Carp crowd plays CAFES Climate Fresk

CARP – On Jan. 17, 45 community members from Carp and the surrounding Ottawa-West Carleton region came together for pizza, salad, climate learning and action workshop hosted by the Community Associations For Environmental Sustainability (CAFES) Ottawa and St. Paul’s Carp United Church.

The event, centered around the Climate Fresk learning board game, providing an engaging and interactive platform for participants to better understand climate science and explore practical solutions to help combat climate change.

The event attracted participants of all ages, including a precocious 10-year-old who was a star at her discussion table; a lively table of teenagers; and upwards in age to our silver set.

Several grandparents said they are worried for the future of their grandchildren. The workshop was facilitated by Don Sproule, a passionate climate advocate. After years of studying climate change, Sproule found Climate Fresk to be an ideal tool for raising awareness and sparking action. The game, which has already reached more than 1.9 million people worldwide, uses a card-based system to explain the causal connections between various climate phenomena such as greenhouse gases, global warming, and human activities, and their environmental consequences.

The group of participants spent the first portion of the workshop sorting and placing cards that illustrated these cause-and-effect relationships. This activity sparked meaningful conversations, particularly when participants encountered the ‘flooding’ card. One participant remarked the concept of flooding felt especially relevant to the Ottawa-West Carleton region, which has experienced significant flooding in recent years. After connecting the cards and building a visual map of climate systems, participants were invited to brainstorm specific actions they could take at three levels: individual, organizational, and societal.

“The goal was to identify practical steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and explore the feasibility of those actions,” CAFES’ climate communications coordinator Sarah Bell told West Carleton Online Feb. 3. “The discussion revealed some important insights. Participants found that individual actions such as reducing waste, using public transportation, and adopting plant-based diets were relatively easy to implement but often had a smaller impact on greenhouse gas reduction. On the other hand, societal actions, like advocating for systemic policy changes or pushing for investments in renewable energy, were viewed as more difficult but offered greater potential for long-term climate impact.”

For many attendees, the Climate Fresk was a way to not only deepen their understanding of climate science but also to take concrete steps toward more sustainable living.

“This activity makes me feel good about taking action,” one participant said, reflecting the overall sense of empowerment many felt throughout the evening.

Another echoed this sentiment, stating, “any group that helps humanity, it all helps,” emphasizing the collective responsibility we all share in addressing climate change.

The event was made possible through the support of St. Paul’s Carp United Church, which generously provided the venue for the evening, as well as the local volunteers and facilitators who helped guide the workshop. A heartfelt thank-you was extended to the church’s outreach committee and the dedicated individuals who made the event a success.

CAFES is a non-profit organization in Ottawa that connects community and civic associations and citizens to promote local environmental action, focusing on climate change, trees and greenspace, and waste management and circular economy. Through advocacy and partnerships, CAFES works to create a healthier, more sustainable city, working with residents in environmental initiatives.

“CAFES Ottawa hopes to continue offering more workshops and activities as part of their ongoing effort to inspire climate action within the communities of Ottawa, both rural and urban,” Bell said. “For participants, the evening was a powerful reminder tackling climate change requires collective action.”

As one attendee put it, “we must connect.”

A sentiment that underscores the need for both individual efforts and larger societal changes to combat the climate crisis.

“People left the event with growing awareness of the geo-physics of climate change and a shared sense of responsibility,” Bell said.