Essex Climate Adaptation Team

Family: Married, three children (aged 9, 17, 19).

Bio: Darryl’s family has grown grapes for wine production in Colchester for over 20 years, which he inherited after university. In 2014 and 2019, extremely cold periods in the winter destroyed his grape buds and he spent the following year rebuilding the  vines. His farm has an irrigation system; but, excessive precipitation in early spring can damage delicate blossoms that turn into grapes. Darryl enjoys the community and natural habitat in Colchester. His oldest child is in University and he plans on supporting all his kids’ postsecondary education in the future. He worries that with the unpredictable changes in climate, his family cannot sustain their livelihood as wine-growers in Colchester.

Hobbies: Travelling, gardening, kayaking, foodie.

Goals: Have a more reliable irrigation system, pay for kids’ post-secondary education.

Family: Single

Bio: Mona is a University of Windsor Master’s student who also works part-time in the city. She lives in Essex with her parents and volunteers as a part-time firefighter. Extremely concerned about the climate crisis, she often participates in local climate protests. She commutes to Windsor every day to attend school in a Hybrid vehicle, and has been trying to persuade her parents to replace their SUV with an EV. Despite suffering from severe allergies, Mona enjoys outdoor activities like hiking and softball, and visits public fields and parks.

Hobbies: Activism, photography, volunteering, hiking.

Goals: Graduate with minimal student loans, pursue her PhD., encourage community to reduce carbon.

Family: Married, two children, four grandchildren.

Bio: Gary owns and operates a mixed farm in Harrow, where he grows sweet and field corn, and soybeans with the help of his wife and kids. The cattle and pigs on his farm are fed the grain grown there. He also grows fruit and vegetables which are pruned and picked with the help of workers that arrive in the spring from Central America. He is worried about heat waves and extreme heat in the summer as it has resulted in higher energy costs to keep his animal barns cooled. Flooding events have delayed seed sowing or destroyed crop. Gary enjoys water-based leisure activities in Lake Erie and Cedar Creek, as well as teaching his grand kids to bird-watch in the local conservation areas.

Hobbies: Fishing, boating, bird-watching.

Goals: Maintain lower energy costs, sustain healthy crop and meat yield, spend more time with grandkids.

Family: Common law, two children (aged 8 and 12)

Bio: Lisa lives with her partner, two children and mother at a geared income housing community in Essex, that does not have efficient cooling in the summer. She works as a janitor at two different jobs, and gets to work in a car that is in need of repair. She is a primary caregiver to her mother who suffers from severe arthritis and needs special medication. Her partner is unemployed and suffers from substance abuse and depression, and receives supplemental assistance from the government. Despite personal struggles, Lisa likes to participate in community volunteering opportunities.

Hobbies: Community volunteering, watching TV.

Goals: Find a full-time job, find a nurse for her mother, purchase a new car, improve health of her partner.

Family: Widowed, one child and one grandchild

Bio: Maria has been living in a retirement home for the last three years. She moved to Canada in her thirties from Romania with her husband and one daughter, and lived in Windsor-Essex County since. She is severely diabetic and cannot drive; so she walks to local shops, or relies on family and friends to take her to the mall or stores outside of McGregor. She likes to spend time with her grandkids, who do visit her often, but she would like to take them to local festivals, parks, and libraries. She likes to for walks, but limits herself during the winter as she fears slipping and falling on the ice.

Hobbies: Walking, shopping, reading, knitting

Goals: Be more independent, learn to use a computer, spend more outdoor time with grandkids

Family: Divorced, one child (aged 2)

Bio: Dylan is a single parent who grew up in Essex. He travels often for his work as a contracted researcher, sometimes internationally, as his daughter stays in the care of his retired parents. He plans to find a full-time job locally, but is worried about the rising childcare costs until his daughter is old enough to go to school. Dylan rents a twobedroom basement unit. In the 2015 and 2016 floods, and again in 2019, the unit had some flooding, and now he worries every time it rains. In the summer, he likes to go to craft beer festivals and events, and also take his daughter out to the parks and local splash pads. In the winter, he likes to take his daughter ice skating at the local arena.

Hobbies: Playing video games, singing, drinking craft beer, ice skating.

Goals: Buying a home, obtaining full-time, local employment, spending more time with his daughter