Every Earth Day, we zoom out.
We talk about global emissions, national targets, and the urgent need for systems change. The scale of the challenge can feel overwhelming – abstract, even distant.
But climate action doesn’t begin at the global level.
It begins much closer to home.
This year, the 2025 Live Net Zero Challenge brings that idea to life through stories from households across Canada—each one showing what change looks like in practice, shaped by real lives, real constraints, and real choices.
Among them is a story that feels especially close to us at movmi.
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TL;DR
- movmi’s CEO Venkatesh and his family were recognized for building a car-free lifestyle in Vancouver, relying on cycling, transit, and carsharing
- Across Canada, households are taking different paths to climate action—from home retrofits to low-waste living
- In Northern Canada, a community bike share and lending library (SHIFT NWT) is helping residents try e-bikes, cargo bikes, and more—removing barriers to adoption
- The common thread: access → experience → long-term behaviour change
- Real mobility transformation happens when systems are designed for people—and people actually use them
A Car-Free Life in Vancouver
When Venkatesh moved to Canada in 2019, he didn’t just relocate, he reimagined how his family would live day to day.
Like many cities in North America, Vancouver still carries the legacy of car-centric planning. Owning a car is often seen as the default. A necessity.
But instead of following that path, Venkatesh and his family made a different choice.
They chose to go car-free.
Not as a statement, but as a practical experiment in living differently.
School drop-offs happen by bike. Meetings and commutes are a mix of transit and cycling. When a car is needed, carsharing fills the gap. Over time, what may have once felt like an adjustment became second nature, a rhythm built around flexibility rather than ownership.
This approach earned them second prize in the “How We Get Around” category in the Live Net Zero Challenge .
But more importantly, it reflects something deeper:
A shift in mindset.
Because this isn’t just about giving up a car. It’s about embracing a system where multiple modes work together, seamlessly, reliably, and in a way that fits everyday life.
It’s multimodal mobility, not as a concept, but as lived experience.
Image Source: Venkatesh Gopal
A National Movement: Many Paths to the Same Goal
What makes the Live Net Zero Challenge so compelling is not just one story – but many.
Across the country, households approached climate action in ways that reflected their own realities.
In Maple Ridge, a family transformed a heritage home (once reliant on fuel oil) into a fully fossil-free household powered by renewable energy.
In Qualicum Beach, a senior homeowner made a thoughtful investment in a heat pump, balancing environmental impact with financial practicality.
Elsewhere, families reimagined how they celebrate, how they consume, and how they share resources within their communities.
Taken together, these stories paint a powerful picture:
There is no single way to take climate action.
And that’s exactly the point.
Real change happens when solutions meet people where they are.
Image Source: https://canadiangeographic.ca/live-net-zero/household-challenges
Spotlight: A Bike Share & Lending Library in Northern Canada
If Venkatesh’s story shows what’s possible at the household level, another story from the challenge shows how that impact can grow outward, into entire communities.
In Yellowknife, where winters are long and temperatures can be extreme, cycling might not seem like the obvious choice.
But for Becca Denley and her family, it is.
They bike year-round, through snow, cold, and everything in between. And in doing so, they’ve helped shift what’s considered possible in their community.
Their impact doesn’t stop at their own household.
Becca and her husband co-founded SHIFT NWT, a free community bike share and lending library program that gives residents access to a wide range of vehicles, including e-bikes, cargo bikes, and adaptive cycles .
The idea is simple, but transformative.
Instead of asking people to commit upfront, the program invites them to try.
To borrow a bike for a couple of weeks.
To test whether it fits their lifestyle.
To experience a different way of moving.
Because often, the biggest barrier to change isn’t willingness.
It’s uncertainty.
By removing that barrier, SHIFT NWT opens the door to something powerful: possibility.
Image Source: https://cabinradio.ca/233687/news/yellowknife/yellowknife-bike-share-program-returns-for-second-year/
What These Stories Reveal About Behaviour Change
At first glance, these stories may seem different—one centered on a household, the other on a community initiative.
But look closer, and a common thread emerges.
Change doesn’t happen all at once. It unfolds in stages.
It begins with access – having alternatives available and within reach.
It grows through experience – trying something new in a real-world context.
And it leads to adoption – when that new behaviour becomes part of everyday life.
This progression (access to experience to adoption) is at the heart of successful mobility systems.
And it’s exactly where thoughtful design, policy, and community programs intersect.
From Individual Choices to System-Level Change
For cities, planners, and mobility operators, these stories are more than inspiring, they’re instructive.
They show that when the right conditions are in place, people are ready to change.
A car-free household becomes viable when multimodal options are reliable and connected.
A bike share program gains traction when access is easy and risk is low.
A community begins to shift when individuals can see, and experience, what’s possible.
This is where movmi focuses its work.
Not just helping launch shared mobility systems, but helping ensure they are used, trusted, and integrated into everyday life.
Because real impact doesn’t come from deployment alone.
It comes from adoption.
Earth Day Takeaway: Small Changes, Scaled Impact
Earth Day is often framed as a moment to reflect.
But it’s also a moment to recognize progress, especially the kind that starts small.
A household choosing to go car-free.
A community launching a bike lending program.
People trying something new, one trip at a time.
These actions may seem incremental.
But together, they point to something much bigger.
The future of mobility isn’t something we’re waiting for. It’s something people are already building, day by day.
From Vancouver to Northern Canada, the message is clear:
When we make sustainable choices accessible, people don’t just adapt.They adopt.
Meet the 2025 Live Net Zero Challenge Winners
The stories above are part of a broader movement happening across Canada. Here are some of the households leading the way across different aspects of climate action:
Our Homes
- James Rowley (Maple Ridge, BC) — 1st Prize
Transformed a heritage home into a fully fossil-free, solar-powered household. - Hope Ryckman (Qualicum Beach, BC) — 2nd Prize
Installed a heat pump to reduce emissions while managing long-term costs. - Roger Williams (Quispamsis, NB) — September Post of the Month
Focused on practical, step-by-step retrofits in his mini home
How We Get Around
- Becca Denley (Yellowknife, NT) — 1st Prize
Year-round cycling advocate and co-founder of a community bike share and lending library. - Venkatesh Gopal (Vancouver, BC) — 2nd Prize
Built a fully car-free lifestyle using cycling, transit, and carsharing.
How We Celebrate and Play
- Natalie Foreman (Hanwell, NB) — 1st Prize
Created low-waste, community-driven traditions through reuse and experience-based celebrations. - Cathy Erdle (Victoria, BC) — 2nd Prize
Reimagined holidays with secondhand gifting and low-impact living.
Our Daily Lives: Food & Stuff
- Vicki Tran (Mississauga, ON) — 1st Prize
Combines plant-based living, repair culture, and community engagement. - Cassy Midkiff (Maple Ridge, BC) — 2nd Prize
Blends low-waste living with climate advocacy and civic action. - Lily Tabb (Ottawa, ON) — October Post of the Month
Brought climate action into the classroom through vermicomposting in her daughter’s school.
Each of these stories reinforces a simple but powerful idea:
Climate action is already happening—in different ways, in different places, by people making choices that work for their lives.