Mayors’ EcoChallenge 2009 Nadine Ives New Brunswick Lung Association Department of Environment Cities of New Brunswick Association Efficiency New Brunswick To engage municipal leaders in actions and behaviour change that will reduce their personal carbon footprints Leadership by example Changing community norms

Participants Minister of Environment Mayors of Bathurst, Campbellton, Fredericton, Moncton & Saint John Several assistants

Program Action guide (wide choice of actions), desk sign, background information Set up to be a ‘buddy system’ program Website (public and closed version) Pre-challenge survey Weekly on-line survey tracking actions (from which GHG emissions reductions were calculated) – for 8 weeks Weekly reminders and tips Post-challenge survey

Outcome Busy people!!! Difficulty ‘extracting’ information from participants – too much reporting needed However, a very impressive list of actions from participants as a group, great outreach (different story for each participant) Post-challenge surveys & interviews very exciting and useful Success – >16 tonne reduction in GHGe’s

Mayors’ EcoChallenge #2 City councillors & Mayors of smaller municipalities 6 week program using the new Department of Environment carbon calculator no weekly reporting more one-on-one support & communication launch date: October 15

A New Brunswick Compendium of Public Education Programs and Resources on Climate Change 2009 To provide quick access to details of public education programs and resources developed by various stakeholders in the field of climate change To profile resources for public education and show how communities in NB are reducing GHG emissions, increasing energy efficiency and promoting a range of actions to mitigate climate change

Objectives Compile a bilingual compendium of programs outlining the challenges faced and methods used by organizations Identify the practices used by diverse organizations to engage people and produce sustainable results (share experiences, methods, outcomes) Publish this as a resource guide and make it available online Facilitate communication among organizations with similar goals to increase program effectiveness and efficiency

Methods Dec – Jan. 2009, surveyed organizations Municipalities, NGOs, community organizations, industry, other stakeholders Phone interviews & online questionnaire – open- ended and descriptive 44 organizations responded, with information on one or more programs

Key findings Diverse group of programs – e.g. Falls Brook Centre’s Climate Change Bus, anti-idling programs, Fredericton’s Green Shops, NB Teachers’ Association in-house actions to minimize paper use Most widely used method was advertising (newspapers, radio, printed media/materials) Also common were meetings, presentations, activities for schools, workshops, etc.

Challenges / Barriers Lack of funds (~50% of organizations) Lack of adequate human resources and the associated inability to meet the demands of the program Marketing the programs – lack of interest and participation (e.g. ‘Share you Ride’ programs)

Effectiveness Most programs were perceived to be effective ….. But Many programs did not specifically measure or monitor effectiveness in order to evaluate results and sustained behaviour change (some did)

Recommendations Be clear in your objectives Measurement / evaluation – need objective quantitative evaluation, included in project design Outreach methods – participatory engagement Funding – discuss with potential funders, maintain record of program management (including evaluation), meet with community partners, get letters of support, etc. before submitting application Human resources – make sure you have them Marketing – how to discuss climate change issues

Thanks to ETF for financial support Ms. Prativa Pradhan, UNB All the survey participants *We certainly welcome all organizations to participate in future editions of the Compendium*