A Hot Topic: Addressing Heat Vulnerability in the Capital Regional District (CRD) Podcast By Erica Dolman Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe and Kirsten Mah cover art

A Hot Topic: Addressing Heat Vulnerability in the Capital Regional District (CRD)

A Hot Topic: Addressing Heat Vulnerability in the Capital Regional District (CRD)

By: Erica Dolman Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe and Kirsten Mah
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About this listen

 This podcast explores how the 2021 heat dome affected members of priority populations in the Capital Regional District (CRD). Through storytelling, members of priority populations’ share their lived experiences of the 2021 heat dome to amplify their stories, and to communicate them to policy- and decision-makers to engage in a process of policy listening. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From June 25 to July 1, 2021, British Columbia (BC) experienced Canada’s most deadly heat event with 619 deaths (BC Coroners’ Service, 2022). Most communication efforts by community service providers and governments addressed those that passed away, or those with single-unit family homes who were able to install heat pumps and modify their dwellings to deal with the extreme heat. Our research team found that there was a whole population of people between these two populations, those that are members of priority populations, who disproportionately suffered during the heat dome. In the context of this podcast, priority populations, includes but is not limited to, socially isolated seniors, those with perinatal lived experience, such as pregnant or nursing people, Indigenous people, those living rurally, and those that take medication that may make them sensitive to extreme heat. This podcast explores how the storytelling of priority populations’ lived experiences of extreme heat events may serve as a climate change communication tool to communicate with local policy- and decision-makers in the Capital Regional District (CRD) of British Columbia, Canada to result in more equitable policy outcomes tailored to the needs of these populations. Each episode tells the story of one member of a priority populations who has been disproportionately affected by extreme heat events, such as the heat dome, including the barriers they experience, and possible solutions to address the gaps in local policymaking that may be exacerbating existing inequities for this middle population.© 2025 Erica Dolman, Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe, and Kirsten Mah Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Episode 2: John

    Episode 2: John
    Jun 26 2025

    This episode tells the story of John Lamont, peer support worker with Mental Health Recovery Partners South Island (MHRP SI) and his experience with the 2021 heat dome, and other extreme heat events that have happened since. John shares his tools and ideas for coping with extreme heat, and the vulnerabilities inherent to those living in mental health subsidized housing.

    References mentioned in this episode


    Orsini, M. (2020). Stop asking us to be resilient. Policy Options. Retrieved June 24, 2025, from https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/october-2020/stop-asking-us-to-beresilient/.

    Policy Options website link: https://policyoptions.irpp.org/


    Soundscape credits

    Background music: Insirish by Kjartan Abel. Visit https://kjartan-abel.com/library to find free music for your next project. This work is licensed under the following: CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Introduction fire sound: Fire_Forest_Inferno.aif by Dynamicell -- https://freesound.org/s/17548/ -- License: Attribution 3.0


    Bio

    John Lamont is a peer support worker with Mental Health Recovery Partners - South Island (MHRP SI). He is currently living in a subsidized apartment building that gets very hot in the summer. He likes spending time in the summer outdoors playing tennis and cycles everywhere for transportation.

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    52 mins
  • Episode 1: Eva

    Episode 1: Eva
    Jun 18 2025

    This episode tells the story of Eva Shaffer, member and Marine Liaison of T’Souke Nation, and her and her community’s experience with the 2021 heat dome, and extreme heat events that have happened since. Eva speaks from the perspective of a scientist and member of T’Souke Nation, and how these two identities are aligned with regard to land stewardship.

    This episode is hosted by Erica Dolman with the mentorship and guidance of Nicola Watts and produced by Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe and Kirsten Mah. Funding for this project was provided by the Michael Smith Health Research BC Reach Award.

    Bio
    Eva Shaffer is a member of T'Sou-ke First Nation. With a background in Natural Resource Conservation and Environmental Economics, she has worked on the T'Sou-ke Nation Marine Team since it's inception in 2020 - originally as a Marine Liaison Officer and now as the Director of Strategic Communications. She is concurrently pursuing a Graduate Degree at the University of Victoria Department of Geography researching ecosystem resilience in T'Sou-ke Nation Territory. Her passion for environmental protection has lead to the development of numerous monitoring, rehabilitation, and remediation programs within the Nation.


    Soundscape credits

    Background music: Insirish by Kjartan Abel. Visit https://kjartan-abel.com/library to find free music for your next project. This work is licensed under the following: CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Introduction fire sound: Fire_Forest_Inferno.aif by Dynamicell -- https://freesound.org/s/17548/ -- License: Attribution 3.0

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    40 mins
  • Introduction: Sarah & Kirsten

    Introduction: Sarah & Kirsten
    Jun 18 2025
    This episode provides the context and background of the A Hot Topic: Addressing Heat Vulnerability in the Capital Regional District (CRD) research project, and how this podcast series came to be. Kirsten Mah, community organizer, and Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe, assistant professor at the University of Victoria, tell the stories of their personal experiences of the 2021 heat dome, and why they as community organizers were moved to create this research project, and this podcast series. The intention of creating and making a publicly available podcast is to communicate through policy listening with local policy- and decision-makers to create more equitable policy outcomes. This episode is hosted by Erica Dolman with the mentorship and guidance of Nicola Watts and produced by Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe and Kirsten Mah. Funding for this project was provided by the Michael Smith Health Research BC Reach Award. References mentioned in podcast: BC Coroners’ Service, 2022. Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/birth-adoption-death-marriage-and-divorce/deaths/coroners-service/death-review-panel/extreme_heat_death_review_panel_report.pdf. Government of British Columbia, n.d. Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/preparedbc/know-your-hazards/severe-weather/extreme-heat. S. Wiebe & K. Mah, (2023) A Hot Topic: Feeling the Impacts of Extreme Heat. Retrieved from https://www.communityresearchcanada.ca/post/report-and-story-map-a-hot-topic-feeling-the-impacts-of-extreme-heat-2023. Bios Kirsten Mah - Kirsten is a community builder and storyteller committed to empowering community members to build resilient support networks in the face of climate change. Her background in program evaluation has taught her the power of storytelling to impact policy and programming. She is excited to utilize new forms of media such as podcasting to share knowledge and spark change. Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe - Sarah Marie Wiebe is a writer, researcher and mixed media storyteller based in the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria. She is the Co-Founder of the Feminist Environmental Research Network and author of Hot Mess: Mothering through a Code Red Climate Emergency. Her research and teaching practices emphasize public engagement, political ecology and participatory policymaking, and she is passionate about cultivating avenues for democratic deliberation through policy listening. For more about her background see: www.sarahmariewiebe.com. Erica Dolman - Erica Dolman is a community-based researcher and resident of Victoria, BC on the unceded and traditional territory of the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Xʷsepsəm/Esquimalt) and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples. She recently graduated with a Master's of Public Administration from the University of Victoria, and completed her thesis project called Podcast as Policy Communicator: How lived experiences of extreme heat events inform local policy conversations which explored how storytelling of the lived experiences of priority populations in the CRD may serve as a climate change communication tool. As of the release of this podcast, she is now a podcast producer, and believes in the importance of building connection within the community to better prepare for extreme weather events caused by climate change.Soundscape credits Background music: Insirish by Kjartan Abel. Visit https://kjartan-abel.com/library to find free music for your next project. This work is licensed under the following: CC BY-SA 4.0. Introduction fire sound: Fire_Forest_Inferno.aif by Dynamicell -- https://freesound.org/s/17548/ -- License: Attribution 3.0
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    37 mins
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