This episode tells the story of Maggie Gay, an isolated senior who lived alone in a basement suite in Saanichton at the time of the 2021 heat dome. Maggie shares her experience of living in a more rural part of the Greater Victoria area, and how this led to underserviced public transportation resources like bus shelters, and city buses. She shares the challenges she’s encountered that come with being a senior and living alone and the shift in the size of her community as she ages. This episode iterates the importance of interpersonal and community connection in times of crises, particularly during extreme weather events.   

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 

Maggie Gay is a senior that lived alone in Saanichton at the time of the 2021 heat dome. She enjoys model-building of fairy homes and making the fairies that live in them, listening to classic rock, gardening and doing large batch Christmas baking.  

This episode tells the story of Ruth Waldick, the Lead Scientist of the Climate Adaptation Research Lab (CARL) with Transition Salt Spring, a not-for-profit organization based on Salt Spring Island that is dedicated to climate action across Salt Spring Island and the Southern Gulf Islands through diverse initiatives. Ruth shares her experience of the 2021 heat dome, and other extreme heat events, as an ecologist and resident of a rural island in the Capital Regional District (CRD). She shares insight into the existing systems, such as the Emergency Pod Program, that the community has created due to their rural nature, and a perspective as an ecologist of what the impact of extreme heat events are on the unique environment of Salt Spring Island. 

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 

Dr. Ruth Waldick is the Lead Scientist, at the Climate Adaptation Research Lab (CARL) at Transition Salt Spring. Ruth is an ecologist with over 25 years of experience in climate change, ecosystem management, and sustainable land-use planning, working at the interface of science and community to support informed, resilient decision-making capabilities. Ruth regularly facilitates collaboration with regional partners to undertake and support applied research, hands-on workshops, and developing nature-based adaptation solutions tailored to the Southern Gulf Islands. When she’s not working, Ruth can be found kayaking through the Broken Islands, pickling seasonal foods, and attending her chickens. 

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.   

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 

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