Summer Village of Bondiss – Climate Adaptation Plan  

Overview 

The Summer Village of Bondiss received $39,089 for the completion of a Climate Adaptation Plan. Grant proceeds were provided by the MCCAC through the Climate Resilience Capacity Building Program, funded by the Government of Alberta.    

The Summer Village of Bondiss Council contracted All One Sky Foundation to develop a climate change risk assessment and adaptation plan.  All One Sky Foundation, Bondiss Council, and residents worked collaboratively to identify areas of concern and complete the climate risk assessment. 

Approach 

The Summer Village of Bondiss is a small municipality located approximately 170 km northeast of Edmonton on the southeast shore of Skeleton Lake. There are just over 200 properties in the community consisting of a mix of part-time and full-time residents. 

Bondiss has already experienced the impacts of a changing climate, from flooding to wildfire smoke to increased algal blooms in Skeleton Lake. This project was completed to better understand the current state of climate change vulnerability and resilience in the region, as well as to provide insights into projected changes that the community can expect in the years ahead.  

The project included an online community survey to build the capacity of residents to understand local climate impacts, and to give residents the opportunity to comment on the most concerning climate impacts facing Bondiss in the future. 

From these survey results, the project team then conducted a climate change impact assessment to determine the likelihood and consequences of these climate impacts and identify priorities for action. This was completed using climate data for the region and through a series of workshops with the contractor, key stakeholders, and residents. 

Results 

Increased lake temperatures and reduced lake levels, wildfires, changing aquatic ecosystems, power outages, drought, windstorms, and flooding were all found to be priorities for adaptation action. 

The project resulted in a Climate Adaptation Action Plan that can be implemented by Bondiss Council, with seven recommended adaptation actions to address these climate risks. Each of the seven actions falls into the categories of Education & Awareness, Infrastructure, or Policy & Advocacy.  

Especially important are actions that can be implemented right away, including education and communication with residents to empower them to look after the natural environment. The Plan includes steps that Village residents can take to stay informed, be prepared, and to protect their home, properties, and lake from climate impacts.  

Benefits

The project has already seen positive feedback from the community and has been put into practice to inform the development of the Municipal Development Plan.  

Going forward the community will benefit from this work by better understanding their vulnerabilities to climate change, the actions they can take now, and how to best plan for the future.  

Climate change is a concern for our community and the risk assessment section of the process made it crystal clear on how serious it will become.  A climate change resilience plan is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

Leah Iwaniuk, Councillor, Summer Village of Bondiss