Info Bulletin

Saanich, BC – The District of Saanich is seeking more neighbourhood groups interested in leading projects to address emergency preparedness, climate action and nature conservancy. Interested neighbourhood groups can access a $500 community grant to help fund the projects.

Launched in 2022 as a pilot program, the Neighbour to Neighbour Resilience Initiative (N2N) is designed to connect neighbours and help groups develop neighbourhood projects that fall into the three pre-designated categories.

Application process

To access the community grant, neighbourhood groups can either:

• apply for the grant with an existing idea in mind, or;
• bring a neighbourhood group together for a workshop series with Saanich staff to help you and your neighbours get to know each other and collaboratively develop and design a project.
  • After completing the workshops, groups are eligible to apply for the grant to complete a community project of their choosing that addresses climate change, emergency preparedness and caring for nature on a neighbourhood scale.

Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria.  

Successful projects

Participants in the Initiative have completed a diverse array of projects to protect the environment, encourage emergency preparedness in their neighbourhood, restore native species and take climate action.

Some examples of completed projects initiated by neighbourhood groups:

Mystic Vale Invasive Species Removal

•  A group of neighbours in the Mystic Vale area came together to restore a natural area near their homes. They removed invasive species, cleared the area and planted native species. In so doing, they became a closer knit neighbourhood! 

Going Greener Homes Tour

• To encourage sustainable living and climate-friendly homes, neighbours in the Quadra Cedar Hill area hosted a sustainable living home tour. Visitors learned about the advantages of solar arrays, heat pumps, energy conservation, heat loss prevention and evaluation, e-bikes and electric cars, and urban food farming. Each home showcased a different climate friendly adaptation and ran demonstrations to encourage their neighbours to get involved. 

Camelot Road Neighbour to Neighbour Resilience Events

• Residents of the Camelot Road area invited District of Saanich staff into their homes to host four different presentations on topics ranging from emergency preparedness to climate change.
• The Emergency Preparedness workshop was led by Saanich Emergency Program staff and volunteers.
• The Climate Change workshop was led by Dr. Michael Eby and covered the current state of climate science, the actions that are being taken at the national, provincial and municipal level, and what households can do to contribute.
• Dr. Barbara Hawkins led a workshop on native and invasive plants.
• Finally, as a wrap-up event, the neighbourhood hosted a scavenger hunt in Haro Woods to help the group learn about plant identification with iNaturalist.

To learn more about all of the successful projects, read the 2024 N2N Summary of Activities on the N2N Completed Projects page.

Learn more

More information about how to get involved is available at saanich.ca/n2n.

If you have any questions, please contact sustainability@saanich.ca.

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Media contact:
Saanich Communications
media@saanich.ca