This local leader is connecting health care and climate action
Local Leader Spotlight
This local leader is connecting health care and climate action
Agnes (Aggie) Black is a registered nurse and retired health care leader who has spent her career working to improve and strengthen the health care system. Now, she brings that same dedication to planetary health, serving on the national board of the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment (CANE). She also works with the New Westminster Climate Action Hub on public education and advocacy campaigns linking climate change and health.
Read on to learn about how Agnes continues to push for a healthier, fossil-free future for her two young adult children and generations to come. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Photo supplied by Aggie Black.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
I’m the daughter and granddaughter of Hutterite farmers and Quaker activists, so it’s in my blood to work towards peaceful solutions and justice in all areas of life. I’m a registered nurse and recently retired health care leader and have spent my career promoting health and working to improve and strengthen the healthcare system, including working towards cultural safety in healthcare. I’m a mom of two young adults, and working to improve their future inspires much of my planetary health activism.
How did you get involved in environmental work?
My partner Tim is a climate change researcher and activist, and I’ve been working alongside him for over 30 years now. About three years ago, I participated in the healthcare workers’ rally for climate action at the B.C. Legislature in Victoria and was inspired by my colleagues who were using their trusted voices as nurses and physicians to educate and inspire the public to take action on environmental and planetary health issues. I decided it was time to become more active on the topic of climate change and use my voice as a nurse to call for climate action.
How do you see the effects of climate change on people’s health?
I’ve held meetings with groups of seniors in an apartment building where residents died during the 2021 heat dome in B.C., just a few blocks from my home. I’ve participated in research looking at the health of seniors in long-term care homes that are not air conditioned, and where indoor heat has negative health impacts. My best friend since childhood is asthmatic and has been living through a 3-month exacerbation of her disease, set off by wildfire smoke. I also see the negative impacts of climate change on youth mental health and young people’s hope for the future. During the 2021 floods in B.C., I had colleagues who were desperately seeking to get dialysis supplies to their diabetic patients who were stranded by the flooding.
Can you tell us a bit about CANE and your involvement?
CANE (Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment) represents nurses dedicated to the improvement of planetary health across all areas of nursing practice, policy, research and education. At the 2021 rally at the B.C. Legislature, I met Helen, the nurse who was leading the B.C. chapter of CANE at that time. She invited me to their next monthly meeting, and I’ve basically not missed one meeting since then! I am now on the national board of CANE. Along with my colleague Zach, I lead B.C. CANE. We hold regular meetings of our B.C. members, including presentations that educate and encourage them to take action in a variety of ways: raising awareness of climate change during election campaigns, writing letters to the editor and op-eds on the topic of planetary health, encouraging our pension plans to divest from fossil fuels, sharing book and film recommendations, and more! CANE helps nurses tap into the advocacy part of a nurse’s role and gives them tools to advocate on behalf of all patients.
Photo by Mya Van Woudenberg.
What projects are you currently working on?
With the New Westminster Climate Action Hub, I’m working on public education projects (hosting booths at farmers markets and other events with games and posters to enhance public understanding of the urgent need for climate action and steps they can take). With CANE, I’m working on publications in nursing journals to educate nurses about steps they can take to promote planetary health, I’m co-authoring op-eds on the topic of planetary health, I’m working on a letter-writing campaign to pressure our pension funds to divest from fossil fuels. I’m also partnering with CAPE on an ad campaign drawing attention to the links between B.C. LNG and negative impacts on our health and our healthcare system.
How can people support your work?
If you’re a nurse, join CANE! If you live in New West, join the New West Climate Action Hub! If you work in healthcare, join the Green Team at your workplace. Wherever you live, find your people and build community. Climate action is a long journey, and we need to work together and keep each other hopeful and strong. Sierra Club BC is one great source of information and inspiration in this work!
Anything else you would like to highlight?
While more and more Canadians believe that climate change poses a significant threat to our wellbeing, far fewer Canadians understand that climate change is caused by the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. It is critically important that we help educate Canadians about the need to address the root cause of climate change by transitioning rapidly away from fossil fuels to green renewable energy.
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