Next Uppers Prominent at Climate Friendly Zone Saskatoon Night of Action
The Saskatchewan Environmental Society (SES) and its Climate Friendly Zone (CFZ) campaign hosted their first Night of Action in Saskatoon on November 5th, an event that was bolstered by a significant Next Up presence. The evening focused on the importance of municipal action in addressing climate change, and what engaged citizens can do to help bring about such action. SES and CFZ organized a dynamic two-hour event that alternated between local experts examining issues such as municipal building standards and public transportation, activists sharing their skills in areas such as social media engagement and good old-fashioned letter-writing, and collective action including Tweeting at local officials and planning to attend an upcoming City Council meeting. At the end of the event, participants were invited to try out their new skills at action stations.
Next Up Saskatchewan Coordinator Tracey Mitchell speaks at Night of Action on
letter-writing techniques while co-presenter Darrin Qualman looks on.
Photo credit: Juliana Pelinsom Marques
Saskatoon’s growing Next Up community contributed to the evening at every level: Next Up alum Hilary Gough shared her knowledge of social media; Sarina Gersher shed light on the ins-and-outs of Saskatoon City Council; current participant Jenna Gall spoke engagingly on behalf of SES about some of the most pressing problems that might be addressed by municipal action; Next Up Saskatchewan Coordinator Tracey Mitchell shared her letter-writing expertise to help galvanize attendees into action; and the crowd was full of members of the current Next Up cohort eager to learn about these issues and contribute to addressing them.
Given the dynamic approach to the evening and the engaged turnout, it seems certain that this will be only the first of many Nights of Action in Saskatoon. And, given their contribution in helping to shape the evening, you can expect Saskatoon’s Next Up community to continue to be involved in any future events.