Resilient Coast
We help build community resilience on the Sunshine Coast by supporting and strengthening social connections at the neighbourhood level, sharing useful tools and resources, and advocating for resilient community design and cross-sector collaboration.
What is a resilient community?
Resilience is our ability to respond and adapt to change in ways that are pro-active, build local capacity, and ensure essential needs are met. Research shows that when communities have strong connections, they are healthier, happier, and have greater capacity to deal with challenge and change.
Resilient Neighbourhoods Program
One way to create greater community resiliency is to build a sense of belonging and social connectedness at the neighbourhood level. Resilient neighbourhoods are places where people who live close to each other often enjoy more social events together, share resources and skills, support each other during emergencies, and are able to cooperate and share leadership in neighbourhood projects and issues.
Since our pilot project launch in 2017, we have supported 17 neighbourhood projects with resources and $50 – $400 micro-grants to help convene neighbours and bring their project ideas to life. The funds are used to support activities like: pre-planning gatherings to get neighbours involved and brainstorming, hosting a block party or street festival or workshop, undertaking community and emergency preparedness mapping, or purchasing/building neighbourhood amenities like little free libraries, bulletin boards, or shared tool shed.
OUR MICRO-GRANT PROGRAM IS CURRENTLY CLOSED, BUT STAY TUNED FOR NEWS OF OUR NEXT ROUND!
Sign up to our mailing list or check back here for updates.
In the meantime, we’re still here to help. If you want to explore an idea or host organize a Resilient Neighbourhoods presentation for your group, we are keen to support you. Contact resilientcoast@gmail.com for more information.
Here are some practical resources to get your started:
- Use the Resilient Community Checklist as a conversation starter – how resilient is your community?
- Check out the Resilient Streets Toolkit for inspiring examples from BC and around the world.
- Take action to lower your carbon footprint through the Transition Streets program. Our local coordinator is Leonie Croy, and she’s happy to help you get started. Email leoniecroy@gmail.com.
- Visit our project mentor organization, Building Resilient Neighbourhoods for a great wealth of information and ideas.
Resilient Neighbourhoods Micro-Grant program:
$50 Neighbourhood Pre-Planning Grant
Not sure what to do yet? This grant will help you get together with neighbours to brainstorm & organize by covering expenses like invites, refreshments, and supplies. APPLY HERE
Or download a Pre-planning Grant Application.
Up to $250 grant – to help you throw a block party, start a shared garden, work on a community art project, or all kinds of other community- and resiliency-building activities, including our 2 new themed micro-grants. APPLY HERE
Or download a Project Grant Application.
NEW!! SPECIAL THEMED MICRO-GRANTS AVAILABLE:
‘SEEDY NEIGHBOURHOODS’ micro-grant
Get together with your green-thumbed neighbours to learn about harvesting, saving and sharing seeds, and set up your own neighbourhood seed exchange or seed library! Find out about local resources including our Public Libraries’ seed libraries. This grant will support you in gathering neighbours together to talk all things seed security, and includes a visit from knowledgeable seed saver from the Sunshine Coast Seed Saving Collective to help you get started. Only 2 SEEDY NEIGHBOURHOODS micro-grants available in 2018/19 – so apply now!
Presented in partnership with the Sunshine Coast Seed Saving Collective
‘TRANSITION STREETS KICK-STARTER’ micro-grant
Coming out of the Transition Towns movement, the Transition Streets program provides an opportunity for neighbours to come together to look at how to save money, reduce energy and resource use and lower their carbon footprint. Working together, Transition Streets neighbours explore five topics to build local resilience through a guided curriculum: local food, water use, energy use, transportation and waste/consumption. They finish off with a neighbourhood celebration of their efforts.
Do your part to take action on climate change and build neighbourhood connections at the same time! Interested? This kick-starter grant helps you get your neighbours together, provides locally-adapted Transition Streets manuals and support from a Transition Streets facilitator, and can be used for expenses related to taking action on one of the five program topics. Only 2 TRANSITION STREETS KICK-STARTER micro-grants available in 2018/19 – so apply now!
Presented in partnership with the Sunshine Coast in Transition Network
Need more ideas? Download the Resilient Streets Toolkit for a smorgasbord of inspiring examples! Or contact us: resilientcoast@gmail.com.
Roberts Creek becomes a Resilient Streets
Demonstration Community!
We’re pleased to announce that our community is one of four throughout the province to receive support from the PlanH Healthy Communities Capacity Building Fund to adapt the Resilient Neighbourhoods program to our local context! Thanks to the success of our first pilot (see details below), and the hard work of our volunteer citizen’s committee, we have secured a year of funding to expand and enhance the project, enabling us to support more neighbourhoods on the Coast, and build capacity to keep this initiative running into the future!
Our PlanH funded project will be complete by the end of 2018. We are currently seeking partnerships and funds to extend the Resilient Neighbourhoods program throughout all areas of the Coast for 2019. Have ideas or want to help? Contact resilientcoast@gmail.com.
“To transform the world, everyone needs to be at the table.”
In 2017, the Roberts Creek Resilient Neighbourhoods pilot project was launched, to build community resilience and strengthen connections right where people live. Small grants were awarded to 4 neighbourhoods in Roberts Creek to help them host a gathering or community activity that can include enjoying shared meals, arts & cultural activities, ‘Placemaking‘ projects, or community discussions to identify local needs and resources.
That’s right – the project’s goal is to help Roberts Creek residents to get together with & get to know their neighbours! Because there is oodles of evidence that when communities have strong connections, they are healthier, happier, and have greater capacity to deal with change and challenge. That’s the foundation of resiliency.
In a Resilient Neighbourhood, people who live close to each other often enjoy fun social events together, share resources such as tools and skills, help each other during emergencies, and put their heads together to solve neighbourhood issues or collaborate on projects. It all starts with neighbours simply connecting and getting to know each other a little better. And that’s where we can help!
If you’d like to build community and resilience in your neighbourhood, join our mailing list to learn more.
We will send you excellent resources to get your started on the path towards resiliency, and keep you posted on local resiliency events. If you live in Roberts Creek, stay tuned for our next call for small grant proposals in the new year!
Check out these photo collages from our first two neighbourhood gatherings:
Learn more:
Building Resilient Neighbourhoods – a collaborative effort to help create resilient neighbourhoods across British Columbia.
Characteristics of a Resilient Community Checklist – how resilient is your community?
Resilient Streets Toolkit – great ideas for what you can do in your neighbourhood, like Transition Streets!
Have questions? Contact coordinator Naomi Fleschhut: resilientcoast@gmail.com.
This pilot project is made possible thanks to the support of our partners:
Sunshine Coast in Transition 