Deadline: 16-Oct-22
The City of Toronto is seeking local neighbourhood leaders to engage with community residents on environmental issues and inspire climate action.
Neighbourhood Climate Action Champions will inspire, motivate, and encourage other residents to undertake community-focused actions to support the City’s TransformTO climate action strategy and reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
Applications from community leaders and residents from communities experiencing social, economic and other barriers, including people of colour, newcomers, LGBTQ2S+ persons, women, Indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities / disabled will be given priority.
Participants will receive training on climate change science, communications, and climate action in Toronto. After the training, participants will engage with their neighbours in discussions about climate change and develop innovative neighbourhood-focused climate action projects. With the help of a toolkit, participants will identify specific greenhouse gas reduction goals for the neighbourhood and develop a plan to reach these goals within the community.
Climate Action Champions are required to commit at least 50 hours per year (4-5 hrs per month) toward climate outreach and project development and execution.
Participants will meet with City staff on a monthly basis to discuss their neighbourhood projects and receive feedback and support, and will receive an honorarium of $500. Participants may also be eligible to receive additional funding to support the implementation of their climate action projects.
As a Neighbourhood Climate Action Champion you will:
- Communicate and educate residents about environmental and climate related topics and issues. Lead constructive and interesting conversations about the challenges of climate change and potential solutions.
- Collaborate with residents to develop neighbourhood-focused climate action projects that account for the diverse values and needs of the community.
- Connect and inspire a broader group of neighbourhood residents to take part in climate action to reduce their carbon footprint.
- Contribute to advancing the City’s Transform to strategy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our city.
Eligibility Criteria
- 18 years of age or older
- Live in Toronto
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Able to commit at least 4 to 5 hrs per month to climate outreach and attend monthly meetings with City staff
- Able to work as part of a team and have strong leadership capacity
- Currently engaged in climate action work; or
- engaged in neighbourhood or local community work; or a
- recent graduate interested in climate action
- Existing connections with neighbourhood networks/groups is an asset
- Fluency in non-English language is an asset
- Applications from community leaders and residents from communities experiencing social, economic and other barriers, including people of colour, newcomers, LGBTQ2S+ persons, women, Indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities / disabled will be given priority.
For more information, visit https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/live-green-toronto/neighbourhood-climate-action-champions/