Posted to Linked-in by Raluca Radu on April 16, 2026
I woke up this morning feeling immense gratitude to be in the space of planetary health as a nursing professional.
Reflecting on last evening’s fundraising dinner hosted at the beautiful Museum of Vancouver by amazing individuals like Arden Henley and Bob Woollard from the Green Technology Education Centre (GTEC), where a whole community of climate supporters gathered to champion GTEC’s Neighbourhood in the 21st century exhibit. What a wonderful opportunity it was to learn about this innovative and much needed arts and culture initiative to generate local-based solutions that tackle climate change impacts at the community level. The City of Vancouver, alongside with other municipalities across Metro Vancouver are in dire need of spread and scaled initiatives of this nature!
I cannot speak highly enough about how much I enjoyed participating at this event. Shoutout to Robin Gill for her fantastic hosting as the evening’s MC! I appreciated the opportunity to hear from incredible youth like Maya Miller Snitz from the Fraser Academy underline how critical an intergenerational approach is to moving all climate-related work forward — building the next generation of climate leaders is key! Thank you to Pete Fry for speaking to the important role that local municipalities have to advance policies that prioritize climate solutions which work to protect the surrounding environment – great representation and inspired to see his leadership journey onwards.
Notably, I want to express how moved I was by the evening’s special guest, Miranda Massie, who joined us from The Climate Museum together with Saskia Randle. Miranda shared what a powerful role arts and cultural programming for climate engagement can play when we explore how communities can come together in this space. Miranda’s talk was so grounding for where I am at not only professionally but emotionally in the space of planetary health, reminding me how essential it is to stay curious and always seek new ways to convene people to learn in *community* how to adapt and develop resilience in the face of a warming climate. Miranda – thank you for all the work you are doing within this space!
I am looking forward with much anticipation to the fall when the Arbutus Neighbourhood House will showcase the exhibit in partnership with the Fraser Academy. Huge kudos to the entire GTEC team and board for their relentless work on launching Canada’s first Climate Response Centre — September 2026 can’t come soon enough and I look forward to supporting your work Green Technology Education Centre.
Finally, I’d like to take a moment to express my tremendous gratitude to Dr. Diane de Camps Meschino for the opportunity to attend the event!
To learn more about GTEC and the exciting developments underway check out their website