“We’re All Farmers.”
– Jeff Harder
On November 8, the Whistler Institute partnered with Cornucopia to host Mother Nature v. Okanagan Wineries: a Climate Conundrum. This event was the second in the 2024-2025 Global Perspectives Speaker Series, where leading experts and game changers share bold ideas, new perspectives, and disruptive concepts.
Held in the Whistler Conference Centre’s Rainbow Theatre, an inquisitive crowd comprised of vintners, merchants and consumers gathered to hear about the challenges BC wines are facing. Speakers Decoa & Jeff Harder drew from their own lived experiences over the past two decades in the Okanagan valley, and shared worldwide examples of unique solutions to mitigate the devastating impacts climate change can have on crops.
Presenting this event in partnership with Cornucopia, Whistler’s Celebration of Food & Drink, elevated Decoa & Jeff’s message by featuring it in a space hyper-focused on enjoying the bounty from vineyards. Attendees left with greater understanding of a topic that, for some, was not necessarily top of mind. Moving forward, they can speak to the nuances of what it means to support cold climate wineries, and the (in some cases) extreme steps required to keep business viable.
Following the event, thought-provoking conversations ensued about climate change’s impacts on the economic viability of wineries moving forward, the value of tourism to wine regions, the sustainability of cold climate food crops, and international trade.
We wish to thank Whistler Blackcomb’s Epic Promise program, who provided the speaker gifts, Nita Lake Lodge, and Cornucopia.
Our next Global Perspectives Speaker event is Thursday, January 23: AI: Ethics, Empathy & Humanizing Technology with speaker Kris Krüg, who will take the audience on a journey through the rapid evolution of AI and its profound implications for creativity and innovation.