On February 13, 2019 OCIC members, International Development professionals and students gathered to learn about Project Drawdown’s global warming solutions relating to women and girls and to contextualize this model vis-a-vis the sector’s programs, policy, funding and public engagement efforts. Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, Senior V.P. of Communications & Engagement at Project Drawdown joined the conversation and answered questions remotely.
*Keep an eye out for news on the postponed Drawdown Toronto Summit on Climate Action and Gender Equality. 
Missed the conversation? Take a look at the graphic summaries below, courtesy of Patricia Kambitsch from PlayThink. ​Watch Dr. Katharine Wilkinson’s TED Talk on Project Drawdown’s three solutions to Climate Change related to women and girls, here, and the video of the session itself here. 

View the Participant Package.

*Due to unforeseen circumstances, this session has been postponed until further notice.*
Our apologies to those of you who were planning to come. Please stay tuned for a new date. ​

In the evening, join us for the Drawdown Toronto Summit on Climate Action and Gender Equality to hear from Dr. Katharine Wilkinson and 4-5 Ontario-based organizations and institutions about their efforts to address climate change by focusing on women and girls. 
Session details:

• When: Wed, February 13, 2019 | 6:30PM – 9:00PM (Doors open at 6:00PM)
• Where: Tecumseh Auditorium, Oakham House, Ryerson University, 63 Gould Street, Toronto
• Tickets: By donation (suggested donation $5-$20). 

The Nexus between Climate Action and Gender Equality: A Dialogue, invites  international cooperation professionals and students to learn about Project Drawdown’s global warming solutions relating to women and girls and to have conversations about their implications for international development policy, programs, and funding. Register here.

• When: Wed, February 13, 2019 | 2:30PM – 5:00PM (Registration opens at 2:00PM; the session will begin promptly at 2:30PM.)
• Where: The Garage, CSI Annex, 720 Bathurst St. Toronto
• Tickets: $15 – OCIC Members/Ryerson Faculty & Staff | $10 – International development students | $25 – International development practitioners & faculty

What kind of world are you passing onto your children?
What hope do they have for the future of the planet?
What are you doing now to create a better future?
Together in this symposium, we will explore the above questions by looking at: Where we are now, how did we get here, the new story, what is possible now and where do we go from here?
The AWAKENING THE DREAMER, CHANGING THE DREAM SYMPOSIUM is part of a rapidly expanding global initiative of the Pachamama Alliance, in more than 80 countries in 16 languages.
It's a totally unique workshop -- live facilitation and participant interaction are combined with a tapestry of video interviews, drawing upon leading edge information and the wisdom of our time, with some of our most respected global elders, luminaries and leaders.
What you will get from this process:
An experience that will change the way you see the world
Reflection time away from your busy life
A mindset shift
Access to a strong community of passionate people
Seating is limited, and on a first-come basis (15 seats currently available).

Discover how you can help gain ground on global warming by accelerating what is already working. By donation.

Project Drawdown has identified, researched and modeled the 100 most substantive, existing solutions to address climate change, grouped into seven sectors. Put together, they reveal a path forward that can roll back global warming by 2050. 

The Drawdown Land Use Sector includes the protection and restoration of high-carbon ecosystems such as forests and wetlands, as well as the production of perennial timber and biomass crops. Deforestation and degradation of forest ecosystems are responsible for about 1/8 of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions today (IPCC, 2014). By 2015, solutions in these sectors could reduce CO2 emissions by 149.5 gigatons and save $1.20 trillion US dollars.

Ecosystems protection solutions include protecting forests and peatlands and legally recognizing forest tenure by indigenous peoples with claims to the land. The restoration of temperate forests helps sequester significant amounts of carbon. Timber and biomass crop solutions include planting trees for timber or other biomass solutions on degraded land, and producing perennial grasses and woody plants for bioenergy. 

In this informative evening:

• Learn more about the land use sector solutions identified and modelled by Project Drawdown
• Hear from experts who are making change with land use sector solutions at the individual, corporate and government level
• Build a long and local vision for land use sector solutions in Toronto 
• Offer what you can give and/or request what you need, to help move forward land use-related solutions in Toronto and reverse our greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Speakers:
​

• R. Stacey Laforme, Elected Chief, Mississaugas of New Credit First Nation (MNCFN)- Born and raised on MNCFN, Chief Laforme has served his community for over fifteen years, being first elected to council in 1999. Chief Laforme is very active throughout MNCFN’s traditional territory which encompasses 3.9 million acres of Southern Ontario, not only as a Chief, but as a notable storyteller and poet. His dedication to the land, history, language and culture of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation are helping to guide his First Nation towards a prosperous future. - Chief Laforme will do the Opening and Keynote on Indigenous world view and traditional land management; How Indigenous land sovereignty is essential for reversing global warming. 
  
  
• Ryan Ness,  Corporate Strategy Lead, Toronto Region Conservation Authority and Humber River watershed specialist -- in interview with Kevin Best.  Ryan will provide an overview of the existing system of watershed governance in Southern Ontario and its limitations for engaging communities in meaningful social-ecological learning.  He and Kevin will discuss opportunities to draw on indigenous teachings to reinvent the governance of urban watersheds and bring about the transformation of worldviews of the relationship between self, community and land that is required to successfully address climate change.  Kevin represents Giiwayanjigaywin, an initiative to restore the role of Anishinaabek women in the protection and stewardship of water. 
  
  
• Andrew Knox, Andrew Knox is the President of Transition Toronto, the Toronto chapter of the global Transition Towns movement.  Andrew holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and is a full-time industrial energy efficiency consultant and part-time lecturer in Energy Policy at the University of Toronto.  Andrew co-founded Transition Toronto in 2009 and sees Transition Towns as an essential social force in the mitigation of climate change.  
  
  Andrew will discuss Transition Toronto's TreeMobile project, a project which reforests the urban landscape with food-bearing trees and shrubs.
  
  
• Leila Mireskandari, is a Certified Permaculture Designer who holds a Master's degree in Environmental Studies from York University. She is the founder of Kids' Growing City and Urban Guilds Permaculture, with the goal of transforming our school grounds and suburban yards into food forest oases. Leila is an educator holding Environmental/Sustainability Education diploma and a business woman, holding Business and the Environment diploma from Schulich School of Business. Leila believes in the power of socially conscious entrepreneurship to transform the world into a better place for all.
  
  
• Sean Thomas, professor at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Forestry -Dr. Thomas' research focuses on the functional ecology and ecophysiology of trees, forest community ecology, and their links to ecosystem processes, in particular the dynamics of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Current projects specifically address the "dark side” of forest ecology – namely the study of charcoal as a soil amendment (“biochar”) and of natural chars: their properties, distribution, and impacts on soil organisms, processes, and forest productivity. he will spek on "Forest restoration solutions for greenhouse gas drawdown".  ​

The EcoFair is a FREE, family-friendly event that informs and inspires greener choices in our homes and communities.  Learn about and celebrate the exciting programs, products and services of over 40 environmental not-for-profit organizations and eco-friendly businesses.

Sunday, November 4, 11-4, Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie St.
​
At the EcoFair:

• Attend eco-workshops & activities
• Test drive an electric car
• Have fun at the kids’ activities
• Explore solar energy & conservation
• Discover sustainable investing
• Enjoy healthy delicious food
• AND MORE!

This workshop is what inspired us to create Unify Toronto. It continues to ground and inspire us. Here's your chance to experience it too. 

What kind of world are you passing onto your children?
What hope do they have for the future of the planet?
What are you doing now to create a better future?
Together in this symposium, we will explore the above questions by looking at: Where we are now, how did we get here, the new story, what is possible now and where do we go from here?

Saturday, Nov 10, 2018
11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
(Registration at 11:30)
Location: 23 Diana Dr. (Keele/Sheppard)
Sliding scale: $25-40 (to cover materials)
RSVP to charlene@charleneday.com
RSVP required! You're welcome to invite friends.

The AWAKENING THE DREAMER, CHANGING THE DREAM SYMPOSIUM is part of a rapidly expanding global initiative of the Pachamama Alliance, in more than 80 countries in 16 languages.

It's a totally unique workshop -- live facilitation and participant interaction are combined with a tapestry of video interviews, drawing upon leading edge information and the wisdom of our time, with some of our most respected global elders, luminaries and leaders.
What you will get from this process:

• An experience that will change the way you see the world
• Reflection time away from your busy life
• A mindset shift
• Access to a strong community of passionate people
  
  

Seating is limited, and on a first-come basis (15 seats currently available).