Blog Contributor: Michaela Jennings

Brock University and Niagara Adapts are inviting the public in the Niagara Region to participate in a survey regarding their respective municipalities. This survey will be used to help municipal partners in creating their Climate Change Adaptation Plans, in partnership with Niagara Adapts. Throughout the partnership, each participating municipality has been working through steps in creating their plan. The steps include reviewing best-practices in adaptation planning, in order to have a well-researched and context-specific plan. One of the important steps in creating an adaptation plan is through stakeholder engagement. Stakeholder engagement is an opportunity for the public, and staff in municipalities, to be part of the decision-making process. This will assist in creating a Climate Change Adaptation Plan with community feedback and participation.  

In the fall of 2019, with the completion of a vulnerability assessment, each municipality was able to use the data collected from their residents to inform the creation of their vision and goals for their adaptation plan. The results were presented in the form of a Vulnerability Fact Sheet. The results from the survey this fall are intended to advise the decision-making process in the municipality. Additionally, it will help inform the creation of detailed action items. These actions items, aligning with the intention of creating more resilient communities in the Niagara Region, will help in deciding which actions should be taken, the timelines, costs, and focus of the action.  

The survey focuses on the draft vision and goals that were created by each participating municipality. The survey begins with informed consent, requiring participants to be over the age of 18 to participate. The survey then lists the suggested vision and goals allowing participants to indicate on a scale from strongly disapprove to strongly support their level of support for each item. Each question is then paired with an opportunity for participants to provide feedback and comments on each of the goals and the vision.  

The information collected from the survey will be used to inform and improve the vision and goals for the final adaptation plan for each municipality. This is a best-practice approach in municipal planning and will further improve the plan for the municipality by providing different perspectives and insights. The responses will also help in creating detailed action items for each of the goals.      

The following are the participating municipalities: Town of Lincoln, City of Welland, City of St. Catharines, City of Niagara Falls, Town of Pelham. 

To participate in the survey, click here.