Huron County's Climate Change and Energy Specialist brought county councillors up to date on their Corporate Climate Change Adaptation Plan at last week's council meeting.
Derry Wallis told council climate projections were done for Huron County in 2019.
“They have predicted that our temperatures are going to be increasing on average by three degrees Celsius by 2025, along with having an entire month essentially of days that are above 30 °C, as well as 66 mm more of rain each year,” Wallis said.
Wallis also told council they do have a Conservation and Demand Management plan that will help them manage their energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions and that plan is scheduled to be reviewed this year.
She says that plan called for a reduction of energy use of 0.5 per cent each year between 2019 and 2023 and her early calculations indicate they have already exceeded that amount. Wallis says priorities for this year include a risk assessment of county structures, like bridges and culverts and looking at how climate change might effect those structures. She says they're also looking at creating a Rural Roadside Strategy pilot project.
“This rural road side pilot would be using the right of way on the edges of county roads to create pollinator habitat and then simultaneously removing invasive species in those areas to, hopefully, promote pollinators in the area,” she explained.
Wallis adds, there would also be some greenhouse gas reduction with the reduction in mowing and that would allow the wild flowers, pollinator habitat and meadow habitat to thrive in that area.