Robyn Curtis has a degree in Biology from UVic and a Commercial Pilots License. She has worked in the aviation industry for the past twenty-three years, in various roles, and now works as a consultant, primarily for airports.
She joined Rotary in 2018. While enjoying the projects at Rotary, she was hoping to find a way to help in the fight against climate change.
In 2021, when Rotary International announced the addition of a new seventh area of focus, "The Environment", Robyn and several other similarly passionate Rotarians formed the Climate Change Action Group (CCAG).
As Chair of the CCAG, Robyn is constantly looking for people willing to join in the effort to shift our communities away from fossil fuels and support all who are working on this effort.
Tim was born in England where he studied physics and math at Exeter University. He then came Canada to complete a PhD in nuclear physics at the University of Alberta. After temporary positions in Indiana, TRIUMF, McGill, and Surrey University, he started his career at Ohio State University.
In 1992, he transferred to the University College of the Fraser Valley, which is now the University of the Fraser Valley. Tim taught for many years, winning the faculty of science teaching prize in 2014, and publishing over 50 research papers in the field of intermediate energy nuclear physics.
In 2004, Tim’s attention switched to Global Warming and the dangers this poses to his (and all) kids. Tim has given over 180 presentations on the science, economics, politics, and engineering of man-made climate change.
His presentations aim to sway the public to listen to the scientists and the science.
Brian Coote is passionate about crafting investment portfolios that consider the climate impact of the companies selected for investment. Brian holds the Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation from the Canadian Securities Institute, the Sustainable Investment Professional Certification (SIPC) from Concordia University Business School, and has been a member of the Responsible Investment Association (RIA) since 2015.
Brian spends time thinking about the climate crisis, and what steps we can take to lessen our environmental impact, and leave the planet bio-diverse and nourishing for future generations. We may choose to drive electric vehicles, and eat plant-based diets to reduce our carbon footprint, but how can we make an impact through our investment portfolios? Brian has a keen personal and professional interest in companies working on products and solutions that will help address climate change. He believes that some of these companies will have decades of profitable growth ahead of them as they provide proactive solutions for the environment.
Bill has always had an avid involvement in the horticulture industry’s professional development, education, and the environment.
Climate change is affecting our communities and homes and is changing the way we must design and build our urban landscapes.
Never have our living landscapes been so important to our collective health and well-being – thriving, contributing, working green spaces and places for people to gather and enjoy. It is with these green spaces that we have the power to change and contribute to the health and wellness of our cities and its people.
Bill will discuss the value and importance of green spaces in the urban areas in which most Canadians live, and introduce a new tool that individual property owners can use to measure their specific contribution, connecting plants and people for a greener, healthier urban climate.
Tom Hackney is Policy Advisor for the BC Sustainable Energy Association, specializing in high level energy transformation concepts and utility regulation. Tom has been helping with BCSEA’s interventions at the BC Utilities Commission and advocacy to government since 2004. He is especially interested in finding how to get society and government to make the big changes needed to move to a low carbon, sustainable energy system.
Tom will be speaking about implementing BC’s sustainable energy transition citing the BC Sustainable Energy Association’s interventions at the BC Utilities Commission.
Michael leads communications, social media channels, and events at Plug In BC. He works on the provincial “Emotive” campaign to raise awareness of zero-emission vehicles and provide hands-on demonstrations in communities throughout BC. He lives in Courtenay on Vancouver Island and travels throughout the province to demonstrate EV usage.
B.C. is the North American leader in EV adoption. Michael's presentation will provide updates regarding ZEV adoption and public charging stations in B.C. The presentation will also introduce the rebate and education programs that Plug In BC administers.
Dan and Randi Dueck, owners of the Stattonrock group of companies, are both longtime Abbotsford, BC residents. Stattonrock Design & Build serves families throughout the Lower Mainland with high performance, net zero certified home builds and renovations. Leveraging their success and building science and desiring to contribute a solution to the housing crisis in BC, Dan and Randi launched Simply Living which offers the same quality home builds but on a smaller footprint. Dan Dueck is Red Seal endorsed and currently sits on the National Canadian Home Builders Association Net Zero Council.
Dan will speak on the potential of net zero homes, particularly how innovation through Net Zero and smaller footprint builds can impact our communities and our climate. He will touch on Financial impact, Environmental Responsibility, and Energy Independence.
Chris is a Sustainable agriculture pioneer, and was responsible for taking the first Biogas plant for agriculture in British Columba Canada from concept to full operations in 2010. It was the first in North America to deliver “Biomethane” to a utility grid from a farm.
Chris is the Director of the Point 3 Biotech Ag Tech Consortium operating at the EcoDairy in Abbotsford. This group has launched the living lab component of the Symbiosis Centre, an on-farm biorefinery and applied research facility, developing a “Manure Management as a Service program.
You can see 10 years of his life in his TEDx Talk, “Poop Soup and the Inevitable Global Movement”.
“Power the World, Feed the People, Heal the Planet”. Chris will speak on systems solutions and resource efficiency.
Dr Farhan Shafiq learned his trade in Software Engineering and System-on-Chip Design at Royal Institute of Stockholm and Tokyo Institute of Technology. Through his career he amassed a global experience of studies and work in Japan, Germany, Sweden and Pakistan before calling Canada home.
Dr Farhan worked in several multinational technology companies in RnD and Technology Strategy. His subjects of interest include Smart cities, Artificial Intelligence, Edge computing, Semiconductors and Compiler technologies. Farhan is a novice hiker, a mediocre cyclist, an expert football player and a super dad.
This talk will explore the challenges and opportunities facing cities in the context of increasing world population and its impact on sustainability and climate change.
Eric Balke is a Senior Restoration Biologist and Fraser River Estuary Program Manager with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), an environmental non-profit organization that conserves, restores, and manages wetlands and associated habitats across Canada. Eric leads several ecological restoration projects throughout the BC Lower Mainland, including the Fraser River Estuary Salmon Habitat (FRESH) Restoration Projects and the BC Nature Force initiative (www.thenatureforce.com).
Eric will be discussing The Nature Force, a partnership between DUC and 16 property & casualty insurance companies to innovate and build with nature to protect communities across Canada from flooding. He will also share about additional work underway by DUC in BC to support ecosystem resilience with climate change.
David is a lifetime Chilliwack, BC resident with a unique history of innovation and entrepreneurship.
In 2000, David founded Loop Energy Inc., a hydrogen fuel cell engine developer and manufacturer that listed on the TSX in 2021.
In 2020, David founded H2 Portable Power Corp., a Chilliwack based portable and stationary zero-emission generator developer and manufacturer.
David is a recipient of the 2015 Delta Management Clean16 Award and served on the board of the Canadian Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Association from 2011 to 2021.
David will be discussing the advances in fuel cells and hydrogen production and speak about how fuel cells and hydrogen provide an important piece of the climate change solution puzzle.
Sue Maxwell is the chair of Zero Waste BC, a non-profit organization working to drive systemic change towards Zero Waste in BC. She is also a consultant for Ecoinspire which for fifteen years has focused on sustainability and zero waste planning, working with governments, EPR programs and businesses.
She has been a councillor in Whistler and an active volunteer for waste reduction and community planning. She has volunteered with the Climate Caucus (cochair of the Zero Waste/Circular Economy Working Group), Whistler Zero Waste Committee, Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Solid Waste Management Plan Monitoring Advisory Committee, Metro Vancouver Public/Technical Solid Waste Advisory Committee, the BC Intermunicipal Working Group on Zero Waste, Recycling Council of BC Board and Policy Committee and others. She has a Master of Arts in Environment and Management from Royal Roads University and her thesis was on zero waste.
Alysha Jones (she/her) is a white settler and community health nurse, and nurse educator. She currently works in W̱SÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking Songhees and Esquimalt Nations territories on Vancouver Island. Alysha has a Master's degree in Holistic Science from Schumacher College in the UK and is currently completing a Masters in Nursing at the University of Northern BC, focusing on Canadian nursing and environmental justice. She co-chairs the Environmental Justice and Reconciliation Committee of the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment. Alysha is passionate about connecting health, justice, and the environment in the interest of wellness for all. Alysha is committed to creating healthcare solutions that honour Indigenous led-decolonization and are rooted in respect for the land.
Canadian nurses have historically played a small part in the environmental and climate health and justice movement. Still, they have significant potential to make a difference in public health and the health of communities across Canada. This presentation will provide an introduction and overview of how one Canadian nursing organization is trying to make a difference.
Megan is a mission-oriented communications leader and educator, and a self-proclaimed food waste warrior.
She has been providing communications counsel to organizations in North America and Europe since 2006, including the University of British Columbia and HSBC Bank. She joined FoodMesh in 2020 to lead its communications function. She is also an Adjunct Professor at UBC's Sauder School of Business, where she teaches first-year students business communication principles.
FoodMesh is a Vancouver-based Benefit Corporation, dedicated to reducing food waste and feeding more. Megan will share some information about the work FoodMesh is doing with the Fraser Valley Regional District to build a concentrated network of organizations participating in food recovery in the region. She will also share her favorite food waste reduction tips to help people minimize the amount of food they waste at home.
Leona is passionate about the environment and has been working with Indigenous communities throughout Canada for the past 15 years, currently as the Senior Director of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources for Metis Nation British Columbia. She has a B.Sc. in Biology, a Masters in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (MNRES), and a technical diploma in Fish & Wildlife Management. Leona brings an experienced background in research and policy development as well as relationship building amongst diverse stakeholders. She currently participates on Federal level Climate Change and Biodiversity/Nature tables.
Leona will be promoting the idea that nature is one of our greatest allies in both mitigating, and adapting to, climate change and discussing the importance of supporting Indigenous stewards of the land.
Dr. Carin Bondar is a biologist, author and philosopher. Her work focuses on increasing science literacy and communication in the public. Bondar is a lecturing adjunct professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, teaching in the areas of science communication and environmental science. Recently elected to the Chilliwack School Board, Bondar is an advocate for STEM education and for keeping girls in STEM subjects through high school.
Bondar’s work appears on National Geographic, Discovery Worldwide, TED, Animal Planet, Netflix and The Science Channel. She is an adventurer and explorer, having discovered new species of beetles and snails in the remote jungles of Borneo with her research team from the Netherlands (Leiden) and Italy (Verona). Bondar currently lives in Chilliwack, British Columbia with her four children, her partner, three dogs and one cat.
Mayor Ken Popove has been serving the Chilliwack community as a Councillor since 2011 and then as Mayor since 2018.
Mayor Popove is a long-time Chilliwack resident, a business owner, and represents his community as a member of:
• Chilliwack Healthier Community (Chair)
• Chilliwack Hospital Foundation Board (Ex-Officio)
• Fraser Valley Regional District Board
• Fraser Valley Regional Library Board (Alternate) • Fraser Valley Regional Hospital Board
• Chilliwack Economic Partners Corporation (Ex-Officio)