“If we take care of Earth, it will take care of us.”
Over the past five years, Climate Impact Fund has provided 17 grants. Check out what we have funded:
2023 Projects
Climate Impact is delighted to be supporting CAP/Homes to Zero in developing an on-line platform to help homeowners plan their net zero journey. By harnessing the power of data and analytics, together with architects who are expert in home retrofits, Homes to Zero provides homeowners with the knowledge and confidence to tackle the journey to Net Zero.
Our founder, Dr. Carol Aziz, embarked on her home’s net zero journey in 2020 and understands how important it is for us all to decarbonize our homes and also to plan to do so as it generally takes several years for full decarbonization/electrification. Let’s go!
Climate Impact is excited to be sponsoring PEYA for a fifth year to deliver climate literacy workshops, the Amazing Green Race, and the EcoBuzz Conference to local youth and the community. Don’t miss their fantastic events during the 2023-2024 year!
2022 Projects
Climate Impact is excited to be supporting the TRCA STEP Program through the TRCA Foundation. We have provided a grant to support a residential hybrid air source heat pump study in the Region of Peel. Air source heat pumps run on low carbon Ontario electricity and can do both cooling and heating. Hybrid systems, where an air source heat pump replaces an aging air conditioner but uses the existing gas furnace during colder weather, have the potential to significantly lower space heating ghg emissions with modest additional capital costs. Follow this link for more information about the study and air source heat pumps.
Climate Impact is delighted to be sponsoring PEYA for a fourth year to deliver climate literacy workshops, the Amazing Green Race, and the EcoBuzz Conference to local youth and the community. We can’t wait to see what you have planned for the 2022-2023 year!
Climate Impact is pleased to provide a grant to The Riverwood Conservancy for a Climate Club! Climate Club will gather groups of 20+ people bi-weekly for fun hands-on activities that educate citizens about climate change, biodiversity conservation and impacts of pollution and demonstrate actions to protect the natural world. Climate Club will culminate in a one-day BioBlitz event in summer 2023, where both program participants and the public will take part in a day-long species count. The program will run from March to June 2023.
Climate Impact is pleased to be supporting the Peel Multicultural Council (PMC) for the first time this year. PMC delivered 20 workshops from September 2022-May 2023 to newcomer and refugee residents on best practices and resources for walking, cycling and using transit year-round in Mississauga. They also delivered10 “Bike Station pop- ups” to increase walking, cycling and transit usage in non-summer months, providing free active transportation resources, transit maps, local climate change information, accessories and basic bike tune-ups, engaging a total of 600 participants. Shifting newcomers away from car-based travel lowers emissions and supports a more inclusive, sustainable and low-carbon future.
2021 Projects
Climate Impact is thrilled to be supporting the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER) for the first time. CIER will be engaging up to 500 Indigenous youth in a day-long climate change workshop next spring, which will incorporate indigenous ecological knowledge. The workshop will be followed by a tree-planting event at Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation in Manitoba. Click here to access a summary webinar of this project’s impact.
Climate Impact is delighted to be supporting PEYA again for a third year (2021-2022). PEYA’s Youth for Climate Action Project is building on the success of its second year that saw PEYA youth bringing climate change education to intergenerational audiences. The “Youth for Climate Action” program includes community workshops, the EcoBuzz conference, and the Amazing Green Race!
Climate Impact is delighted to be supporting The Riverwood Conservancy for a third year! They will be hosting two Bioblitz events using the iNaturalist app and delivering 11 related in-person or virtual events in 2021-2022. Click here for more information.
Ecosystems, whose functioning requires biodiversity, are critical to the food systems and clean air and water that humans rely on.
Our ecosystems are under threat due to many factors including climate change.
It’s important to appreciate the value of ecosystems and biodiversity and learn ways to protect them. We hope you all will participate in the BioBlitz and other related events.
2020 PROJECTS
Climate Impact was delighted to support PEYA again for the 2020-2021 year. PEYA’s Youth for Climate Action Project built on the success of its first year that saw PEYA youth bringing climate change education to intergenerational audiences. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, PEYA was able to pivot and present engaging on-line programming earlier this year including a creative climate poetry jam and a Virtual Amazing Green Race. This 2020-2021 project engaged PEYA in planning and hosting 10 interactive workshops and events focused on various topics around climate change. For the 2020/21 school year, PEYA presented their EcoBuzz conference virtually, offering workshops on various environmental topics and focusing on youth leadership-building. The 2021 conference theme focused on climate change and engaged local partners to facilitate workshops focused on sustainable solutions. Dr. Aziz was delighted to provide a welcoming address.
“Meeting the Challenge: A Climate Series hosted by the Riverwood Conservancy”
Climate Impact was pleased to support The Riverwood Conservancy for a second year. TRC hosted a series of webinars on a variety of actionable solutions to address the climate crisis, resulting in increased capacity of residents of Mississauga to undertake climate action – both as individuals and through community efforts. Topics included Greening Your Portfolio, Healing Through Nature, Green and Resilient Homes, Food, Climate and You, and Low Carbon Transportation, Greening Our Communities through Green Infrastructure to name a few. The webinars were recorded and can be found on the TRC’s website here.
St. George’s Anglican Church
Refugee Family Sponsorship
Climate Impact was pleased to provide a grant to St. George’s Anglican Church in Owen Sound to sponsor a Syrian refugee family, currently residing in Lebanon. Human-induced climate change was a contributory factor in the extreme drought experienced within Syria prior to its civil war; this drought in turn led to large-scale migration; and this migration exacerbated the socio-economic stresses that underpinned Syria's descent into war, which ultimately led to refugees fleeing the country.
2019 Projects
Climate Change Community Seminars and Workshops - Our Greatest Challenge Series
Community Climate Change Seminar Series
Climate Change: An Overview: May 22, 2019
Halton Environmental Network Executive Director, Lisa Kohler, reviewed the science behind climate change and its global and local impacts. The discussion also highlighted the work of the Halton Climate Collective and the action the group is propelling within our community.
Climate Change at Riverwood Conservancy: Past to Present: June 19, 2019
This talk from wildlife photographer and author, Dave Taylor, looked at how changing climates have impacted Riverwood over the last 12,000 years. Based on Taylor’s book, Riverwood: A Journey through Time, Change and Climate.
Stormwater and You: Reduce your flood risk and help to protect Mississauga’s Water: July 3, 2019
City of Mississauga Environmental Services Specialist, Michelle Charbonneau, discussed how homeowners can take simple measures to reduce flood risk to their home and prevent water pollution to local watercourses.
Climate Change and You:How Climate Change Affects Your Health, Your Lifestyle, and Those You Love. July 10, 2019
North York General Hospital’s Chief Medical Information Officer, Dr. Jeremy Theal, and Elderly Care Physician, Dr. Joyce Lee discussed the scientific certainty, immediacy, and severity of the climate change crisis and the effects of climate change on physical health, mental health, and quality of life.
Climate Change: The Future, August 21, 2019
Leya Barry of the City of Mississauga discussed the City’s draft Climate Change Action Plan, the first climate change strategy that lays out a clear course for Mississauga over the next ten years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change risks, such as flooding and more extreme temperatures. The plan will be available for public review on September 18.
Climate Change and Biodiversity: Walks and Workshops
Climate Change and Biodiversity: Amphibian Monitoring Workshop - April -June, 2019
Riverwood Conservancy’s Conversation Specialist, Derek Stone, discussed the importance of our local amphibians and discusses the factors affecting their health. Participants learned how to monitor amphibians found in Riverwood’s diverse habitats. Their data was recorded to help better understand the effects of climate change on our environment.
Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss: Bird Migration, May 21, 2019
Biochemistry teacher and birding expert, Luc Fazio, shared his observations from the past 30 or so years as well as what Cornell University and Bird Studies Canada have gleaned from their research on how climate change is impacting the migration of birds.
Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss at Riverwood: The Water, August 14, 2019
Derek Stone took folks on a walk to explore Riverwood’s aquatic ecosystem through field experiments done on site, and data from Credit Valley Conservation’s fish monitoring work to understand how climate change is impacting this environment.
Meltdown: A Climate Change Summit: Tuesday, September 24, 2019
University of Toronto Mississauga
Climate Impact is proud to have sponsored this free summit at UTM, which was hosted by Riverwood Conservancy. The theme was how climate change is and will affect our health.
To coincide with the week-long Global Climate Strike, this summit brought together leading environmental voices to share information, perspectives, and action plans to combat climate change. The evening combined a keynote presentation by former Ontario Environmental Commissioner, Dr. Dianne Saxe, and a panel discussion to highlight how climate change threatens individual health, the economy, ecology, and our society, and what needs to be done to address the growing challenges of life on a hotter planet.
Youth for Climate Action: Working Together for Tomorrow Project
An intergenerational and interactive workshop series that focuses on local climate issues and solutions engaging over 100 Mississauga residents (October 2019 - July 2020). Ecosource coordinated 8 public workshops in partnership with members of the Peel Environmental Youth Alliance over the course of the project. Workshop topics will be selected by youth and facilitated by local experts. They were hands-on, offered practical tools to mitigate our impact, and encouraged ongoing engagement in climate action. Topics included strategies to sustain community-led environmental change such as action planning and project fundraising, as well as more content-focused learning opportunities led by subject matter experts, such as workshops on reducing food waste, how to cook for the climate, environmental film screenings, conscious consumerism and more.
Climate Impact was excited to sponsor LSF to facilitate a Climate Change Youth Leadership Forum at The Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington for grades 7-10 on October 21, 2019. Youth Forums are full-day, conference-style events that engage up to 125 students, 50 teachers and 16 community partners in climate change education and solutions. Students attended hands-on workshops designed to engage, equip and empower them to take action, while educators attended a separate workshop focused on engaging their students in action-focused climate change learning. Dr. Aziz, Director of Climate Impact Fund was honoured to present the teachers with an overview of the climate crisis and solutions.
Attending students leave the forum with a plan to implement climate-focused Action Projects in their schools and communities, supported by resources and funding from LSF. In the spring, schools report on the results and measurable impacts of their Action Projects and share them on LSF’s Our Canada Project website to inspire other young Canadians to follow their lead.
Climate Impact is excited to report that we are supporting the launch of the Davis Bike Hub at Sheridan College! Climate Impact has funded the purchase of 15 bikes and accessories to encourage active transportation for students and faculty. This is a fantastic initiative that will reduce transportation ghg emissions in the Region of Peel.
