Read the April 28th, 2012 article in The Tyee on CALP’s research project in Delta, BC.  http://thetyee.ca/News/2012/04/28/BC-Climate-Viz/

Read the April 15, 2012 interview with Dr. Stephen Sheppard for V1 Magazine, entitled “Collaborative Visualization to Advance Landscape Planning“.

This research project is a continuation of the Local Climate Change Visioning Tools and Process for Community Decision Making project.  Our aim is to develop a prototype for improved community planning to localize, spatialize, and visualize climate change effects using downscaled climate modeling, geospatial information, and the best available land-use models. Versions of the prototype process and tools will be tested in four case study communities across Canada:  in Greater Vancouver, downtown Toronto, the Bow River watershed in Alberta, and Clyde River in Nunavut. 

Clyde River is an arctic Hamlet of approximately 1,000 people in Canada’s Nunavut Territory.  Arctic regions are seeing rapid changes in weather, landscape and lifestyle as a result of climate change, communities are geographically dispersed and culturally distinct from the central government.  Climate change planning in this context is especially challenging, and this project seeks to understand the role that 4D visioning might play in assisting communities and governments better adapt to the changes ahead.   

Researchers from CALP are working with the Ittaq Heritage and Research Centre in Clyde River, and with Natural Resources Canada to collaboratively develop and model future development scenarios based on key community priorities.  Community meetings, radio shows, mapping workshops, and 3D modeling have all been used to communicate these scenarios to different audiences. 

Future work will continue to share this work with relevant decision-makers in the Government of Nunavut and beyond, and to evaluate its potential usefulness to future planning projects in the north.

View the latest poster series from the March 2012 trip to Clyde River, Nunavut, which completes 4 years of collaborative research for this case study in connection to landscape hazards, climate, population, community design, land use, energy use and quality of life in Clyde River both now and in the future.

Download a 2-page summary of the project from January, 2011.   Other information may be available on the ITTAQ’s website (under their Projects page).

For more information, please contact David Flanders David.Flanders@ubc.ca

Funded by: GEOIDE Networks of Centres of Excellence (Phase IV 2009 – 2012)
Project Leadr: Dr. Stephen Sheppard
CALP Researchers:  David Flanders, Ellen Pond, Sara Barron, Olaf Schroth, Kristi Tatebe

Many rural communities in BC are faced with increasing heating costs and growing demand for heat, yet are also surrounded by a rich resource of an alternative local, low-carbon heating fuel: biomass.  Read more

Carbon dioxide and global climate change are largely invisible, and the prevailing imagery of climate change is often remote (such as ice floes melting) or abstract and scientific (charts and global temperature maps).  Using dramatic visual imagery such as 3D and 4D visualizations of future landscapes, community mapping, and iconic photographs, this book by Dr. Stephen R.J. Sheppard, demonstrates new ways to make carbon and climate change visible where we care the most, in our own backyards and local communities. Extensive color imagery explains how climate change works where we live, and reveals how we often conceal, misinterpret, or overlook the evidence of climate change impacts and our carbon usage that causes them.  

This guide to using visual media in communicating climate change vividly brings to life both the science and the practical solutions for climate change, such as local renewable energy and flood protection. It introduces powerful new visual tools (from outdoor signs to video-games) for communities, action groups, planners, and other experts to use in engaging the public, building awareness and accelerating action on the world’s greatest crisis. 

This book will be available to order March 29, 2012 through Routledge, Taylor Francis Group.  To order visit http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781844078202/

Prof. Stephen Sheppard organized a dedicated session in the BC Hydro Decision Theatre, for the UBC Forestry community on Tuesday Feb 14, 2012.  For more information, view the event flyer.

When it comes to climate change, UBC Prof. Stephen Sheppard and CALP Research Scientist, David Flanders know that pictures speak louder than words. UBC’s Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning (CALP) uses computer-generated visualizations grounded in scientific data to help communities and policymakers understand the local impacts of climate change and visualize the results of different mitigation strategies. See how the Decision Theatre at the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) helps turn knowledge into action.  Watch UBC’s  ”Visualizing Climate Change“ video.

The case study, Sea Level Rise Adaptation in Delta (BC RAC project) will be highlighted at the AAAS Conference during a Press briefing on Sunday Feb 19th at 3:00 pm. David Flanders from CALP will be interviewed.  More details on this case study.

 From February 16-20, 2012, more than 8,000 participants will convene at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada. Professor Stephen Sheppard is a speaker at the AAAS Symposium: Beyond Climate Models: Rethinking How To Envision the Future with Climate Change and Prof. David Flanders is a speaker at the AAAS Symposium: Flood Adaptation Near Vancouver: A Regional Adaptation Collaborative.

Read the UBC Office of Government Relations Bulletin, (Winter 2012) highlighting CALP’s Local Climate Change Visioning project research.

This session brings together leading multidisciplinary experts involved in communicating climate change to users and society, to reveal new research findings and stimulate a crucial scientific debate on the appropriate role of visualization tools and processes to support policy and action. It explores the benefits, risks, and dilemmas of going beyond the physical sciences and reimagining the future, through interactive visualization and discussion with session participants. Breakout discussions will be facilitated and outcomes recorded by the speakers and experts from fields such as climate scenarios, scientific visualization, multimedia decision theaters, electronic communications, psychology, and visualization ethics.  Read more about this symposium and AAAS conference by visiting link http://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2012/webprogram/Session4604.html

Dr. Stephen Sheppard was interviewed for the article “Burning Questions: CNV hosts another energy-focused session, this time on biomass energy”, which appeared in the December 15, 2011 North Shore Outlook.  Read full article.

On April 1, 2011 GEOIDE approved this project (one of eight Targeted Strategic Investment Initiative projects) in partnership with the Neptis Foundation.

The need for Canada’s urban regions to become more sustainable in environmental, economic, and social terms has grown markedly over the past decade. In this light, a variety of provincial, metropolitan and local initiatives have been launched to address sector-specific, thematic dimensions of urban sustainability including urban sprawl (e.g. Ontario Places to Grow Act 2005), energy production and consumption (BC Bill 27 Green Communities 2007, Ontario Green Energy Act 2009) and transportation (e.g. Region of Waterloo Light Rapid Transit, Metrolinx Regional Transportation Plan). Such initiatives are transformative in nature, demand substantial realignment of public priorities and resource allocations and, ultimately, are implemented, planned and managed at local and regional scales, with local implications for neighbourhood livability and functionality.

This project will address these needs by producing “digital stories based in data”, based on interactive scenario exploration tools and methods that link future land use choices, transportation infrastructure, energy and climate change (GHG) strategies. Specifically, the project proposes to develop and test a suite of prototype web-based “spatial dashboard” decision tools, coupled with immersive geovisualization environments, to foster information-rich and scenario-based exploration of land use and select urban sustainability issues. The tools will be applied to three interrelated problem domains highly relevant in the Canadian urban context: a) urban intensification and land use change, b) transportation systems, and c) urban energy demand, renewable energy potential, and GHG emissions reductions.

This project will seek to overcome this barrier in three key ways. First, a multi-scale approach will be adopted to permit neighbourhood level changes to land use, transportation and energy use / generation to be understood in light of regional land use/transportation systems. Second, development and evaluation of the tools and use protocols will be conducted across the urban regions of Toronto, Vancouver and Waterloo, with some variation for local concerns and expertise, in order to ensure transferability of research outputs. Finally, our research will be anchored in practice through deep involvement of key local and regional partners (e.g. Toronto and Regional Conservation Authority, Metro Vancouver, Surrey, Richmond, Waterloo Region, Toronto District School Board), working closely with NEPTIS on overall tool development and usability. Thus, end-user engagement is a cross-cutting dimension of this project, involving a spectrum of local decision makers, domain experts, and interested citizens, that will ensure the research is relevant to practice.

Read the 2011 GEOIDE Progress Report for this project TSII-201.  Please contact Ellen Pond for more information.

Funded by: GEOIDE Networks of Centres of Excellence/Neptis Foundation (2011 – 2013) (Phase IV Project:  TSII-201)
Project Leader: Dr. Eric J. Miller, University of Toronto
Deputy Project Leader: Dr. Stephen Sheppard
UBC Researchers:  Ellen Pond, Ron Kellett
UBC Students:  Rory Tooke

For some, seeing is believing and the BC Hydro Theatre in UBC’s new Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability is like a crystal ball, giving communities a look into their future.  Read the ”Window Into The Future” article in the Nov 3, 2011 UBC Reports by Heather Amos at UBC.  For more information on the Decision Theatre please visit our MEDIA page.

Effective Sept 2, 2011 CALP researcher and staff offices are located on the 2nd floor of the new CIRS building at UBC.  Our mailing address is #2321 – 2260 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4.  Dr. Stephen Sheppard’s office will remain in the Forest Sciences Centre, located at 2045 – 2424 Main Mall.  All phone numbers remain unchanged.

CTV News interviewed Dr. Stephen Sheppard, for CALP’s work on future scenarios with climate change and visualizing modelled and narrative futures in the Lower Mainland.  This interview was a feature in their Vancouver’s 125^th Anniversary show, projecting what Vancouver will look like in the next 125 years.  To watch the the archived video, visit this link .  This feature story ”Vancouver 2136″, aired April 6, 2011 on CTV.

The BC Hydro Theatre (or as CALP refers to it  as “the Decision Theatre”), will feature advanced visualization and interaction technologies to engage audiences in simulations of sustainability scenarios in Metro Vancouver and beyond. Groups will be able to “fly” to different locations, visualize the neighbourhood now and in the future, and manipulate information using wireless devices connected to large visual display screens in order to consider the potential impacts of climate change, energy use and sustainability. Reconfigurable screens will maximize flexibility and allow experimentation with the theatre technology itself.  For technical information on the theatre, please contact the Project Manager: Jon Salter or for general information, contact the USI office at cirsadmin@ubc.ca.

This project was made possible with funding from Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), BC Hydro and other funding partners.  Please visit the CIRS’ website for more information.

BC’s Regional Adaptation Collaborative (BC RAC) is a collection of projects across the province relating to climate change adaptation and water issues. A three-year project, this work began in 2009 and will continue into the Spring of 2012. The CALP RAC project focuses on flood adaptation planning in the Fraser River delta community of Delta, BC.

The Province of BC provides guidelines and tools for flood risk management; however, it is the responsibility of the local governments to define their flood hazards, integrate these with land use planning policies and implement sufficient flood protection. Uncertainty in climate science and the lack of effective engagement tools make it difficult for local governments to build public support for flood-related climate policy and action. Previous CALP research in 2007 using visualization of flood scenarios and adaptation options has proven effective in developing community awareness of and support for adaptation needs in the community, and this project seeks to build on this success.

Existing research & knowledge of local vulnerability to climate change will be combined with new data to support stakeholder dialogue in this process to identify, visualize, and evaluate adaptation options to coastal and river flood risk under climate change in the Corporation of Delta, BC. Project outputs will include recommendations regarding adaptation decision-making and policy, that can also inform other communities in the province facing similar risks.

For more information on the RAC project, please visit the Fraser Basin Council’s project website or contact Sara Barron at CALP for more information.

Funded by: Natural Resources Canada (Regional Adaptation Collaborative) and the Fraser Basin Council (2009 – 2012)
Principal Investigator: Dr. Stephen Sheppard
CALP Researchers: Sara Barron, Ellen Pond, David Flanders and Kristi Tatebe

CALP’s Local Climate Change Visioning and Landscape Visualizations: Guidance Manual (Version 1.1) was finalized in July 2010 and now available in published and digital form.  This guide is intended to be used by local communities: decision-makers/practitioners, sustainability citizen groups, consultants, and others, to help develop resilient local communities in an uncertain climate change future.  The printing of this manual was made possible by funding from the Climate Action Secretariat and Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions.

Full reference:  Pond, Ellen, Olaf Schroth, Stephen Sheppard, Sara Muir-Owen, Ingrid Lipa, Cam Campbell, Jon Salter, Kristi Tatebe and David Flanders.  2010.  Local Climate Change Visioning and Landscape Visualizations: Guidance Manual (Version 1.1). Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning, University of  BC. (25 MB pdf download: CALP Visioning Guidance Manual Version 1.1) or download a 5 page Executive Summary  of the Guidance Manual (1.66MB pdf).

Is seeing really believing when it comes to climate change? Starting Sept 2010, Dr. Stephen R. J. Sheppard and his students will examine this topic through a leading-edge pilot course being offered at UBC. Visualizing Climate Change (CONS 449C Section 101) will widen the lens on climate change and use the universal appeal of visual media to illustrate the big picture and focus on solutions. The course has no prerequisites and is geared toward second year and higher undergraduate students from the arts and sciences who are interested in climate change and exploring their options.   For more information visit:  http://sustain.ubc.ca/teaching-learning/featured-content/visualizing-climate-change

Read more in the August 2010 UBC Reports http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2010/08/05/climate-change-seeing-is-believing

The idea behind this project (6 visioning sessions) is to inform and engage potential community leaders in the Regional Climate Action Dialogues about the LCCV process, with the objectives of :

• Demonstration and knowledge transfer on visioning methods and requirements, with the launching of new visioning guidelines (sponsored by Ministry of Community Development).
• Providing a framework for initial cross-sectoral discussion and  collaboration of Forum attendees. Because the Visioning session will come at the end of the RCAD, the session can build on what Forum participants have learned and discussed over the previous day and a half, eg. in the clean energy and community infrastructure sessions.
• Offering a possible pathway to action after the Forums through an ongoing visioning process driven by regional stakeholders or local communities, to help develop/affirm more tangible regional goals for action by various sectors (both formal and informal). Participants can then leave the sessions with some tangible outcomes, ideas, and effective tools for collectively addressing climate change and, through the broader RCAD, the social and professional networks to implement those tools.

150 participants attended the Climate Action Event:  ”Big Leaps and Small Steps”, University of Victoria held June 10th, 2010.  Components of this event were:

-       Sector Leaders Dialogue
-       Community Action Case Study
-       Community Action Training with BC Healthy Communities
-       Visioning Training with CALP (view this workshop’s Climate Impacts Exercise worksheets (7mb pdf)

56 participants attended the Climate Action Event:  ”Big Leaps and Small Steps”, University of Northern BC (Prince George) held June 23, 2010.  A 2 page summary report of the Victoria and Prince George Climate Action Secretariat Regional Dialogue sessions has been prepared for more information on those workshops.

The last 4 visioning sessions were held in Kelowna (Sept 23), Dawson Creek, Fort St. John and Terrace (October 18-21).

For more information on this project please contact Ellen Pond or Laura Cornish at CALP.  For archived sessions, please contact the PICS office directly, e-mail: pics@uvic.ca

Funded by: BC’s Climate Action Secretariat and the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS). (June – October 2010). 
Project Leader: Dr. Stephen Sheppard
CALP Researchers: Ellen Pond, Jonathan Salter, Laura Cornish

The BC Government has legislated aggressive targets for reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions  and established the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) to foster research on climate change to meeting those targets.  This research theme focuses where the science hits the ground: on outreach, engagement, and mobilisation of the public and multiple stakeholders, where climate solutions need to be implemented through behavior change, policy change and action.

• Key contextual factors:
  Pace and extent of climate change, lack of action, gaps in knowledge/behavior
• Existing efforts, eg. Live Smart BC, BC Hydro
• Urgency, both politically to support BC program for cutting carbon, and to prepare for impacts/resilience/mitigation needs

Public events to stimulate dialogue, informed research and action were held on March 10, 2010:

Lectures and Virtual Colloquium:  “Making Global Warming Unacceptable: From Perceptions to Social Action“. Multi-purpose room, Liu Centre for Global Issues, UBC ,Vancouver.   The virtual colloquium was webcast and can be viewed at http://www.socialmobilisation.pwias.ubc.ca.  Lectures and Dialogue: “New ways to communicate climate solutions”. SFU Segal Business Centre, Room 1500, 500 Granville Street, SFU, Vancouver.
These events were sponsored by PICS, Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Learning, CALP, and the Climate Action Secretariat, BCMOE.  A Summary Report from the PICS Social Mobilization Workshop is now available as well as a draft version of the Literature Scan.

For more information on the Social Mobilisation Research theme, please contact Dr. Stephen Sheppard, or the Social Mobilisation Coordinator, Shirlene Cote, cotes@interchange.ubc.ca .