About us
Who We Are
We are a passionate group of social entrepreneurs committed to making Sarnia the best it can be - a vibrant, lively city where people are excited to live, work, play and learn.
We know Sarnia is already a beautiful place to live, but why not make it better? We are inspired by our travels and think, “how could we have night food markets like those in Thailand and beer gardens like those in Munich? How could Sarnia become more cycling friendly like the Netherlands? We wondered; “how can we make Sarnia a place where our children want to stay to raise their own kids?”
How We Think
Curious
We are ever increasing our awareness, capturing data, turning that into information and knowledge by supporting and advocating positive change. Always asking why allows us to
create solutions.
Collaborative
We value the fact that only when we are prepared to be collaborative that we can then be truly connected to the community. Constructive feedback is a gift, and we always take the time to understand.
Connective
We are connected to the community in which we reside. We believe it is critically important to be connected and we work diligently to deepen those relationships and improve the well-being of our community.
What We Do
nuSarnia Foundation aims to restore and revitalize the neighbourhoods in Sarnia so they become vibrant, thriving places for our community to meet and rediscover.
We do this by:
- Drawing attention to unmet needs in our community that prevent our residents from feeling connected, active and healthy.
- Identifying regulatory barriers, knowledge gaps, financing hurdles, and local inequalities that stand in the way of building a great community.
- Broadening public engagement to empower and connect residents around community-driven projects that enhance, beautify and strengthen their own neighbourhoods.
- Increasing engagement and collaboration between residents and local leaders, amplifying the voice of the community to be heard at the municipal level.
- Facilitating a greater sense of inclusion, inspire a commitment to community and build confidence in community members.
How We Work
While we work closely with The City of Sarnia to promote and support their Active Transportation goals and initiatives at a municipal level, we encourage and support any and all community-led initiatives that work to create a healthier, more active and connected community.
We encourage grass-roots, hands-on style of community action where homeowners, residents, business owners, students, (aka anyone!) can dream up projects that create opportunities for conversation and reveal new possibilities through tactile creativity.
These projects are often low cost, scalable initiatives that not only serve to advocate for community change, but bring our community together through the process of designing, developing and launching the project or idea.
Our efforts are intended to improve the functionality, safety, and enjoyability of neighbourhoods and gathering places, and our method enables people to not only envision change but to be a part of creating it.
Strategic Focus Areas
Public Places
People need places to gather — or at least spend a bit of time in a space other than their own homes, offices, or schools. The sense of community and belonging can be hard to achieve when there’s no place for residents to gather. It’s hard for neighbours to know one another when their primary interaction is to wave at each other from their moving cars. Through a citizen led approach, we bring community members together to identify, reimagine and repurpose overlooked and underused spaces, such as street parking spaces, parking lots, vacant storefronts, into lively public gathering places like block parties, pop-up parklets, markets, community squares, etc.
People need places to gather — or at least spend a bit of time in a space other than their own homes, offices, or schools. The sense of community and belonging can be hard to achieve when there’s no place for residents to gather. It’s hard for neighbours to know one another when their primary interaction is to wave at each other from their moving cars. Through a citizen led approach, we bring community members together to identify, reimagine and repurpose overlooked and underused spaces, such as street parking spaces, parking lots, vacant storefronts, into lively public gathering places like block parties, pop-up parklets, markets, community squares, etc.
Transportation & Mobility
Walking, cycling, and public transit are safe, convenient, and enjoyable mobility options for all residents and visitors, regardless of age, ability, trip purpose, or time of year. However, in too many areas in our community, people can’t safety walk to where they need or want to go due to a lack of sidewalks, crosswalks or other safety features that make streets safe for pedestrians and drivers.
We aim to remove these obstacles so we can continue to grow a culture of healthy, active residents of Sarnia who can safely choose cycling, walking or public transit to get to where they need to be.
Walking, cycling, and public transit are safe, convenient, and enjoyable mobility options for all residents and visitors, regardless of age, ability, trip purpose, or time of year. However, in too many areas in our community, people can’t safety walk to where they need or want to go due to a lack of sidewalks, crosswalks or other safety features that make streets safe for pedestrians and drivers.
We aim to remove these obstacles so we can continue to grow a culture of healthy, active residents of Sarnia who can safely choose cycling, walking or public transit to get to where they need to be.
Community Wellbeing
The design of our streets, building, infrastructure, and public spaces strongly impacts the health of our communities and our neighbours. Access to employment, education, housing, healthy foods, transportation, social supports, recreational activities, and green spaces are important predictors of health outcomes and behaviour. Once in place, these resources enhance personal independence and allow residents of all ages, abilities, and economic levels to participate in a thriving community.
The design of our streets, building, infrastructure, and public spaces strongly impacts the health of our communities and our neighbours. Access to employment, education, housing, healthy foods, transportation, social supports, recreational activities, and green spaces are important predictors of health outcomes and behaviour. Once in place, these resources enhance personal independence and allow residents of all ages, abilities, and economic levels to participate in a thriving community.
We are a diverse group of homeowners, residents, public and private sector leaders, community advocates, and multidisciplinary professionals. We are artists, engineers, government officials, and makers. We are your neighbours, your colleagues, and your friends. We work together to identify challenges, share ideas, and implement projects that inspire change so we can create healthier people, places and community.