sustainable activism, which is a key factor in his compassionate style of leadership and organizing. Climate action ties all these pieces together and offers MJ an outlet for his own feelings about the future of our planet. When he’s not trying to change the world, MJ spends his time playing video games with his girlfriend, and eating as many snacks as possible.
Ines Sanchez-Rodriguez
Saskatoon Climate Hub
Ines (she/her) is a PhD student at the University of Saskatchewan-Environment and Sustainability school. Her goal is to study computational hydrological models in their ability to reproduce snow melted water infiltration; which is the primary water source for Canadian prairies. Currently, climate change is impacting how hydrological processes during the snowmelt period occur. She promotes the open collaboration philosophy in developing and using computational models. Ines has worked for meteorological and nature conservation agencies and has gained experience in economic water and climate risk assessments, as in solutions based on nature for climate change adaptation. She enjoys bike rides, mindfulness practices, and vegan food. She has committed all her strengths, positivism and discipline to work for the Sustainability goals!
Jessica DeWitt
SURJ Saskatoon
Jessica M. DeWitt, PhD. (she/her) is an environmental historian, editor, writer, and digital strategist. She is the Editor-in-Chief for the Network in Canadian History and Environment and Managing Editor for the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. She is currently working on a book for youth of middle-school age on the Alberta oil sands for Lorimer Publishing. Closer to home, she is the Vice-President of the Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society, Vice-Chair of Girls Rock Saskatoon, and a Coordinating Team member of Showing Up for Racial Justice - Saskatoon, Treaty Six where she focuses on communications. A passionate social justice advocate, Jessica works to bridge the divide between academia and the public in an effort to democratize knowledge access. A settler immigrant from the United States, Jessica makes her home with her two partners, daughter Tamsen, and four cats in Saskatoon.
Brian Hoessler
Strong Roots Consulting
Brian Hoessler (he/they) is the Founder and CEO of Strong Roots Consulting, a Saskatoon-based social-purpose business that supports change makers in navigating complexity. Building on strengths in strategic planning, organizational capacity building, and program evaluation, Brian frequently collaborates with organizations ranging from grassroots initiatives to multi-stakeholder networks to cultivate learning and growth. Brian brings an educational background in community psychology, extensive experience with community groups across four cities and two provinces, and a lifelong interest in urban contexts - all of which supports their passion for working with individuals and organizations that strive to create more equitable and sustainable communities.
The Climate Reality Project Canada’s (CRPC) office is located on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg Nations. CRPC honours, recognizes and respects these Nations as the traditional stewards of the lands and waters on which we are today.