Health and environmental advocates in Peterborough will host an online session next week focusing on the health impacts of climate change.
The Monday, Nov. 14, virtual event, called “Climate Change is Affecting Your Health: A Climate Change Awareness Event,” is being hosted by 4RG (For Our Grandchilden) and Peterborough Public Health. The keynote speaker will be Drew Monkman, a naturalist, three-time novelist, columnist, and an advocate for environmental education.
“I often ask myself why it is that some people develop a passion for wildlife, the outdoors, and the protection of natural spaces, while others are indifferent at best,” he said.
“If children have no real understanding or knowledge of the natural world around them, then how will they ever develop a sense of what is being lost?”
Joining him will be the regional health unit’s medical officer of health, Dr. Thomas Piggott, who says the climate emergency is “already impacting us locally.”
“The storm that hit our region in May of this year was a tragic event that was likely the result of climate change more broadly impacting the frequency and severity of storms,” he said. “The event on Nov. 14 is an opportunity to learn about already occurring climate events, anticipated futures, and to bring awareness to how these may be impacting our health.”
Piggott and Peterborough Public Health are prioritizing adaptation strategies to reduce the impacts that climate change has on the health of the community. This includes supporting our most vulnerable residents to be prepared for the changing climate.
Among Pigott’s prior work experience includes serving as a medical officer of health in Labrador.
“In the North, people, in particular Indigenous communities, have been alarmed by the impacts of climate change,” he said. “One of the most noticeable changes being thinning sea ice.”
He notes the impacts of climate change go beyond dangerous climate events.
“A changing climate will lead to more vector-borne disease, cancers, and heart and respiratory disease, to name a few,” he said. “These changes are not yet fixed. However, there is hope if we work quickly to prevent further changes and adapt to already occurring changes.”
The event will begin at 7 p.m. To register, visit the eventbrite.ca link of the event. Questions can be submitted at registration for the presenters.