Stories of Resilience – Intergenerational Voices from Hinton

Stories of Resilience – Intergenerational Voices from Hinton brings together youth and their grandparents (or other relatives) to reflect on meaningful natural places in Hinton, using storytelling and art to explore themes of climate adaptation and resilience. Honoraria will be offered for participation.

Above: Eagle in the Reflection by Kristin Braun, Project Artist with Stories of Resilience Intergenerational Voices from Hinton

What’s Involved?  

  • Participate (at no cost) in workshops that explore local climate risks, ecosystem health, and intergenerational resilience. 
  • Contribute to a strong and resilient community by sharing your reflections in written narratives and/or visual art. 
  • Share your story and visual artwork at a community event.

Who Can Join?  

This program is for youth (18-25) and older relative pairs for intergenerational perspectives.

Why Join?  

  • Connect across generations through shared storytelling. 
  • Deepen your understanding of climate and ecological resilience.   
  • Contribute to a meaningful community initiative. 

Key Dates

  • Program Kickoff: Oct 2025
  • Thematic Learning Workshops: Nov 2025 – Jan 2026
  • Story & Artwork Creation: Feb – Mar 2026
  • Community Celebration: Jun 2026

Interested in participating?

To get involved, please send an email to stories@resilienceinstitute.ca

Above: Moose in the Spruces by Kristin Braun

Stories of Resilience is a signature program of The Resilience Institute which brings people together to explore the meaning of resilience in the context of climate risks that matter most to them — both locally and globally.

Together, this collection of stories is building a powerful testament to our shared understanding of the climate crisis. Audiences see, hear, and feel reflections of themselves in the narratives and artwork, finding echoes of their own lives in communities like theirs.

To explore the journeys of our Stories of Resilience communities, click here.

Laura Stewart

Board Member

Laura Stewart is the Community Wildfire Resilience Coordinator with Forsite Fire, supporting communities across Canada with wildfire risk assessments, mitigation planning, and program delivery. She has more than a decade of experience advancing wildfire resilience at Indigenous, municipal, provincial/territorial, and national levels. Previously, Laura served nearly eleven years as Alberta’s Provincial FireSmart Specialist, leading community, WUI, neighbourhood, and Home Ignition Zone programs, coordinating funding, and partnering with communities and fire services across the province. She has also served as Board Chair with both the Partners in Protection Association (FireSmart Canada) and the Community Wildfire Resilience Association of Alberta.

 

Sara Walsh, PhD

Board Member

Sara Walsh, PhD, is a disaster risk reduction and climate resilience specialist with more than 15 years of experience spanning Canada, Nepal, the Middle East, and North Africa. Until November 2025, she served as Thematic Lead for Climate and Resilience with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), where she supported Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to strengthen their climate and risk reduction work across the region. Sara currently works as a freelance consultant with the United Nations, governments, and humanitarian organizations on recovery, risk governance, and community-based resilience. She teaches at a Canadian university and holds a PhD in Disaster Risk Reduction. Her work emphasizes anticipatory action, equity, and bridging research with practice to shape more resilient and sustainable futures.

Alison Criscitiello

Board Member

Alison Criscitiello, PhD, is an ice core scientist and high-altitude mountaineer who explores the history of climate and sea ice in polar and high-alpine regions using ice core chemistry. Alison’s work also focuses on environmental contaminant histories in ice cores from the Canadian high Arctic and the water towers of the Canadian Rockies. In 2010, she led the first all-women’s ascent of Lingsarmo, a 22,818-foot peak in the Indian Himalaya. Alison has earned three American Alpine Club (AAC) climbing awards, the John Lauchlan and Mugs Stump alpine climbing awards, as well as the first Ph.D. in Glaciology ever conferred by MIT. She is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Canadian Ice Core Lab at the University of Alberta. She is the co-founder of Girls on Ice Canada.