This learning hub was compiled for students, teachers, academics, and engaged advocates wanting to take action in the face of climate change and ecosystem disruption. The goal of this work is to outline the realities of climate change in rural Canada, specifically with respect to health and healthcare delivery, and, arguably, more importantly, to inject a sense of optimism and a way forward into the discourse. We have highlighted the contributions of several rural physicians and medical students because we believe the medical profession has a significant role to play in responding to the threats posed by climate change and ecosystem disruption.

Several years ago, under the direction of Dr. Stefan Grzybowski, research staff and undergraduate students at the Rural Health Services Research Network of BC (RHSRNbc) started writing a series on the impacts of climate change and ecosystem disruption on rural BC and healthcare provision to fill an existing gap in the scholarship. In parallel with this process, in 2021, the team undertook a Co-RIG Phase II grant facilitated by the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine and the Canadian Medical Association to explore how lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic could be translated to build resilience in rural communities to climate change. This qualitative, exploratory study, titled Climate Change and Ecosystem Disruption Adaptation Responses in Rural Canada (CCEDARR), collected stories of resilience from rural physicians and community members during the first years of the pandemic and identified markers of resilient responses that could be translated to address the challenges posed by climate change. In 2023, it was decided that these chapters, in combination with research and findings from the CCEDARR project, would form the basis for a learning hub. New chapters were written, the Frontlines were created, and contributor videos were embedded to create a rural BC climate resilience learning hub titled Building Resilient Rural Communities: Responding to Climate Change and Ecosystem Disruption.