Thunder BayAudio Series

This Makes It Personal: How climate change is affecting life in northwestern Ontario

This spring, the CBC's Amy Hadley set out to explore climate change's effect on northwestern Ontario: From how a remote First Nation is adapting to changing water and patterns, to wolverines and their changing habitats, and a support group helping people through climate anxiety. Check out the entire audio series here.

CBC series shows profound effect climate change is having on wildlife, people and landscape

Amy Hadley CBC News Posted: Jul 13, 2022 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 13, 2022

Wendy O'Connor, left, Philip (Benny) Solomon, centre, and Malinali Castaeda-Romero, right, are just three of the people in northwestern Ontario who shared their climate change stories in This Makes It Personal. (Amy Hadley/CBC)

Our planet is changing. So is our journalism. This story is part of a CBC News initiative entitled "Our Changing Planet" to show and explain the effects of climate change. Keep up with the latest news on ourClimate and Environment page.

This spring, the CBC's Amy Hadleyset out to explore climate change's effect on northwestern Ontario for the radio seriesThis Makes It Personal.

The series introducesaudiences to people who are facing down the impacts of climate change in their daily lives and what they're doing about it:From how a remote First Nation is adapting to changing water and patterns, to wolverines and their changing habitats, anda support group helping people through climate anxiety.

Scroll through to listen to the entire series below:

A tale of 2lakesand 2anglers

Solomon shows off his catch to his grandchildren on Lake Superior. Solomon is a Anishinaabe angler from Fort William First Nation and has been seeing the changes that have made Lake Superior unpredictable. (Amy Hadley/CBC)

The series begins in early April, at Fort William First Nation, on a frozen Lake Superior, where Philip Solomon explained how climate changeis making fishing unpredictable for Indigenous anglers like himself across northwestern Ontario.

How climate change is shrinking an iconic northern animal's home

A wolverine walks in the snow. — Climate change, deforestation and a shifting gene pool all mean the wolverine is facing challenges. But the animal is resilient. (Steve Kroschel/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Reuters)

It's been made clear throughout years of reporting that climate change is affecting animals like polar bears and caribou, but it's also making life more challenging for other northern creatures. In this next segment, we head into the woods to see things through the eyes of the wolverine.

How 1small act can lead to big results

O'Connor dries seeds at her home in Thunder Bay. She's part of a growing movement of people saving their seeds from the fall harvest to reuse in the spring. (Amy Hadley/CBC)

Talking about climate change often focuses on the big picture, but as this next segment shows, people in Thunder Bay are finding something as simple as saving their seedscan be an act of adaptation and resilience in the face of uncertainty.

Coping with climate anxiety

Malinali Castaneda-Romero is from Mexico and lives in Thunder Bay, Ont., she's shown at a recent climate rally. Her shirt reads 'defenders of the Earth' in English and Spanish. — Castaeda-Romero is from Mexico and lives in Thunder Bay. She's part of a network of people in the northwestern Ontario city who get together to discuss their feelings about climate change and how they can make positive change. (Amy Hadley/CBC)

Climate change can be overwhelming, but a group of people isworking to manage that and bring forward positive change. Here's a look at how talking things through, and making their voices heard, is making a difference.

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