That being said, the effects of climate change are already being felt today in the form of intensifying weather events, rising sea levels and increased incidence of flooding and drought. In response to these challenges, local governments are becoming more engaged in climate adaptation work.

Climate adaptation involves making proactive choices about how we live, so that we can become more resilient in the face of future climate impacts.

Sackville is particularly vulnerable to coastal and freshwater flooding, since much of the town and surrounding region lies near or below sea level. The existing system of dykes holding back the powerful tides of the Bay of Fundy is aging and, given the projected rise of sea levels, too low to protect the town from storm surges.

Recently, on a water management infrastructure bus tour, the Sackville town engineer, Dwayne Acton, suggested to my geography and environment class that the dykes should be raised to a height of 13 metres, from their current average height of 8.6 metres. However, he said there are no immediate plans to complete this project due to barriers in land ownership and a lack of access to funding.

Freshwater flooding is also a prominent concern in Sackville. Acton went on to describe how the existing water management infrastructure was built to maintain agricultural lands. It is of insufficient capacity to accommodate storm water from extreme weather events on top of waste water for a town of 5,500 people. “Sackville is a bathtub with the aboiteaus as the drains,” Acton explained. Existing aboiteaus – gates in the dykes allowing water to flow into the bay of Fundy – are currently too small or silted shut. An ongoing $1.1 million aboiteau expansion in west Sackville is underway, aiming to improve water flow and reduce flooding risks.

The Town of Sackville, in partnership with Mount Allison and local environmental non-profit EOS Eco-Energy, have recognized the importance of engaging in climate adaptation work. This can be seen in the collaborative creation of a Climate Change Adaptation Toolkit in 2013 and a Corporate Climate Change Adaptation Plan in 2016. These resources have guided adaptation projects, including the town’s ongoing Lorne Street redevelopment, which is set to increase storm and waste water holding capacity. The Adaptation Toolkit and related workshops provide advice for community members, by educating on flood preparation and advocating for development of water management assets such as rain gardens.

Making a case for climate adaptation work may not be as glamorous as for renewable energy projects. Adaptation work that focuses on education and infrastructure improvements, though essential to future prosperity, seems to have a less immediate impact in the present. However, the effects of increased flooding in the Tantramar region would be extensive. A research team including Dr. David Lieske, a Mt. A professor, estimated that a dyke breach flooding event would cause damages upwards of $5 million.

Increased incidence of flooding will endanger valuable agricultural lands in the region, posing risk to the local food supply.

Transportation infrastructure is also vulnerable. The CN rail line and the TransCanada highway lie in the floodplains, as do many local roads. For example, in early November 2018, flooding left Route 935 to Wood Point impassable, temporarily limiting residents’ access to emergency services. The consequences of that unpredictable event give a greater sense of urgency to investing in Sackville’s short- and long-term plans to alleviate flood risk. Are we prepared for what’s to come?

Three Canadian MPs recognized these findings as a call to action and demanded an emergency climate debate, which took place in the House of Commons on Oct. 15. During the debate, Elizabeth May, Green Party MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands, spoke passionately on the issue, saying, “We must go to the next climate negotiations as leaders in the world, with the target the scientists told us we must have, and then we must stand up and challenge the others. Where’s your target? Where’s your goal? Because we are not prepared to tell our children we are a failed species.”

Through the urgency in her words, May delivered a message of hope: that it’s not yet too late. The session concluded with consensus that the Canadian government needs to do more, and yet it remained unclear how this was to be achieved. The Canadian government has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030, but these targets will not allow Canada to meet the guidelines outlined in the IPCC report, which call for 45 per cent reductions by 2030.

In a Facebook Live conversation, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna reflected on the IPCC climate report with reference to context of a dangerous and fatal summer heat wave in central Canada, along with destructive forest fires in British Columbia. “We are the first generation to feel the impacts of climate change and we are the last generation [who can] do anything about it,” she said. Despite acknowledging the urgency and necessity of re-evaluating of the issue, McKenna said she plans to maintain implementation of the existing climate plan and delay more ambitious targets until these initial goals have been realized.

The Paris Equity Check project recently published a study analyzing the extent to which individual countries’ climate pledges align with the 2015 Paris agreement threshold of 1.5 to 2 degrees C of warming. The scientifically peer-reviewed assessments carried out through the project found that Canada’s current greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, if adopted by all countries, would result in a catastrophic 5.1 degrees of warming by 2100.

The study also evaluated notions of equity, assessing each nation’s ambition to achieve fairness through their national climate pledges. Results revealed that the climate targets of many developed nations, including Canada, implicitly align with an unjust approach to effort-sharing, lacking consideration of historical contributions to climate change and the capacity of developing nations to engage in mitigation. It seems that without stronger climate targets, Canada will not be able to uphold its commitment to ensuring a just global transition away from fossil fuels, and toward a habitable future.

“It’s always worthwhile to talk to farmers to find out if they have seconds,” said vendor and customer Michael Freeman. “Seconds” are vegetables offered at a discount that are still perfectly good to eat but are blemished, misshapen or otherwise flawed and cannot be sold at market price. For example, he said, “Some partially ripened tomatoes are still good for sauce.”

The importance of talking to vendors is further displayed through their product knowledge and promotional offers. Farmers from Raised from the Bed Farms highlight microgreens as having good value for what you get, stating that they have more nutrients per weight than fully grown plants.

Shelley Dixon of Dixon’s Beef pointed to special bulk purchase offers: “If you buy four, you get the fifth one free.” She went on to suggest that students could take advantage of these bulk discounts by shopping in groups. Dixon recognized versatility as an important factor for buying in bulk, using ground beef as an example: “There’s so many different things you can do with it.” She can also offer suggestions on what to do with other cheaper cuts, like round steak and stew meat.

Aside from talking to vendors, Monique Silver, a third-year fine arts student, found benefits in reducing food waste. “Market veggies are fresh, so they last longer,” she said. “They’re not going to rot in my fridge.” Several vendors also spoke to the importance of storage in maximizing the value of fresh local foods. “Any leafy green likes to be stored at cold temperature with high humidity, in a plastic bag or Tupperware container,” said Jessy Wysmyk of Wysmykal Farms. “If you just put them in the fridge, they’re going to wilt. Carrots and beets also need cold and high humidity,” while “potatoes and onions like a cool dark place. Peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers can hang out in your fridge.”

“You know where it’s coming from,” said Katie Luiker, a fourth-year biology student, when asked why buying local is important. “There’s less packaging on the veggies.” Answering to the same question, Megan Moffatt, a fifth-year chemistry student, asserted that “The market is a great place to meet members of the community, and you get fresher, more tasty food at lower energy cost.” These ideas speak to non-monetary values associated with purchasing local food, and suggest that the higher costs of local food could be compensated for by environmental and social benefits.

Still, when local food is economically inaccessible, Freeman pointed out ’s thoughts remind that students can find opportunity in talking to farmers. “Farmers need to know there’s interest. They won’t necessarily bring food if they don’t know someone’s going to buy it,” explained Freeman. “Building relationships with farmers so they can figure out what their low budget clientele is going to want is an important way to get that stuff to come to market. It never hurts to ask.”

The Sackville Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. The market is held outside in Bill Johnstone Memorial Park through October, before moving inside to the Sackville Commons (64 Main St.) for the winter.

Yellow Bird – Ben Stevenson

Song for You – Rhye

KIDS – Milk & Bone

Runnin’ (feat. Busty and

the Bass) – Free n Losh

Coastline  – Geoffroy

9 to 5 – Harrison Brome

Machine – TENDER

L’amour – Karim Ouellet

Way With Words – Bahamas

Please – Rhye