Creating Rural Routes to Climate Solutions
Derek Leahy
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Derek Leahy, Director of Rural Routes to Climate Solutions, covers the various strategies Rural Routes uses in having what many may view as a challenging conversation in a perhaps unlikely place: climate solutions in rural Alberta.
Derek and the Rural Routes team have years of experience implementing a climate solutions co-benefits engagement strategy and carefully crafting it to make sense for the rural Alberta context. Whether it is exploring which climate solutions align with Blackfoot culture or discussing the soil health benefits of increasing soil carbon sequestration on agricultural land, Rural Routes' approach to community engagement on climate solutions is very much about finding ways to leverage climate solutions to support thriving and resilient rural communities.
Derek is best described as part community organizer, part somewhat-skilled farmhand and part storyteller. He has over a decade of experience as an organizer and communicator on climate and food security issues and has led Rural Routes to Climate Solutions since its inception in 2017. Equipped with the message of ‘what is good for the climate is good for the farm’, Rural Routes is a on mission to empower farmers, ranchers and rural communities in Alberta with climate solutions. Rural Routes is currently involved in two flagship projects, the Regenerative Agriculture Lab and the Siksikaitisitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) Agriculture Project. Derek also hosts and produces the Rural Routes to Climate Solutions podcast. He lives in Calgary.
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