Bauline's Climate Action Day teaches residents how they can fight climate change
Councillor hopes other towns follow suit
The Town of Bauline is helping its residents learn about ways they can help to fight climate change, with a Climate Action Day held Saturday.
Coun. Christopher Palmer said the town has worked with energy efficiency consultants Fundamental Inc. to develop a climate action plan for the community, with the ultimate goal of net zero energy consumption by 2050.
"We've been working with them for the last two years to develop a greenhouse gases annual inventory for the town … and from that, we've got a series of gas emission reduction targets right up through 2050," Palmer said Saturday.
"That includes all the components of climate actions such as energy, waste, water, urban gardening and so on."
The town recently installed 40 solar panels on the roof of its community centre, giving the building enough power to run off the grid for a few hours a day. Palmer said the town hopes to add an additional 200 panels to power all of the town's public buildings.
Saturday's event included showcases of solar power, electric vehicles and other ways people in the community can help fight climate change.
Ashley Smith, owner and managing director of Fundamental Inc., said she hopes the event can help people make climate-informed decisions in the future.
"It's not just about big motions, it's not about spending $50,000 on home renovations," Smith said.
"It's about making individual choices in an informed way."
With more information on climate action being made available, Palmer said he hopes more communities across the province follow suit.
"As far as we know, we're the first community in Newfoundland and Labrador to have an objective to come off the power grid and produce our own electricity," he said.
"So we're hoping that other towns will follow us … [and show] what a small town of 450 people can do to lower their carbon footprint."
With files from Emma Grunwald