BRACE in Alberta

Building Regional Adaptation Capacity and Expertise (BRACE) is an initiative of Natural Resources Canada. BRACE is a program that is increasing the ability of communities, organizations, small and medium-sized enterprises and practitioners to access, use, and apply knowledge and tools on climate change adaptation in their work. Below, recent materials developed in Alberta are featured. For materials specific to Saskatchewan and Manitoba, visit their training pages.

Alberta's ART Program

Climate change is being felt across Canada and in Alberta. Warmer temperatures in the summer, more frequent precipitation, and changing extremes are having varying environmental, economic, and social effects. How is climate change impacting Alberta communities and how will the changing climate impact your work?

To address these questions, the Adaptation Resilience Training (ART) program has developed an Alberta-focused set of introductory sessions. The intent of this program is to help professionals working in Alberta to develop a basic awareness of climate change adaptation and build capacity to integrate adaptation into their professional practice

Foundations Modules

ART offers five pre-requisite foundations modules that build climate change literacy in order to inform, guide, and support discussions and decision making. These modules are followed by four additional modules that are relevant to specific practice areas. The five foundational modules cover the following core topics:

  • Climate science
  • Risk Identification and Management
  • Economics
  • Communication

These modules use Alberta-based examples to illustrate different concepts and demonstrate their application to the region.

Practice Area Modules

Alberta’s ART program also offers more advanced modules that build on the knowledge gained in the foundations modules. Organized by practice areas, these four modules explore how core topics, like climate science and risk identification, apply to:

  • Watershed Management
  • Infrastructure
  • Agriculture
  • Community Planning

ART's Co-Funders

The ART program is co-funded by Alberta Environment and Parks, and Natural Resources Canada. In collaboration with the Government of Alberta, Associated Engineering has worked with professionals from over 30 municipalities, post-secondary organizations, professional associations, not-for-profits, businesses and industry groups that have volunteered their time to help develop the training.

 

Supported by Natural Resources Canada’s Building Regional Adaptation Capacity and Expertise (BRACE) Program