Non-profit spurs environmental action in Brandon

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This article was published 20/04/2023 (1287 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sustainable Brandon, a brand-new non-profit, is hosting a full day of environmental stewardship and celebration for Earth Day on Saturday.

The volunteer group, which advocates for environmental and sustainability issues here and globally, will be co-hosting Brandon Earth Day with the City of Brandon, beginning with a community cleanup at 11 a.m. at Princess Park, Rideau Park, Lions Memorial Community Park and the Riverbank Discovery Centre.

At 3:30 p.m., a ceremonial tree planting will happen at the Riverbank Discovery Centre, and a “Party for the Planet” social will take place at Roadhouse from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m, where the group will collect funds for local environmental initiatives.

Sustainable Brandon, which began its work in 2021 and had its inaugural meeting in February, has been building momentum in its work with organizations across Canada, hosting workshops and collaborating with local sustainable groups and businesses, said the non-profit’s communications lead, Ingrid Gatin.

“It’s a cool group of people that are all pretty committed to just trying to practically figure out what might help this city and this area become more sustainable, and to do that in a way that’s realistic and practical — not just trying to tell anyone that their views are wrong.”

Brandon is ripe for this kind of environmental action, Gatin said, thanks to a surprising number of citizens who are concerned about the environment and sustainability.

However, there remains a “vocal” contingent of people that tends to balk at the mention of environmental improvements due to its political connotations, she said.

“We’re trying to move away from that and just say, ‘listen, we want to live in a world that is functional. How can we do that?’”

Some of the major projects Sustainable Brandon is currently working on include a collaboration with the Brandon Friendship Centre to form local knowledge of green building assessments, starting with the Friendship Centre itself.

The Sun contacted the Brandon Friendship Centre to learn more about its partnership with Sustainable Brandon, but was unable to get any details on it.

Sustainable Brandon is also developing a working group to learn about sustainable solutions and choosing a sustainable pilot project funded by the Brandon chapter of Manitoba’s Climate Action Team, a coalition of environmental organizations.

Environment and Climate Change Canada has funded the partnership. Together, the two organizations will look at what kind of sustainable climate action would work in Brandon, volunteer Madelyn Robinson said.

“We want to fix something that has a lot of impact, so we’re working towards that,” Robinson said.

Some ideas include projects that have worked in other locations, such as car-sharing programs or more advanced composting systems, Gatin said.

After that, the group will decide which idea makes the most practical sense in Brandon, she added.

The workshops the group will be hosting focus on teaching people the skills to effect environmental change in their lives, from learning how to compost to creating their own eco-conscious cleaning products.

“We can talk about sustainability or recycling or different things as a whole, but there’s limitations that we have regionally, and that’s what the workshops are trying to address,” Gatin said.

Dylan Burrell, the chairperson of Sustainable Brandon’s Earth Day committee, hopes to see people from all ages come out to Saturday’s cleanup and tree planting events.

“It’s pretty low commitment — all they have to do is show up to one of the four locations. We’ll provide them with materials and an area of the city nearby to clean. When they’re finished that, they just let us know and we’ll send somebody with a truck to pick up their garbage,” Burrell said.

After that, volunteers can either move on to another cleanup area or call it a day. Every bit of support and effort helps, Burrell added.

As an extra incentive, any business or group that participates in the cleanup has a chance at winning $1,000, which will be donated to the charity of their choice — all they have to do is collect the most garbage by weight.

Looking forward, Robinson hopes more people will volunteer to join Sustainable Brandon to make the Wheat City a greener, healthier place.

“Anybody who wants to help us is more than welcome to join our group,” she said. “We’re keen to do lots and we need as many people that want to come and help as we can.”

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