Lovin' the Earth Climate Action Fair
Due to the impacts of COVID-19, the event is postponed until 2022
We are strategizing for alternative options to maintain the Lovin' the Earth campaign during 2021. Follow us on social media or join our newsletter list for updates.
Hands on ‘LOVIN THE EARTH’
In 2019, this one-of-a-kind fair was less about talking and more about doing. SPEC staff & volunteers, along with guest speakers, exhibitors, and sponsors chose the most meaningful and impactful actions to take to combat the climate crisis and gave attendees the tools to accomplish them.
Participants took a tour with a residential fire-smart expert, test drove an electric car, talked with alternative energy installers, discussed plant-based diets and recipes, discovered zero-waste shopping options, learned non-partisan tools for identifying climate courageous leaders, and discovered a support network.
The “Lovin the Earth” campaign is about supporting each other to take the right actions and make them count, to identify and back climate courageous leaders, and to find the confidence and well-being that comes from reconnecting with nature and each other.
SPEC IN THE COMMUNITY
SPEC has a long history of working to protect the natural world and has been widely praised for its award winning projects and campaigns. The story of SPEC starts in the Coquitlam home of Derek and Gwen Mallard in 1969. They brought together friends and colleagues who shared their concern about what was then broadly termed pollution. Over the next two years their living room meetings mushroomed into a 4,000 member organization named Society for Pollution and Environmental Control, or SPEC. Membership was free and it was exciting to be a part of this new movement on behalf of nature.
SPEC quickly developed a sturdy reputation as a research driven activist and advocacy organization. Within a decade SPEC had award winning research projects in every major area of environmental work, and members were honoured for their contributions in research, policy advocacy and public education. In the 70’s and 80’s SPEC was the “go to organization” covering many issues and encompassing a broad mandate. But as the growth of the environmental movement brought many new organizations into the playing field, SPEC took on new identities.
Currently, SPEC focuses on positive and effective ways to change our habits, our homes, our schools, our businesses, and our neighbourhoods to promote a climate stable future. Concern about climate change is at an all-time high. Indigenous people say this is a time for all of us to be in the same canoe and paddling in the same direction. Nothing brings people together better than facing a common challenge and discovering we can act together to make a difference.
CLOSING REMARKS
Thank you to everyone that attended, volunteered, or participated in the fair on August 31, 2019. What started as a small vision blossomed into a wonderful and inspiring event. We hope everyone was able to learn, discuss, and share knowledge on how we can make a difference and come together to fight the climate crisis.
Warm regards,
The Climate Action Fair Planning Team.
