Turn Ideas into Action
Join us for free, inspiring TED-style talks highlighting ideas for accelerating climate solutions within local communities. Registration is encouraged, but not required.
Transportation options will be available between Nelson, Castlegar and Trail.
Topics & Speakers
Live Musical Guest
Rena Vee is a singer-songwriter living on Sinixt territory in the Slocan Valley, and she is currently studying music at Selkirk College. After many years away from music, she reconnected to songwriting as a way to process the grief surrounding her community as a result of an ongoing overdose crisis. She’s grateful for songwriting as medicine in the midst of collective heartbreak.
Reimagining Wildland Urban Interface Forests in the Face of Climate Change
Gerald Cordeiro has over 25 years of experience in the forest industry. His varied background includes field work, planning, harvesting, road and bridge construction, and manufacturing. He gained recent experience in interagency collaboration on a large wildfire risk reduction project.
Why Leadership Matters in the Fight Against Climate Change
Rhonda Belczyk has been a social worker 27 years. She holds Master of Social Work with a specialty in Leadership. For most of her career, Rhonda worked for the Ministry of Children and Family Development. She is currently an instructor in Human Services.
Rhonda received a Premier’s Award in recognition of her work in community development, service coordination and collaborative practice. She received a Standing Committee on Professional Excellence (SCOPE) Award in recognition of her achievements as an educator.
From Climate Anxiety to Transformative Action: Developing a Skill Set for Systems Change
Cecilia Jaques works at the intersection between strategy, engagement and sustainability and is driven by her mission to build an equitable and resilient future. Cecilia is a certified change management practitioner, holds a Master of Sustainability Science, and has published in the Journal of Sustainability MDPI.
In her current role, Cecilia stewards the implementation of the City of Nelson's climate plan, which contains some of the most ambitious climate targets in Canada.
Watershed Work as Economic Driver and Community Protector
Nicole Charlwood is a local politician, former councillor at the City of Nelson, former executive director of the West Kootenay EcoSociety and former executive director of the West Kootenay Watershed Collaborative. She is also a mom, singer, dancer, hiker and forager.
Lesley Garlow is the vice chair of the West Kootenay Watershed Collaborative. She is of mixed ancestry—Haudenosaunee from Six Nations of the Grand River, Osweken, Brantford Reserve, Cayuga, Turtle Clan, as well as Italian and Irish heritage. She is a long-term resident of the Cascadia bioregion. She is a mother of three, ages 23, 19, and 4. She is an auntie, daughter, sister, partner and a biophilic (lover of all life).
Lesley graduated from Selkirk College with an Associate Certificate in Mental Health and Addiction. She is pursuing her Bachelor of Social Work with specialization in Indigenous perspectives at the University of Victoria.
Moccasin Telephone: News from the Land and Indigenous Communities on Our Changing Climates
Melissa Dorey is an Indigenous educator and researcher from Mi’kima’ki, who has combined Mi’kmaw ancestry (received from her maternal and paternal grandmothers) and French ancestry (southern France). With a background in environmental research-protection, Melissa has worked with Indigenous, federal and provincial governments within western Kanata and Washington State, including special interest projects that supported non-profit organizations and communities.
Melissa’s research has mainly focused on species at risk, Indigenous food sovereignty, eco-cultural revitalization and water protection. Her humble journey at Selkirk College began over a decade ago as a student in Recreation, Fish & Wildlife Technology.
Currently, Melissa works at Selkirk College as the Indigenous Project Lead with Indigenous Services and is an instructor for the School of Environment & Geomatics. Her journey has come full circle, as Melissa is now a colleague of her former instructors and works within a department that did not exist when she was a student.
In support of the Indigenization Plan (2019-2024), Melissa facilitates on-the-land learning opportunities alongside Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and actively participates in diverse cultural practices and ceremonies.
You Can Get There from Here! Regional Active Transportation Planning
Patricia Dehnel is a registered professional planner passionate about healthy and connected community. She currently serves as the West Kootenay Cycling Coalition's project coordinator for the Castlegar-Nelson Active Transportation Corridor Vision and has a strong interest in walking and cycling in the Kootenays.
Fired Up: How Climate Anxiety Can Fuel Climate Action
Todd Kettner is a sailor. Mountain biker. Skier. Psychologist with an increasing awareness of the research demonstrating high levels of eco-anxiety worldwide, especially in youth.
About TEDx and TED
TEDx, x = Independently Organized Event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, often in the form of short talks delivered by leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED Conferences, intimate TED Salons and thousands of independently organised TEDx events around the world. Videos of these talks are made available, free, on TED.com and other platforms. Audio versions of TED Talks are published to TED Talks Daily, available on all podcast platforms.
TED's open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; TEDx, which licenses thousands of individuals and groups to host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities; The Audacious Project, which surfaces and funds critical ideas that have the potential to impact millions of lives; TED Translators Program, which crowdsources the subtitling of TED Talks so that big ideas can spread across languages and borders; and the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED also offers TED@Work a program that reimagines TED Talks for workplace learning. TED also has a growing library of original podcasts, including The TED Interview with Chris Anderson, WorkLife with Adam Grant, Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala and How to Be a Better Human.
Follow TED on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and on LinkedIn.
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