ALBERTA PILOT
A woman is evacuated from a Calgary flood zone. June 2013. Photo: Lyle Aspinall/QMI Agency.
Following the experience of the 2013 Alberta High River Floods, there was growing concern about community disaster preparedness. In response, a concerned group of citizens designed, planned and implemented two one-day workshops in May 2016. The first workshop targeted members of the Filipino community who may have English as a second language. The second workshop targeted the general public. In total, there were 33 participants and six organizers.
In 2019, a second pilot We're Ready! workshop was adapted and implemented at the University of Alberta. Edmonton was not impacted by the 2013 flood but there was interest in hosting such a workshop. The workshop aimed to assist participants in designing disaster preparedness plans in the workplace, but participants were also encouraged to use this information for their neighbourhood and household preparation. Participants included a diverse group of staff and students (n=15).
The success of the We’re Ready! workshops was assessed in two ways:
1. Completion of the intended tasks for each of the activities;
2. Pre-workshop and post-workshop surveys.
> Impact
FUNDERS
- Mount Royal University Centre for Community Disaster Research
- Town of High River- In-kind staff and resource support
- Campus Sustainability Grant, University of Alberta
