Across Canada, community foundations are beginning to look at climate change not only as an environmental issue, but as a community resilience issue. How will our towns, neighbourhoods, and local systems adapt to the changes already underway?
To explore that question, the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen (CFSOS) is taking part in Communities for Climate Resilience (CCR), a national initiative led by Community Foundations of Canada.
CCR brings together 40 community foundations from across the country to learn, share experiences, and strengthen how communities prepare for and adapt to a changing climate. Through the initiative, participating foundations receive access to climate data, peer learning opportunities, and support to explore how granting, investments, and community leadership can contribute to long-term resilience.
For the South Okanagan Similkameen, this work is deeply local.
Climate change here isn’t an abstract concept – it shows up in our everyday lives. We see it in wildfire seasons that grow longer and more intense, in extreme heat events, in water stress across our valley systems, and in the growing pressures on housing and food security.
Our region’s agricultural roots mean these changes ripple through local food systems as well. Drought affects growers and harvests, while rising costs continue to impact families trying to put healthy food on the table. These realities are already shaping conversations across our communities.
Through CCR, the Foundation will learn alongside peers across Canada while hosting conversations locally — listening to residents, organizations, and community leaders about what resilience looks like here. The goal is to develop a regional resilience approach grounded in the lived realities, strengths, and relationships that already exist in our communities.
This work connects closely with several initiatives already underway at the Foundation.
Our Vital Signs research on food security has helped highlight how climate pressures intersect with affordability, housing, and access to healthy food. Programs like Neighbourhood Small Grants have shown how powerful small, resident-led projects can be in strengthening connection and local leadership.
Building on those efforts, the Foundation is also developing a Neighbourhood Resiliency Stream – a small-grant opportunity that supports neighbours in building preparedness and resilience together. Through grants of up to $500, residents can bring people together on their block, in their building, or across a rural area to share information, build relationships, and explore practical ways to prepare for disruptions such as extreme heat, wildfire smoke, or power outages.
The approach is simple but powerful: resilience begins with relationships. When neighbours know one another, share knowledge, and look out for each other, communities are better able to navigate challenges – both expected and unexpected.
As the Foundation continues participating in CCR, we’ll be sharing what we learn, highlighting local stories of resilience, and inviting residents and partners to help shape this work.
Preparing for the future isn’t something institutions do alone. It’s something communities build together – conversation by conversation, neighbour by neighbour.
Want to be part of the conversation?
Contact Kim English at the Foundation to learn more about upcoming gatherings and opportunities to get involved.
