Provincial Engineering & Geoscience Week

2 SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 2022 PROVINCIAL ENGINEERING & GEOSCIENCE MONTH MARCH 2022 SPECIAL SECTION BRACE-ing for the future Impacts from climate change are happening now. We see those impacts becoming more frequent and severe with each passing year. T he Building Regional Adaptation Capacity and Expertise (BRACE) program, led by Natural Resources Canada in partnership with the provinces, is a five-year (2017-2022), $18 million initiative under the Adaptation and Climate Resilience pillar of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. The BRACE program aims to build capacity across targeted sectors and regions to understand, assess and reduce the risks posed by a changing climate. The Manitoba Government's BRACE lead is Manitoba Environment, Climate, and Parks. From Oct. 1, 2020, to March 31, 2022, Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba worked with the government's Climate and Green Plan Implementation Office (CGPIO) to design, develop, and evaluate a comprehensive training package of courses, resources, and tools for engineers and infrastructure decision-makers. The goal was to enhance climate knowledge and enable the integration of climate risks and opportunities in infrastructure design and practice. The other three sectors that were funded for CGPIO's Manitoba Climate Resiliency Training (MCRT) Project were Planning, Northern Business, and Indigenous, which were led by the Prairie Climate Centre, Dillon Consulting, and the Prairie Climate Centre, respectively. Following research into current training available in the marketplace and training gaps, Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba's BRACE/MCRT Project team conducted an extensive engagement and survey process to hear from practitioners and infrastructure decision-makers directly about their knowledge of climate change and their experiences with climate change impacting their practices. They told the team about their training priorities, which led to a nine- course Foundational and Infrastructure Path set of courses specifically recommended for infrastructure professionals within the suite of courses from all the sectors. From November 2021 to February 2022, 18 courses were offered free of charge. Due to pandemic restrictions, these events were held live online with recordings available afterwards. Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba developed and delivered three of the nine courses in the Foundational and Infrastructure Path. Course participants received comprehensive training handouts of course materials and further reference resources. The hub on the MCRT website also provided an opportunity for the establishment of a community of practice and for further sharing of relevant articles and dialogue. The three courses developed and delivered by Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba were: • Infrastructure Climate Risk Assessment Featuring the PIEVC Process, on Jan. 26, 2022 • An Introduction to Climate Change Through Codes, Standards, and Regulations, on Feb. 9, 2022 • Nature-based Infrastructure Solutions to Enhance Resilience, on Feb. 23, 2022 • In addition to the nine courses, a catch- up/question-and-answer Climate Change Primer Session was held on Jan. 19, 2022. The engagement and training were successful in raising awareness of climate change and its impact upon professional engineering and geoscience practice, as approximately 500 people registered and/or attended the live session and courses, with more watching the recordings. Post-course surveys indicated that there is an appetite for more learning and for putting the climate change resiliency tools into use. Feedback from some participants attending the association's courses included: • "I learned how many different factors need to be considered when dealing with climate change during the scope definition stage." • "I was surprised how involved Climatologists are in Infrastructure development." • "The Infrastructure Climate Risk Assessment featuring PIEVC course was useful in teaching designers like myself about the effects of climate change in engineering design and how we can conduct a basic risk assessment during infrastructure design." • "I learned the scope of how much climate risk assessment is already being mandated in other jurisdictions across Canada." Anyone interested in learning more about climate change and its impact upon the work of engineers and geoscientists is welcome to watch the free recordings at mcrtproject.ca and the EngGeoMB YouTube channel. Initiative aims to build climate resiliency Watch ours at MyStory.EngGeoMB.ca EVERY ENGINEER AND GEOSCIENTIST HAS A STORY. NFI Group is a leading independent global bus and coach manufacturer. We design and manufacture vehicles that safely move millions of people every day all over the world. Explore what your future could look like at NFI Group as we lead the zero-emission transition of mass mobility. n�igroup.com ® The Building Regional Adaption Capacity and Expertise program aims to help understand and assess the risk of climate change on infrastructure.

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