livingcover
who care about sustainability, we want to know what the
community could look like in the future in relation to its
footprint,” says Mike Spencer, Environment Lethbridge
Executive Committee Chair. The push towards environmental
sustainability is nothing new, he adds. On the federal level,
late last year, the Government of Canada, along with 186
other countries, signed the Paris agreement, a historic
declaration of unity against climate change at the 2015 UN
Climate Change Conference. On the provincial level, the
Alberta government has implemented a carbon tax in an
attempt to reduce the province’s overall carbon footprint,
and has also indicated it will reduce the province’s reliance
on coal-fired plants. And at the municipal level, above and
beyond the great initiatives already going on in our city, the
City of Lethbridge, along with a diverse group with varied
interests, helped form Environment Lethbridge.
After working with external consultants in 2010, the City
developed the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan/
“The way we live our lives in so many ways affects the
sustainability of the place we live, and as a group of people who
care about sustainability, we want to know what the community
could look like in the future in relation to its footprint.”
Backyard composting is an easy
and environmentally friendly
way to manage organic waste.
36 LETHBRIDGELIVING.COM
Municipal Development Plan to provide a roadmap for
the development of sustainable practices in every area of
the city. The document outlined the City’s values and goals
along with how it intended to achieve and maintain them
as they relate to sustainability, and Environment Lethbridge
was formed to help achieve the plan’s objectives. In the
beginning, it was a collaborative effort between the City,
including members from City administration and council,
and representatives from local businesses, organizations,
and environmental groups with an interest in promoting
and utilizing sustainable practices. Today, Environment
Lethbridge is a grassroots community organization
composed of an executive committee working closely with
a robust group of community partners and representatives
from local business oriented groups such as Economic
Development Lethbridge and the Chamber of Commerce,
environmentally focused groups such as GreenSense and
the Oldman Watershed Council, and community minded
organizations such as the Lethbridge Senior Citizens
Organization and Exhibition Park, along with our city’s
two post-secondary institutions, and various businesses.
As Environment Lethbridge grows, more organizations
will be invited to partner with the group. Mike says that
having a large and diverse group will enable Environment
Lethbridge to expand its scope, because it’s not just about
saving the trees, it’s about developing a well-rounded,
pragmatic approach to sustainability where everyone
plays a role.
“Unless there is widespread buy-in for these things, it’s
going to be very difficult to turn the ship around. Unless
we change the attitudes of citizens, things won’t change
because it’s too easy to keep the status quo, which in our
society here feels pretty good. We don’t feel the effects of
climate change like a country in the middle of the Indian
Ocean with rising seas,” Mike explains. “We see the effects
MAR-APR 2016