A New Leaf Community Working Group
Climate change is a reality in Muskoka. We are already experiencing impacts on our infrastructure, buildings, and public health. Many residents are concerned about the effects of severe flooding, and we are seeing an increase in extreme weather events.
As part of the District of Muskoka’s A New Leaf, Muskoka’s Climate Change Strategy, the District has partnered with 5 Area Municipalities (Town of Bracebridge, Town of Gravenhurst, Township of Muskoka Lakes, Township of Lake of Bays, Town of Huntsville) to assess climate risk and vulnerabilities in Muskoka by participating in ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) Canada’s Advancing Adaptations: Vulnerability and Risk Assessment project. The outcome of this 14-month project will be a regional climate change adaptation plan that outlines actions to prepare our communities and corporations for local climate change implications.
To advance this project, the District and Area Municipal Partners have formed a New Leaf Community Working Group (NLCWG). The purpose of the NLCWG is to share and gather information on how the community has already been impacted by climate change, identify future climate change impacts, and assess climate change vulnerabilities and risks on a regional scale. This information will inform the regional climate change adaptation plan.
More about the New Leaf Community Working Group
The District and Area Municipalities extended an invitation to representatives of approximately 25 sectors across Muskoka to help assess the local climate change risks and vulnerabilities.
With assistance from ICLEI Canada, the District and Area Municipal Partners will facilitate working sessions with the NLCWG to:
- Collect information on local climate change impacts from natural, socio-economic, and built-infrastructure perspectives;
- Solicit input on the Muskoka community’s vulnerabilities and risks; and
- Prioritize and rank vulnerabilities and risk by significance and probability, and gain insight into possible actions/strategies that can be taken to address them.
About ICLEI Canada’s Advancing Adaptations: Vulnerability and Risk Assessment project
ICLEI Canada supports over 40 municipalities in Ontario to develop an adaption assessments, plans, and implementation strategies while ensuring a local lens.
This program helps municipalities move from climate change planning to climate change action through three stages. The District and Area Municipalities started the first stage of the program as a group in September 2021, which is focused on assessing local climate risks and vulnerabilities. This stage will conclude in March 2022. The second stage of the Advancing Adaptations program is focused on adaption planning, which will begin in April 2022 and end in December 2022. More information on the Advancing Adaptations program can be found on the ICELI website here.
