BEHIND THE STICKER AT POW CANADA
Hi POW Canada community!
My name is Ali. I’m the new Executive Director of Protect Our Winters Canada, and I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself and share a little bit about what’s been happening behind the scenes since I stepped into the role in March.
Big Plans
If you’ve been following POW for a while, you might have wondered what's coming next. Well, do we have an update for you! In early April, the team came together for a strategic planning event, where we spent time reviewing POW’s successes as well as the lessons we’ve learned since our launch in Canada in 2018, and thinking about how we can make the biggest possible impact in the coming years, which will be so critical for our planet.
During this planning period, we haven’t been running a lot of campaigns, because we felt it was important to take the time to think deeply about what’s next for POW Canada - but rest assured we left our strategy event buzzing with ideas, plans and some big, gnarly goals to take us toward 2025 and beyond. With so many important issues to tackle and so many ways of getting there, being strategic is crucial.
Taking Our Message to Ottawa
At POWC, we believe that systemic, policy-level change is the most effective way to get the world on track to reduce emissions and protect the natural spaces that we value so much as an outdoor community. Our big goal is to be this community’s voice in the places decisions get made - in Ottawa, our Provincial parliaments and our local municipalities.
In April, to coincide with Earth Day, we had the opportunity to kick-start this work, when a POW delegation attended a Climate and Sport summit in Ottawa, hosted by the Minister for Sport, Pascale St-Onge and MP Adam van Koeverden. We presented POW’s work to the Ministers for the Environment, Natural Resources and Health as well as a number of MPs, and highlighted the size and strength of the outdoor community in Canada, as well as the vital role our natural spaces play in limiting climate change.
How you Can Help
We’re excited to continue this work, but to make the biggest impact possible, we need your help. Government doors open when organizations have a strong, active membership. So our next big goal is to grow our base as much as possible. To make as much noise as possible! Keep an eye out for a big campaign launch in the fall that is focussed on this - but you can still act now. If you’re not a POW member, please consider signing up here. It is and always will be completely free, we won’t clog your inbox… and it’s fun! Already a member? Awesome! Will you share the stoke and invite your friends and family to join too?
What else?
There’s no shortage of things happening with our small but mighty team here at POW Canada. We’re working with our partners to help them take critical steps for the climate, and planning new campaigns, more chapter events now that we can gather again and more opportunities to help you level up from outdoor enthusiast to POWerful climate advocate!
POW Facts
- POW Canada is a team of 5 full-time and 2 part-time staff
- Our 14 regional chapters are entirely led by amazing volunteers
- We work closely with POW US but we’re not the same organization
- Our motto is progress over perfection - you don’t have to be a “perfect” environmentalist to belong here. Everyone is welcome, it’s your voice that will make the biggest difference.