Heat in Schools
Addressing the heat in schools: Climate change adaptation using community-based research (2025-2026)
This community-based research project seeks to identify priorities and interventions to combat high classroom temperatures in two Montreal neighborhoods: Montreal-Nord and Villeray-Saint Michel-Parc-Extension. The project will mobilize diverse local actors through the creation of community research boards (CRBs) in each neighborhood, composed of 10-15 members, including leaders, community organizations, school representatives, and residents. The project will follow a Human-Centered Design (HCD) process with CRBs leading three main phases:
Exploratory Workshops: CRBs will identify community priorities and knowledge gaps by reviewing existing data on heat-related impacts.
Research Prioritization: CRBs will determine research priorities and activities using ideation strategies and insights from HCD.
Strategic Planning: CRBs will develop final proposals for research implementation, addressing recruitment, communication strategies, and potential barriers.
This project will empower communities to identify local priorities and gaps in heat-related climate change research in school settings, fostering climate resilience and justice. Collaborating with local partners, these communities will develop and test interventions in future climate change projects.
Project update: Our CRBs began meeting in July 2026, and are finalizing our workshops, research prioritization, and planning in October 2026.
Funding by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
Investigators and collaborators: Sasha Dyck, David Kaiser, Isabelle Doré, Marie-Catherine Gagnon-Dufresne, Sherilee Harper, Rodney Knight, Danielle Labbé.
Research team: Adrien Saucier, Margot Barbosa Da Torre, Laura Pierce.
Header photo by Zachary Keimig on Unsplash.