Category:

“The CAVI vision for Vancouver Island is catching on. There is increasing interest,” stated John Finnie. “We believe a key to the success of CAVI is that we are talking to people, not preaching at them. Our approach is to inform and educate. We do this by creating situations for people to have conversations. The CAVI role is to plant seeds and start the conversations that will lead to action. We are encouraging people to move from conversations to dialogue, and to learn from the experience of each other.”

In 2007, Rob Lawrance set the context and introduced the unifying themes for the three City of Nanaimo presentations. In setting the context, he also elaborated on what is involved in finding the right ‘balance’ to make things happen on the ground. “It’s all about people, and most of all, it’s about involving the right people at the start,” stated Rob Lawrance. He identified four tools that are enabling City staff to drive green infrastructure innovation in Nanaimo.

“A showcasing event is not a conference. Neither is it a workshop nor seminar in the conventional sense. Rather the purpose of the presentations is to whet the appetites of participants for the site tour that follows. The quality one-on-one conversations take place on the bus and when we go for a walkabout,” reports Kim Stephens.

“Through the Urban Containment Boundary, we have avoided urban sprawl and we are doing our best to do what is right; and that is why the RDN Board is both supporting and partnering with CAVI. As a Board, we believe it is our job to protect the quality of life values that attract people to Vancouver Island,” stated Joe Stanhope, Chair of the Regional District of Nanaimo.

Building on the theme of limitations and planning for the future, Cowichan Valley Chair Jon Lefebure noted there is an engine of development. “We have to think about how to operate that engine differently, We must focus on preserving what we have that provides our qualtiy of life. Moving foward from today, I would like the political leadership of Vancouver Island to be more proactive.”

“Like most other areas on Vancouver Island, the Comox Valley is at a major cross-roads as to how we will develop and still maintain the natural beauty of our community. This is a real challenge.We are experiencing phenomenal growth. So we are really depending on the practitioners to keep us grounded and realistic so that growth will be sustainable,” stated Starr Winchester, Chair of the Comox-Strathcona Regional District.

“From a City of Nanaimo perspective, the Showcasing Innovation Series is timely. Our participation has served as a catalyst for the City to evaluate our progress to date and reflect on lessons learned from our experience. The City is enthusiastic about sharing what we have learned with our peers in other Vancouver Island municipalities,” stated Rob Lawrance.

“The Regional District, District of North Cowichan and City of Duncan will showcase the role of partnerships – first, in developing a shared vision of what the ‘valley future’ can look like; and next, in implementing actions that will bring the vision to fruition. The unifying theme is: to make things happen, local governments need to partner and pool resources,” states Kate Miller.

“We will showcase on-the-ground benefits that result when local governments collaborate to integrate their efforts, and are guided by an holistic way-of-thinking and acting. Case studies will demonstrate how to ‘connect the dots’ to achieve integrated and sustainable outcomes,” reports Kevin Lagan.

Experience shows that intra-region communication among local government practitioners is the exception rather than the rule.”Yet practitioners in local government do want to learn from those who are innovating, and they do want to visit projects that are precedent-setting,” adds John Finnie, Chair of the CAVI Leadership Team, “They just need a starting point and a push to get the ball rolling.”