It can be a polarizing topic here in Alberta. And there's a lot that goes along with that. So listening will be a big part of it,” she said.

 Claire Kraatz has taken up the fight against climate change in Alberta in honour of her two growing boys. (Rachel Maclean/The Weather Network)

After seeing the devastating wildfires in Fort McMurray in 2016, Kraatz felt she could no longer just sit back and be silent.

“I think the health impacts will be quite significant,” she said. “We see it in the summertime with all the fire last summer. [It] was weeks on end.”

Kraatz teamed up with another Alberta mom from Camrose to launch online meetings on how they can best take action.

“She and I teamed up on Twitter and decided it was time for us to do something together and try and rally the troops across the province to join us,” Kraatz said, adding she couldn’t leave all the climate action work to her two teenaged sons — one of whom has a great love for the outdoors.

Since launching in February, the first goal is to build a community of like-minded Albertans and then connect with other environmental groups in the province.

 For Our Kids has chapters for parents, grandparents and allies countrywide and organize events like trash cleanups, protests, and marches - like this one in Montreal in March 2021. (For Our Kids / Flickr)

“I needed to get out and talk about it more with other like minded people. So that's what really inspired me, "she said.

Kraatz says they also want to support the For Our Kids campaign to electrify school buses across the county.

"It's happening much faster in other provinces. So if we can highlight the positive things about that, then I would say that would be a success, ”she said.

THE PUSH FOR ELECTRIC BUSES

Campaign organizer Ruth Kamnitzer says there are many health and climate benefits to switching to electric buses.

“They're also financially viable in the long run, there's financial savings. And so they're really a great deal all around for schools and for kids, "said Kamnitzer.