Collaborate Climate

The Ashfield Living Culture and Rural Climate Resilience Initiative was a community-based project -- initiated and facilitated by Double Edge Theatre and Ohketeau Cultural Center -- to support climate resilience in Ashfield and the greater Hilltowns region. The project aimed to build and strengthen relationships across pockets of the community, create non-traditional gatherings for community dialogue, and increase the diversity of participation in Town governance and visioning for the future of Ashfield. 

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Together, the project team envisioned and implemented a process that involved: 

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• A series of community dinners where residents broke bread together, discussed challenges, and shared visions for the future of Ashfield;

• Youth-led community interviews where high school students collected -- and led conversations around -- the perspectives of their family members, neighbors, teachers, and peers;

• A clean energy site tour where Town staff, community volunteers, and regional and state partners discussed project needs and funding strategies related to clean energy;

• A housing roundtable discussion where residents with direct experience shared barriers and strategies to building resilient and affordable housing in Ashfield;

• A community resilience day hosted at Double Edge Theatre where community members gathered for singing, dancing, acrobatics, conversations, and community-building.

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Core to this work was a focus on the inclusion of Indigenous voices, traditions, considerations, and perspectives to build understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous neighbors; supporting youth leadership as paid project partners, advisors, and facilitators; and building relationships across diverse parts of the community -- all of which strengthening the foundations for a resilient community and region. 

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See more on the project here.

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