Celebrating Green Infastructure: Pilot Program Launched in Greater Vancouver
Convening fror Action in British Columbia
In May 2005, the Green Infrastructure Partnership (GIP) conducted a Consultation Workshop in collaboration with the Regional Engineers Advisory Committee of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Workshop participants included senior managers in local government.
“The atmosphere was upbeat with participants enthusiastically stressing that the number of success stories is growing. The clear message was to make outreach and practitioner education the #1 priority. This resulted in a reconfiguration of the GIP Work Plan as a set of ten educational elements (as shown below), and that comprise an Outreach & Continuing Education Program (OCEP),” reports Kim Stephens.
For background on the 2005 Workshop, click on Green Infrastructure Partnership organizes consultation workshops in Metro Vancouver to launch provincial initiative. The focus of this story is on the two items in the second column from the left.
‘Showcasing Innovation in the District of North Vancouver’ was first in 2006 series
The “Celebrating Green Infrastructure Program” was a consultation outcome. The program creates opportunities to network and share “how to do it” experiences on the ground. It is a combination of two OCEP items – the Workshop Roadshow and Project Tours – because “Showcasing Innovation” is a workshop followed by field tour.
The program is designed for engineering, planning, land development, operations, and environmental departments in Greater Vancouver municipalities.
The first event – a workshop followed by field tour – was hosted by the District of North Vancouver on May 12, 2006. In the morning, there were comprehensive and in-depth presentatikons by District staff. Three projects were featured – a lane, a highway and a local community.
- Pemberton Area Lane – Selection of porous pavement to infiltrate rainwater runoff was an outcome of an inter-departmental design
charrette where the Water Balance Model was a key decision tool. - Dollarton Highway– Completed a decade ago, the highway design integrated a pioneer application of rainwater infiltration.
- Maplewood Community – As redevelopment proceeds, the complete and compact residential area will complement an eco-industrial networking area founded on green infrastructure principles & practices.
In the afternoon, participants were taken by bus to see how these projects have been implemented. For the complete story, click on Showcasing Innovation in the District of North Vancouver.