Asks Council to Join Community Power Northumberland

“We are going directly into some strategic planning for this for the term of Council and this is something that was brought up definitely in the last term with climate change and sustainability, environmental sustainability, so I’m sure we will be part of that strategic planning.” Deputy Mayor Mike Metcalf

Article by Sue Dickens

Campbellford – Wed., March 30, 2023 - “I would like to have eventually a committee of council that is about climate and sustainability.” That is the goal of Heidi Schaeffer, who made a presentation to Trent Hills Council at their recent regular meeting.

“Because of my environmental leadership over the past many years, I have been funded to participate as a representative of Trent Hills in the Northumberland Cohort by Community Power Northumberland,” she told council. Community Power Northumberland is a grassroots organization working to harness the power of the Northumberland community, literally and figuratively.

According to its website, the organization wants to encourage community commitment to renewable energy, and wants to tap into its members’ passion for a cleaner, greener future.

The Municipality of Trent Hills does not have a councillor or committee to work on this….yet.

Schaeffer is hoping to change that.

The organizations that are already involved include:

  • Community Power Northumberland (Board of Directors): former energy co-op turned investor in community-led sustainability and climate action initiatives and convener of environment and climate action stakeholders
  • Municipality of Port Hope (Council)
  • Municipality of Brighton (Council)
  • Municipality of Hamilton Township’s Environmental Sustainability Committee
  • Environmental Advisory Committee to the Municipality of Port Hope
  • Municipality of Cramahe
  • Town of Cobourg
  • Brighton’s Sustainability Advisory Committee

In her presentation to council Schaeffer talked about the fact that Northumberland County is made up of largely rural communities, and irregular weather events can isolate residents from services, amenities, and each other; “and our population is older than the provincial average, so we have a significant population of seniors who are more vulnerable to disruptions and significant weather events.”

She talked about the threats to the area due to a changing climate.

“Changing weather patterns are a concern for our farming sector and local food systems, including the impacts of pests and invasive species whose ranges are expanding northward into our area. Flooding has caused significant damage to municipal infrastructure and homes in recent years as well as crop yields,” she said.

As well she noted Brighton sits on the edge of Presqu’ile Provincial Park, which has experienced significant erosion from high water wave action that has moved entire beaches from one place to another in the park, and then moved them back again.

“This affects residents’ use of the park and sense of connection to nature, but also has the potential to significantly impact the local economy,” she told council.

Trent Hills Now has been made aware of erosion along the north shore of Lake Ontario which has affected cottagers.

In her presentation Schaeffer noted that wastewater treatment systems are significantly undermined by floodwaters, “resulting in unacceptable levels of ammonia flowing through our wetlands into Lake Ontario.”

She also pointed out that Port Hope, which is home to a nuclear facility along the shore of Lake Ontario, “makes flooding there a significant concern for contamination.”

Schaeffer said that Community Power Northumberland has relationships with municipalities and with environmental groups and has already begun convening a ‘network’ of citizens, organizations, and municipal leaders concerned about climate and sustainability for information sharing, mutual support and to collaborate on initiatives.

“We have adopted a strategy priority of engaging with municipalities and diverse local stakeholders in Northumberland County to advance sustainability and climate action,” she noted.

The Municipality of Port Hope has allocated funds towards the development of a Community Climate Action Plan (Councillor Claire Holloway Wadhwani is the chair of that initiative), and both Brighton and Hamilton townships have official Environmental Sustainability Committees that are exploring the development of Climate Action Plans.

“We are also eager to engage with officials from other municipalities to join our team for Climate Transitions in the interests of convening a County-wide team for collaboration and coordination of,” she told council.

“This is a unique opportunity for guided learning enabling Community Power Northumberland and municipal partners across Northumberland County to deepen our understanding of community and municipal approaches for advancing climate action, sustainability, and resilience.

“We are excited about the opportunity to advance this priority area in a way that builds relationships between municipalities and other local stakeholders as we work through the program as a team. We see this as an excellent opportunity for cross-pollination of good ideas, mutual support, and collaboration which will strengthen both community-led and municipal climate action.

“We look forward to harnessing learning from this experience not only to direct the work by committees within the municipal structures of Port Hope, Brighton, and Hamilton Township, but also to improve our own educational and engagement content, and to influence stakeholders and other municipalities in Northumberland. This is directly in line with our new strategic priorities and will strengthen our ability to invest in and advance climate solutions across the County,” she said.

At this point Schaeffer is a member and has not been endorsed by the council and she hopes her presentation will lead to that… “and council may even want to designate a councillor or establish and working committee to monitor and learn from this initiative.”

“Ideally, in the coming months a local sustainability leadership group in Trent Hills will be formed with participation from Council or perhaps a committee of council will be established,’ she noted.

“Either way we will benefit from a group to learn from the Climate Transition Cohort and take collective actions related to climate adaptation/sustainability planning with the other municipalities in Northumberland. There may even be someone from council who wants to participate in the cohort directly.”

The hope is this will be included in the strategic plan being put together by the municipality.

“I think if there’s a collective approach, clearly there’s going to be more leverage and opportunity to get some of these funds through the Green Municipal Fund, the asset mapping initiative and the national adaptation strategy,” she noted.

Schaeffer told council she is also working with public health, “though they’re not involved in this cohort…they have a whole mandate around climate mitigation and health impact mitigation of climate change…and so they’ll also be part of this kind of group that we are fostering, which is like a sustainability network in our area over the next few years.”

In response to her presentation Deputy Mayor Mike Metcalf, who was chairing the council meeting, commented, “It is timely for the presentation. We are going directly into some strategic planning for this for the term of Council and this is something that was brought up definitely in the last term with climate change and sustainability, environmental sustainability, so I’m sure we will be part of that strategic planning. But there’s also a lot of discussions on different plans right now going forward with the municipality that this may also fit. into.

“So like I said, great timing, and I’m sure that something will come of this and we’ll continue discussions in the future and, and get a plan together,” he concluded.

For information about Community Power Northumberland go to: Community Power Northumberland