Many Greater Sudbury residents care deeply about the environment. They are keen to learn as much as possible, and they’re also eager to pitch in and actively participate in the environmental causes they learn about—the question is how they can participate. What opportunities exist?
Luckily, there are many ways to participate in climate action outside of your home and workplace. Many local organizations are actively seeking volunteers and community support.
A great way to plug into local groups and information is to attend Neighbourhoods for Nature, Caring Communities: Taking action together to prepare our families, homes and neighbourhoods for climate change, Saturday, November 15, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Greater Sudbury Public Library’s Main Public Library, hosted by Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury. There you can connect to resources and community groups, take part in activities for all ages, join in community clothing and toy swaps, enjoy free snacks, see presentations and more.
Volunteer
There are several local environmental groups to learn from and volunteer with. Volunteering is an essential part of many climate action initiatives.
- Climate Action Greater Sudbury - Support the City of Greater Sudbury’s plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by playing an active role and contributing to the conversation. Climate Action Greater Sudbury offers a space to share initiatives, learn about climate action and meet like-minded individuals.
- Sudbury Community Garden Network - This volunteer, grassroots, non-profit supports the development and operation of community gardens throughout Greater Sudbury. They envision a food garden for every neighbourhood, especially in underserved areas, and offer outreach, education, and skill-building programs and workshops. There are many ways you can help, including networking, advocacy and activism.
- Sudbury Market - Support the Sudbury Farmer’s Market, known for its locally grown food and handmade items available all year round from over 80 vendors. Volunteers can look forward to meeting new people, learning new skills, being part of the local food movement and getting to know who produces your food.
Within the City’s Climate Action page, there is a list of resources including over 15 local groups dedicated to climate-related action and welcoming new volunteers.
Get inspired by climate adaptations for healthy living
Updated in 2025, Public Health Sudbury & District’s resource Assessing Health Impacts and Planning Adaptations Together explores local climate impacts and adaptations that help keep people safe and healthy. Designed for community groups, local leaders and everyday residents, you will be informed of hazards that are growing with climate change (like hot weather, intense rain, flooding, wildfire smoke and more), and opportunities for individual and community-level action.
Create or support a project in your community
Every other year the Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury’s Project Impact brings people together to create positive change and make a difference. Anyone with an idea they believe will improve their community can pitch their plan. Then, people make donations, the community votes, and the project ideas that receive the most votes get funded. Participants in the process include community members, neighbours, grassroots groups and student groups.
Even the smallest ideas can have a big impact! So far, 67 community projects have been funded and they are all located throughout Greater Sudbury.
A few recent examples of past projects, all completed in 2024, include:
- Junk mail reduction
- Free little art gallery
- Community bird house project
- Renewing community garden beds
Neighbourhood-level projects can make a real difference in cutting fossil fuel emissions and making your community more climate resilient. Examples include rain gardens and rain barrels in your neighbourhood, projects that strengthen social connections among neighbours, neighbourhood swaps and shares and walk or bike ‘buses’ to the neighbourhood school.
You can apply for up to $500 in funding. Applications for Project Impact 2026 are currently open.
Participate in events
In addition to the these opportunities for all ages in Greater Sudbury, Science North offers a novel way to take action on climate change.
They believe science is for everyone, and take a fun and friendly approach to science education. In 2002, Science North launched The Climate Change Show object theatre with Canadian TV personality Rick Mercer voicing Sheepy, the informed, rubber-booted sheep. 20 years later, they launched The Climate Action Show. This immersive exhibit aimed to encourage youth to participate in climate action through an engaging choose-your-own-adventure experience.
Our Climate Quest: Small Steps to Big Change is an exhibition, that has been traveling to rural, remote and Indigenous communities across Canada engaging youth in climate action since 2022. Keep an eye out for this as it will be in Sudbury this Fall.
“The exhibition is part of a multifaceted project funded by the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund under its Climate Action and Awareness Fund,” says Ashley Larose, CEO at Science North. “The project goes beyond our travelling exhibition—it also includes the third iteration of our multimedia object theatre at Science North, The Climate Action Show, featuring Sheepy, and a collection of online climate action resources. Together, these initiatives have aimed to reach 2 million Canadian youth by the end of this year.”
By reaching so many youth and connecting them to climate science, a new generation of Canadians will be aware of and eager to continue contributing to climate action initiatives like the ones listed above.
Learn more about the City of Greater Sudbury and its commitment to reducing greenhouse gases and helping the community achieve its net-zero goal by 2050.
If you have a project you’d like the City to highlight, contact Jennifer Babin-Fenske at [email protected].
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES