CAN! is a group that focuses on climate issues that affect the North Okanagan. Our work includes advocating for local and provincial climate policy, educating the public, initiating and supporting local climate actions, and networking with other climate groups in the Okanagan and throughout BC.
Join 500+ on our listserv
subscribe to receive emails about local climate issues
Directors of CAN! North Okanagan
MARY STOCKDALE has made climate action her priority since the early 2000s and is an original CAN! founder, together with Bill Darnell. She was also a Chair of the Climate Action Advisory Committee (CAAC) of the City of Vernon during the development of the community’s Climate Action Plan. Mary is also an Adjunct Professor (Human Geography) at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus, where she teaches and does research in sustainability and the environment, with public engagement in climate action and resilient regional food systems as her special topics. Recently, she worked as project manager for Climate Outreach, a leading climate communications organization in the UK.
BILL DARNELL lived in Vernon BC for 25 years. He now lives in Victoria. He is an original CAN! member and part of the team that created the City of Vernon’s Climate Action Plan. Bill is a lifelong educator, active in protecting the climate and building resilient, sustainable communities. He is a founder of Greenpeace and was a crew member on the first voyage to Amchitka to stop a nuclear bomb test. A hands-on grandparent, Bill is helping to raise the resilient, next generation.
BARRY DORVAL is a retired teacher and parent who is passionate about climate action and community resilience. As someone who has been closely connected to children and teens for most of his adult life, he is driven to do his level best to leave the youth of today a viable future. He is a co-founder of Climate Action Ripple Effect (CARE), a program that engages students in community embedded projects to support local mitigation and adaptation efforts.
ELI PIVNICK is a former high school teacher in Vernon, and previously taught on Indian Reserves in Saskatchewan and Ontario where he ran canoeing and cross-country skiing programs. Eli earned a PhD in Insect Behavioural Ecology at Université Laval in 1986 and has worked as a research scientist for National Research Council and Agriculture Canada in Saskatoon. He conducted research on the ecology and behaviour of a wide variety of insects. Eli has also worked as a wilderness guide. When Eli is not working to ensure that BC makes the transition to a society that respects Mother Earth, he is exploring the mountains, forests and rivers of BC.
KARINE POZNANSKI has degrees in languages, international development and translation. Having lived, worked and traveled throughout most of Latin America and the Caribbean, she has seen first-hand the devastation of unchecked resource development, but also the beauty of natural spaces, flora and fauna. She is committed to living in harmony with the natural world. She is also passionate about community engagement, and active with Vernon’s Social Planning Council, Immigration Society, Amnesty International, Emergency Food Action network, Fair Vote Canada, Wild Church
HEATHER CLAY has a degree in environmental science and a passion for honey bees. She strongly believes governments should take action to encourage renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, local production of food and ensure the protection of all pollinators. She has co-edited a book about Honey Bee Diseases and Pests and created Urban Bee Network, a web-based resource for small-scale beekeepers.
JANET PARKINS grew up in Los Angeles, spending summers in the Sierra Nevada, learning early to love and want to protect the natural world. Being vegetarian and driving an electric car powered by the solar panels on her roof, Janet believes each of us needs to do what we can to reduce our planetary impacts. Janet is a retired pharmacist, a founding member of the Vernon Chapter of Frack Free BC, a long-time member of the North Okanagan Naturalists’ Club , sings in the Okanagan Symphony Chorus and with Opera Kelowna, volunteers with the Vernon Folk Roots Music Society and is the former Artistic Director of the North Okanagan Community Concert Association.
JANE WEIXL has made climate action and sustainability a priority since retiring in 2016. Healthy nature and a stable climate are vital to thriving communities and biodiversity. Jane believes that people taking informed action together can create positive change. Nature is a miracle that we depend upon for clean water, fresh air, healthy soil and food. We need to do everything we can to protect it. She believes that we have a responsibility to create equity and justice for all, especially future generations.
Jane spends her time volunteering with Climate Action Now! North Okanagan, SENS – The Sustainable Environment Network Society, the Vernon Chapter of Frack Free BC, the Vernon Heronry Protection Society, Fair Vote Canada and Fair Vote Vernon, and is a member of the North Okanagan Naturalists’ Club.