Lori Mckeown loves watching her grandkids play outside. In Campbell River, the woods are never far away. But she and the kids’ mom, Nicole, started to wonder if the woods would be the same after climate change.
“I was just really worried,” Lori told the Campbell River Mirror. “As a grandparent on the edge of the baby boomers, what was left for my grandchildren? They love nature, they love the outdoors, but what is the world going to look like for them?”
Lori and Nicole looked around for ways they could help. They found the For Our Kids group, which helps parents and grandparents fight climate change. There was no local group, so they decided to start their own.
Being a parent means you don’t have a lot of time. Lori and Nicole like the group because it has ideas for small acts that can still make a big difference. “They have a lot of actions that you can do that don’t take a lot of time,” Nicole said, “but are meaningful.”
Lori always thought climate change was something that just happens. “We had the Ice Age and this is just natural. Then as I learned more I realized that we as people are making an impact and we also have the solutions to do something different.”
Lori and Nicole have talked to folks in Campbell River who are nervous about climate change but don’t know what to do about it.
“The unknown is scary. There are some hot issues like around the old growth forest. We’re a big logging town in Campbell River and a lot of families depend on logging. My husband worked in forestry as well,” Lori said.
But she says that letting those old forests grow can help keep the climate safe for our kids when they grow up. “It’s finding a way that works for both parties, and I really do think that there’s solutions.”
