(00:01):
Well, I'm in over my head. No one told me I'm trying to keep my footprints small, harder than I thought it could be. I'm in over my head. What do I really need? Trying to save the planet over someone? Please save me. Trying to save the planet over someone. Please save me.

(00:25):
Welcome to In Over My Head. I'm Michael Bartz. So this is, a new segment I'm calling Catching Up Over Coffee, where I'm reaching out to past guests and checking in with them, seeing how they're doing and if they have new information or something to talk about. So I'm actually here with Kathleen Sheppard from the inaugural episode. So welcome back to In Over My Head Kathleen.

(00:43):
Well, thank you for having me back a second time.

(00:45):
This was season one we chatted. You were my very first guest and we, we've known each other for a few years now, so it was, it was comfortable, but I was still pretty nervous cause it was it was new and, and something different and we actually didn't do that in person. We're in person now at your office, which is nice. But we, it was mid-pandemic and it was over the phone and so that was a thing, but not a big deal. But it's great to be in person with you.

(01:07):
It's fantastic to be in person. And look how far you've come with your podcast.

(01:11):
So many episodes.

(01:12):
I, I remember at the time you were sort of trying it out and just gonna see how it went and now you've had multiple seasons under your belt, which is very exciting.

(01:21):
Oh, for sure. Yeah. Even, yeah, yeah. With the Telus STORYHIVE, even the application, I remember you helped me out with that and yeah. And it just grew from there. So it's been a fun, fun journey. Absolutely. Yeah. So so we talked in our first conversation about my tiny house and downsizing and it was that effective. And then also we talked about Environment Lethbridge, which is a not-for-profit organization, which you are the director of..

(01:44):
Executive Director.

(01:44):
Yes. Executive director. Yeah. Very fancy . Yeah. And so I guess how has Environment Lethbridge been doing?

(01:50):
Yeah I mean, you'll have to forgive me because I can't remember exactly when we last spoke.

(01:55):
May of 2021.

(01:59):
Okay.. It's been a while. It's been a while. And, and we're all still sort of coming out of pandemic times. So what was happening then? I'm, I'm not a hundred percent sure, but, you know, we've been slowly getting back to some of our in-person activities, particularly since September. And seeing people face to face like we are now, which is very exciting and just kind of it feels like we're able to do some things again. And that's been really great. And we have some new projects coming up for 2023 that I'm really excited about. We're gonna do some climate cafes, but with beer, which will be very fun. And we also are doing some work around green infrastructure and water and things like that.

(02:41):
Nice. And so when are those climate cafes happening?

(02:44):
Well, they're happening next week, so January the 24th and every two weeks there'll be four sessions in total. And we really just wanted to provide kind of a casual opportunity for people to come and talk about climate change. Cuz there really, really aren't, aren't opportunities to do that, I think. And I think a lot of people are sort of wishing they had someone to talk to . And so you know, we're gonna, we're gonna talk about what things are, are at the top of people's minds. We have some themes and then hopefully people can take away a few things that they can, they can do as well.

(03:18):
Absolutely. Yeah. I'm looking forward to attending those and having a beer. It'll be nice. And, and I guess of course that's a very local thing and this show has gone around the world. International, international. There's actually listeners in 46 countries at this point. Wonderful. And so I guess talking about yes, climate conversations, do you have any advice for people who, if they want to start talking about this with people?

(03:38):
Yeah, and I, I mean I think it's obvious the people from 46 countries are not gonna be coming to our climate cafe.

(03:43):
Never know. Maybe they'll come.

(03:45):
. Maybe that would be exciting . But I think talking about climate change is one of those things that feels really scary. You know, it feels really, really big. And it's, it's, you know, you, you're sort of, when you bring it up, you're worried how people are gonna react all the time, cuz you, you never sort of know, you feel like you're gonna get attacked by somebody and and something like that. So I think one of the things that's really important though is, is having those conversations because first of all, everybody feels isolated and, and when you feel isolated, you feel anxious about it and it just increases your, your worry. But I think also it's, it's one of the ways that we come together to sort of start to, to build some solutions around climate change is by talking about

(04:29):
It. Okay. Yeah. And I mean maybe there's some like first steps people could take if, I dunno if they're talking to relatives or, or friends. Yeah,

(04:36):
I mean, I think one of the, one of the big things is finding places of common ground and building off of those. And, and so one of the things that's really recommended is asking kind of open-ended questions. And we're Canadian, we're like pros at talking about the weather. Like if there was some international competition about making small talk about the weather, I think we'd, I think we'd win every year. And so, but that, that's a place of common ground, right? And it's a place of common ground around climate change specifically. And so having that and sort of broaching the conversation around, you know, it's January and we've been above zero pretty much every day since Christmas. That's pretty unusual. And then kind of listening to, to the answer and, you know, you wanna, you wanna have a conversation with people. You don't wanna just be out there sort of sitting on the edge of your seat waiting to make your big point about climate change because that's not, that's not how conversations work. Just some simple things like that can kind of dial down your anxiety a little bit on those conversations.

(05:34):
Yeah. Cause I think about, you know, if you're talking to that uncle at some family gathering that potentially even the weather could be kind of controversial. And so you're right, I think that I like the idea of just listening and hearing their answer and, and starting that dialogue.

(05:46):
Yeah. And I, I think we also, oftentimes we go into these conversations thinking you have to convince everybody and you have to convince the person who is most opposed to you. But there's so many people in the middle, you know, there's a lot of people who simply don't have any information or who are kind of like you and don't know how to start the conversation and that kind of thing. And so maybe you don't need to start the conversation with your uncle who has made his mind up , you know, maybe your, your cousin sitting two seats over who is just sort of you know, feeling, feeling out of their depth is the place to start.

(06:20):
Oh, perfect. Great. That's, that's really, really helpful. Is there anything else you wanted to chat about while we're having our coffee

(06:25):
while we're having our coffee? I mean, I think the other project I mentioned, maybe we can chat about that a little bit, which is we're doing some, some work and this is come out of a national partnership that we have with some organizations across the country to look at ways we can bring green infrastructure into Lethbridge. And so green infrastructure is one of those awful terms cuz it, I mean, what does that mean, ? But really what that means is how do we get rid of concrete and replace it with trees and permeable pavement and, and other things that are both friendlier for us as people, but also friendlier for water and for the, for the environment. So we're excited to see if we can do some projects. We've got a bit of a partnership with the university that we're working on, so bringing some of that into Lethbridge in 2023.

(07:14):
What does that look like? Is that kind of pitching things to the city, different ideas or what, what does that

(07:19):
Look like? We're going to hopefully do some micro projects. So we don't, we don't quite have the budget to do kind of large-scale stuff. But I think we've got a little bit of funding through federal Environment Canada to do some demonstration-type projects. So whether those are some, some rain gardens or some other tree planting type things in the, in the urban core, as we work with some of the youth who will be involved in the project, they're gonna be the ones who will design and select the projects. So we're a little bit vague on the specific details at this point.

(07:50):
I'm sure it'll something will be coming and mm-hmm. look forward to chatting about it when that happens. Absolutely. Yeah. One thing that, I think is worth mentioning is In Over My Head and Environment Lethbridge will be collaborating in 2023, which is very exciting. That's, yeah. So I think it's gonna mean some new segments and then also possibly looking at different funding streams. Maybe it means that seasons maybe come out a little bit later. So just expect that, just so you know, listeners . But it's that exciting partnership. I'm looking forward to it. Yeah,

(08:18):
I'm, I'm very excited. You know, I, I think we've been sort of a strong local voice on sustainability, but I really like how you've kind of gone globally to find voices who can kind of reflect those different experiences and different issues and, and that kind of thing. And from Environment Lethbridge's perspective, it's all about how can we find as many ways as possible to get the conversation out there. And so I think in over my head is a great way to do

(08:42):
That. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, here's to many more conversations.

(08:45):
Many more conversations.

(08:46):
All right. Well thanks for catching up with me, Kathleen.

(08:48):
Well, thanks for having me back.

(08:51):
In Over my head was produced and hosted by Michael Bartz in partnership with Environment Lethbridge, original theme song by Gabriel Thaine. If you would like to get in touch, email info@inovermyheadpodcast.com.

(09:01):
I'm trying to save the planet, oh will someone please save me?