On Thursday, 31st July, the Act on Climate collective launched the Australia Climate Adaptation Map website! We gathered on Wurundjeri country to celebrate the site launch and showcase climate adaptation initiatives underway in communities across Australia.
The evening, hosted at the Friends of the Earth Co-op Cafe, was a beautiful reflection on the hard work of the collective members in the last few months and the adaptation community in Victoria and beyond.
The night began with a musical serenade from singer/song writer Charly Oakley, an acknowledgement of Treaty and Country by our collective organiser, Kim and an introduction to the important role of climate adaptation from our community organiser, Vicky. It was highlighted that climate adaptation isn’t separate from mitigation, and a collective movement of building resilience is essential to face the present and oncoming climate crisis.
The launch officially kicked off with a presentation of the Australia Climate Adaptation Map by collective member, Carlo, who took the lead on creating the map for his internship at Friends of the Earth Melbourne. He walked us through the navigation of the site and examples of adaptation initiatives around Naarm on the interactive map.
It was great to see projects underway in people's communities and it opened our eyes to the connections between climate impacts and local responses- i.e safe cool spaces in Melbourne for vulnerable people during heatwaves.
We then heard from a collection of speakers who work on adaptation initiatives with projects logged on the map!
The first speaker was Carmen Lahiff-Jenkins, the Climate Justice Coordinator of SPAN Community House in Thornbury. Carmen specialises in building heat and disaster resilient communities through education and locally-led adaptation strategies. She shared with us a poem she had written: a reflection on the forces at work against the environment and the transformative power of collective organising.
Our second speaker, Jade Ambrose works on RAD Housing (a project to retrofit and decommodify suburban housing) and Merri-bek Tech (a project to build out sustainable and climate-ready local digital services). They shared an inspirational presentation on this work and the value of marrying internal and external growth in order to have the momentum needed to adapt to the climate crisis.
Our third in-person speaker was Ann Stanley, the presenter of the Local Food Connections radio show on 3CR! Ann linked her radio show with the concept of the adaptation map, explaining how it is a way to connect communities and form a movement of solidarity.
We then had two presenters from further afield who joined on zoom. Sasha Mainsbridge spoke to us from the Northern Rivers: she and Mullum Cares launched a pop up "Rebuild Flood Resilient Office" to support their community after the 2022 floods, Philippa Bailey from the Otways presented her work on adapting her community to climate change by lobbying for tree planting and shaded areas.
The evening drew to a close with a musical set from the joy and community driven Charly Oakley and an energising bush dance called by Anise from Degrowth Network.
Thank you to all the speakers and attendees, it was a great evening of connecting and forming a climate adaptation community.
Click through to the wrap-up video on Instagram to witness some of the festivities including some communal singing and joyful bush dancing!
Friends of the Earth acknowledge that this event took place on the stolen lands of the Wurundjeri people. Sovereignty was never ceded, and fighting for First Nations justice must always be a core part of climate justice work.