Tag Archive for: Community Organizing

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Home, Family, Belonging: A Conversation with African Youth in New Westminster

Building Bridges with Rwanda, in collaboration with the Pacific Canada Heritage Centre Society / Museum of Migration and the New Westminster Public Library, is hosting a Black History Month event. We will screen a film produced by Baraza Collective, Douglas College and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health at the University of Toronto, and featuring the voices of African youth living in New Westminster about homelessness, climate change, poverty, racism, and hopes for the future.

There will be live music and a moderated conversation with the audience.

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Climate Café

Confused about climate change and solutions? Feeling left out of climate conversations? Want to talk about what climate change means for New Westminster? Or how to plan your life or raise your kids in an uncertain future? This is the session for you! Led by Programming Librarian, Caitlin MacRae and Karen Crosby, organizer and leader of the New Westminster Climate Action Hub, this climate café is a space to ask questions, talk about your concerns, possible actions you may take, get connected to community groups or information, and help you feel less alone with this issue. In a relaxed atmosphere we will talk about how we get through our days, what brings glimmers of hope or joy, and how we can come together to help our whole community.

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Talking Climate: How to Have Conversations that Connect

Did you know that a broad majority of Canadians are alarmed or concerned about climate change and that having conversations with our neighbours about climate solutions is one of the best ways to alleviate some of this anxiety? But how do you start those conversations? What if you feel you don’t know enough, or don’t know your neighbours well enough to begin? Join Karen Crosby and Kristen Andrews from the New Westminster Climate Action Hub to learn about how to start. She’ll share best practices for starting solutions-focused conversations and talk about her own journey as a climate communicator.

Here’s to trying new things in the new year and creating community along the way!

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Mayor’s Youth Climate Leadership Team

Join together with Mayor Patrick Johnstone and members of the Youth Climate Leadership Team to learn about this innovative process, the project the team activated, and how the city is supporting their efforts. There will be a chance to ask questions and find out next steps.

 

Light refreshments will be served.

 

This event is part of BC Library Association’s Climate Action Week, a province-wide initiative to highlight the ways communities and libraries are taking action in the climate crisis. Check out all the climate action events at the New Westminster Public Library from November 1-7! nwpl.ca/climate

A Society of Prisons: An Opportunity for Dialogue

Join us for a dialogue about the complex realities of incarceration and its far-reaching impact on society. How can we better understand our society that punishes members through incarceration? What is your relationship to the system of incarceration? What does it achieve? What does it degrade? Do you feel a sense of oppression but cannot pinpoint it? How are we each trapped in our own lives in various ways?

This dialogue requires no preparation to participate. It is a respectful space for sharing our thoughts as a community, creating connection, hearing about our shared human experience, and thinking critically about difficult issues that affect us all. Our skilled and experienced facilitator will guide the dialogue and create a space where we can share and learn from each other.

This event is limited to 12 in-person attendees. If you would like to attend virtually, please email askus@nwpl.ca

About the Facilitator/Author

Valerie M. Malla is a writer, facilitator of philosophical dialogue, and advocate for transformative dialogue through thoughtful enquiry. Her community work focuses on bridging philosophy, critical thought, and lived experiences, in order to reimagine community systems regarding true care, justice, and coherence.

Valerie’s book, Invisible: A Society of Prisons: An Opportunity for Dialogue was published in January 2025 by Poppy Publishing, and will be available for purchase at the event.

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Climate Friendly Homes Tour

Visit Climate Friendly Homes in New Westminster to see firsthand what people are doing to make their homes more comfortable and climate friendly.

What is a Climate Friendly Home? A Climate Friendly Home is an energy-efficient home that has been built or retrofit to reduce the energy demand and carbon emissions of the building. Whether it reaches higher steps of the BC Energy and Zero Carbon Step Codes, uses the most efficient heating, cooling and hot water systems or has an improved building envelope with added insulation and highly efficient windows, a Climate Friendly Home can have lots of features that make the home more sustainable, comfortable to live in, cheaper to operate, and more!

Check out homes in New Westminster and see which homes you would like to visit on the tour.

You may also like to check out the Sustainable Home Info Sessions which is a special event during the Climate Friendly Homes Tour.

Please note, there is no event AT the New Westminster Public Library around the Climate Friendly Homes Tour or the Sustainable Home Information Sessions. Follow the links to register, find the addresses, and tour the homes out in the community. This event is being promoted as part of the NWPL’s Earth Week programming.

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Sustainable Homes Information Sessions

The Sustainable Home Info Sessions is a project of the New Westminster Climate Action Hub (NWCAH) and is an affiliated special event in the Climate Friendly Homes Tour. At homes in Glenbrook North, Queens Park, Victory Massey Heights and Brow of the Hill, sessions will be provided by local experts on topics ranging from increasing biodiversity, stormwater management, building electrification, how to stay safe in significant heat events, and how the City of New Westminster can support retrofits. There will be something for everyone as information for all housing types including apartments and condos, and solutions suitable for owners and tenants will be provided.

Registration (free) is required for Sustainable Home Info Sessions. Click here (and scroll down). Tickets are limited so register now.

For those who want to bike between these sites, secure bike storage will be provided. Additionally, HUB Cycling New West is leading a bike tour of the homes, and you can register for their (free) event here.

 

Sustainable Home Info Sessions are being held in collaboration with the City of New Westminster  and under the umbrella of the BC Climate Friendly Homes Tour. It is being supported by the Cariboo Heights Forest Preservation Society, HUB Cycling, Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, and ReGenerateBC.

 

Please note, there is no event AT the New Westminster Public Library around the Sustainable Home Information Sessions or the Climate Friendly Homes Tour. Follow the links to register, find the addresses, and tour the homes out in the community. This event is being promoted as part of the NWPL’s Earth Week programming.

CaRT Peer Navigators

CART – COMMUNITY AND RESOURCE TEAM

PAIR WITH A PEER FOR SUPPORT WHILE YOU IDENTIFY AND ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS!

Free support from someone with lived experience to find:

  • Housing: assistance with BC Housing apps, shelters
  • Healthcare: A family doctor, dental clinics, and health centers
  • Legal: Free or low-cost legal and advocacy services
  • Income: taxes, PWD apps, income assistance and employment
  • Mental Health: counselling, addictions, and personal recovery goals
  • Population-specific: Immigrants/refugees, BIPOC, disability and LGBTQ2S+ services

No registration necessary.

Drop-in Wednesdays at the library from 11-2.

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Transforming Climate Emotions into Climate Action

Does thinking about climate change cause you anxiety, sadness or fear? Climate emotions can deeply affect our physical and mental wellbeing. Join us in an inclusive and equitable space to learn about tools to connect you to your emotions, and how to turn those feelings into action.
Event presented by Christine Coles with Space & Beyond Climate Action

This event is part of Earth Week at the Library.

Canadian Dental Care Plan Information Session

Find out about the new Canadian Dental Care Plan and get help submitting your application for assistance. Specialists from Service Canada will explain the eligibility and coverage, answer questions, and assist with applications.

 

The information portion of this session will also be offered online via Zoom. Application assistance will not be available to online participants. All registered participants will receive the Zoom link. Please note the session will not be recorded.